Been busy in the shop
- Thread starter Jamie
- Start date
well, hell yeah! if they are nice blocks I might give you some bacon, too.
Thunderflight
Dignitary Member
it is shameful how little time I've been spending in the shop for the last few years, but life is all about priorities. the last of the firewood I'm cutting until hunting season is over is now split, and in a pile waiting to be stacked. once that is done, my preparation for hunting will take a backseat only to my work for the next two months. I've been shooting a few of my older bows trying to decide which one, and I think I'm going to carry the static recurve that started this thread to begin with, the one now in my avatar. I've been repairing some of my practice arrows and shooting a little, but two-a-days start next week. It has been over a year since I felt really good and confident shooting, and it probably cost me last season. time to recapture my mojo.
Very interesting. I've always said "Ya can't beat a guy at his own game" Can sure tell what yours is Jamie. Great Work For Real!
"my game" now is just trying to stay in the game I love so much, and to be able to keep playing it the way I always have. the stars lined up against me last year, losing an important place to hunt on top of the timber being cut from my remaining hunting place, mourning the loss of a great friend, mentor and hunting partner, and suffering from terrible neck and shoulder problems. not being able to shoot much made me apprehensive last season, and my shot opportunities were few in number besides. I only really had one good close shot last year, but it was at an adult doe with a 50lb spotted fawn that was still nursing in the last week of October. I let her walk because that fawn would not have made it without mom, and I'm glad I did. last year is the first time since 1992 that I failed to kill at least one Ohio deer with a bow and arrow. that was a streak that I am very proud of. over now, but I have a new, likely better, place to hunt that I'll never get kicked off of, my mental game is in a better place, and the arrows are starting to go where I order them again. I'm not just going through the motions this year. I have a new mission. I won't be denied.
the pile of arrows I have that are in disrepair are clear evidence of how lazy I've gotten with all of my archery endeavors. wood arrow shafts are relatively inexpensive compared to the alternatives if you match and assemble them yourself, and they can be repaired sometimes. most errant arrows that hit something hard will break right behind the point, costing only an inch of so of the length, leaving the rest of the arrow completely fine. for centuries a spliced hardwood "footing" was used to add length back to broken arrows. a little work, but much less than making a whole new arrow when you don't have machines for doweling.
I read about these "Reparrow" things a few years ago. bought a couple dozen last year and just now getting around to using them. they are a piece of hardwood arrow shafting with a 5 degree taper bored into one end. you taper your short arrow and glue on this piece of hardwood just like you would glue on a point. a glue-on footing. pretty nifty. the handful I did a few weeks ago have held up just fine, so I'm doing the rest of my shorty broken arrows today.
I squared up the ends of the short shafts and tapered them. I wrap the tape around the end of the Reparrow to keep it from splitting when I'm putting two pieces together with glue. you have to push and twist a bit to force out the excess glue, and I split a couple the first time I did this. glue filled the splits, but it looks sloppy, so I'm taking preventive measure. plain old carpenters glue is what the maker recommends.
these don't really align themselves very well with the arrow shaft, so I eyeball it and make sure each one is on straight before I set it aside to dry.
let them dry tonight, cut them to the correct length, taper and glue on points. I won't have an hour total in this, and for two dollars per arrow, it is better than the 3-4 hours and $5 a piece to make new arrows.
this is one of the ones I've been shooting for the last few weeks.
these come in walnut and white birch. I could care less since both are harder than the Douglas Fir arrow shaft I'm fixing. it would be possible to add up to three inches to a broken arrow. great idea, and easy way to salvage short arrow. need to get on with repairing a few worn out fletchings now. too friggin' hot to do anything else today.
I read about these "Reparrow" things a few years ago. bought a couple dozen last year and just now getting around to using them. they are a piece of hardwood arrow shafting with a 5 degree taper bored into one end. you taper your short arrow and glue on this piece of hardwood just like you would glue on a point. a glue-on footing. pretty nifty. the handful I did a few weeks ago have held up just fine, so I'm doing the rest of my shorty broken arrows today.
I squared up the ends of the short shafts and tapered them. I wrap the tape around the end of the Reparrow to keep it from splitting when I'm putting two pieces together with glue. you have to push and twist a bit to force out the excess glue, and I split a couple the first time I did this. glue filled the splits, but it looks sloppy, so I'm taking preventive measure. plain old carpenters glue is what the maker recommends.
these don't really align themselves very well with the arrow shaft, so I eyeball it and make sure each one is on straight before I set it aside to dry.
let them dry tonight, cut them to the correct length, taper and glue on points. I won't have an hour total in this, and for two dollars per arrow, it is better than the 3-4 hours and $5 a piece to make new arrows.
this is one of the ones I've been shooting for the last few weeks.
these come in walnut and white birch. I could care less since both are harder than the Douglas Fir arrow shaft I'm fixing. it would be possible to add up to three inches to a broken arrow. great idea, and easy way to salvage short arrow. need to get on with repairing a few worn out fletchings now. too friggin' hot to do anything else today.
Sgt Fury
Sgt. Spellchecker
Would that repair possibly change the spine of the arrow? I build my own aluminum and carbon arrows and when I get time to spend learning how to shoot a recurve, I’d like to build my own wood arrows also.
I suppose it could if you were pushing it on being under-spined already as this will add a smidgen of weight up front. in my case it will have zero net affect on the dynamic spine as I already load up the point end with 225 grains.
glue dry, all cut to the exact same length and tapered. ready for points, then these guys go back to work.
my home made tapering jig does both point and nock end.
some needed more help than others. all the correct length now.
my home made tapering jig does both point and nock end.
some needed more help than others. all the correct length now.
yes, it's getting to be that time. shop time limited by real work, running dogs, and cutting fire wood. I have several bows glued up. I'd like to get at least one new bow made for myself in the next couple of months.
for many years I shot tapered arrows exclusively. I generally always tapered them myself to save a little money and in the process be able to match my arrows perfectly in spine and grain weight. due to general laziness, boredom, and not being able to shoot much for the last few years I went to shooting parallel shafts. they will all fly if the spine is correct and bow/arrow/shooter combination is tuned properly. tapered shafts do recover from paradox more quickly than parallel and barrel tapered even more so. breasted shafts recover quicker, too.
in light of a potential out of state hunt this fall, regaining my physical capacity for shooting more and more often, I've decided to get back to shooting tapered shafts and step up my dedication to shooting better than I've been able for the last few years. I made up several test arrows in various configurations to see what will be the best choice for shooting poundage in the low 50's instead of the low 60's.
they all fly acceptably well, but all are different. CC = compressed Chundoo (Lodgepole Pine), DF = Douglas Fir. some are 23/64 tapered to 11/32 or 5/16, some are 11/32 tapered to 5/16. one is 23/64 tapered to 11/32 on the point end, to 5/16 at the nock end, and it is the golden child. dart every time, no matter my release. I have it designated as breasted(it's the middle arrow with green cock feather), but it isn't actually a true reverse taper. more of a modified barrel taper. the two other barrel tapered arrows fly great, too, and these are probably going to be what fill up my quiver. some broadhead flight testing is in order before I can determine the final specs.
I do like the mass weight of the compressed chundoo, and I have a ton of them. they are all 75-80lb spine, but by tapering, you reduce spine, twice as much with a barrel taper, so it works out pretty well since I want to get them down to about 66-68lbs spine in a finished barrel tapered arrow. I bought about 150 of these ten years ago or so from a fletcher in Michigan who was getting out of the arrow bidness for $1 a piece to my door. they are worth 4-5 times that, but very few people want arrows that stiff and heavy. score!
I've never spent much time dolling up my arrows with fancy cresting and all that. I prefer to spend the time making them all exactly the same in spine and grain weight. they are going to get lost, broken, bloody, or all three and the deer don't seem to have a preference.
"Any old stick will make a bow, but it takes a damn good stick to make an arrow. "- Ishi, the last Yahi Indian
in light of a potential out of state hunt this fall, regaining my physical capacity for shooting more and more often, I've decided to get back to shooting tapered shafts and step up my dedication to shooting better than I've been able for the last few years. I made up several test arrows in various configurations to see what will be the best choice for shooting poundage in the low 50's instead of the low 60's.
they all fly acceptably well, but all are different. CC = compressed Chundoo (Lodgepole Pine), DF = Douglas Fir. some are 23/64 tapered to 11/32 or 5/16, some are 11/32 tapered to 5/16. one is 23/64 tapered to 11/32 on the point end, to 5/16 at the nock end, and it is the golden child. dart every time, no matter my release. I have it designated as breasted(it's the middle arrow with green cock feather), but it isn't actually a true reverse taper. more of a modified barrel taper. the two other barrel tapered arrows fly great, too, and these are probably going to be what fill up my quiver. some broadhead flight testing is in order before I can determine the final specs.
I do like the mass weight of the compressed chundoo, and I have a ton of them. they are all 75-80lb spine, but by tapering, you reduce spine, twice as much with a barrel taper, so it works out pretty well since I want to get them down to about 66-68lbs spine in a finished barrel tapered arrow. I bought about 150 of these ten years ago or so from a fletcher in Michigan who was getting out of the arrow bidness for $1 a piece to my door. they are worth 4-5 times that, but very few people want arrows that stiff and heavy. score!
I've never spent much time dolling up my arrows with fancy cresting and all that. I prefer to spend the time making them all exactly the same in spine and grain weight. they are going to get lost, broken, bloody, or all three and the deer don't seem to have a preference.
"Any old stick will make a bow, but it takes a damn good stick to make an arrow. "- Ishi, the last Yahi Indian
and then there's this fucking disaster...
this is the same nock in my avatar. the overlay broke and fell off in the middle of hunting season. luck that it did so while resting on the toe of my boot and not at full draw. this I can fix. I already fixed the bottom limb overlay with fell off within a few weeks of the bow being finished. I'll not use Diamondwood and C/A glue for nock overlays ever again. three bows, six failed glue joints. buffalo horn and Urac 185 has never failed.
here is the bottom limb of same bow with replacement horn overlay.
it's a little beat up from two season worth of hunting. I'll refinish the whole bow once I get the upper nock reshaped and am sure it's fixed for good.
this is the same nock in my avatar. the overlay broke and fell off in the middle of hunting season. luck that it did so while resting on the toe of my boot and not at full draw. this I can fix. I already fixed the bottom limb overlay with fell off within a few weeks of the bow being finished. I'll not use Diamondwood and C/A glue for nock overlays ever again. three bows, six failed glue joints. buffalo horn and Urac 185 has never failed.
here is the bottom limb of same bow with replacement horn overlay.
it's a little beat up from two season worth of hunting. I'll refinish the whole bow once I get the upper nock reshaped and am sure it's fixed for good.
Ahh how I missed this thread. Good stuff, Jamie. One of these days I'd like to try shooting some wood arrahs.
well, it is sacrilege of the highest order to shoot a carbon or aluminum arrow out of a handmade wooden bow, so I keep shooting woodies to keep up appearances.
she's been rode hard and put away wet. perhaps my best work; definitely top 3. not overly concerned with finish work now beyond keeping moisture out. she gonna be a little uglier now, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. this bow has good mojo. enough to kill an elk, methinks.
finally got my sorry ass out to the shop to finish my overlay replacement project. I got a bottle of bad glue; Loc-tite gel cyanoacrylate. I was lucky that these glue failures didn't cost me three bows. caused me plenty of headache having to fix them all, but that is much less effort that making a new bow.
this is the overlay that came off.
I made these nocks a little too small. the material is pretty thin where it broke when the glue let go, which is where the string groove was filed out.
I left the horn a little thicker this time. the whole nock is slightly chunkier now, a little stronger.
Braced, ready to shoot. the pucker factor is pretty high when shooting a new wooden bow or a repaired wooden bow for the first time.
this is the first three shots from about 15 yards. a smidgen low, but I'm feelin' the love.
I shot a dozen or so more arrows with no ill effects on the bow. Hell, it's better now than when it was new. I'll shoot it a few more times before I finish sand and try to make her pretty again. or maybe I'll just paint it flat black and be done with it.
this is the overlay that came off.
I made these nocks a little too small. the material is pretty thin where it broke when the glue let go, which is where the string groove was filed out.
I left the horn a little thicker this time. the whole nock is slightly chunkier now, a little stronger.
Braced, ready to shoot. the pucker factor is pretty high when shooting a new wooden bow or a repaired wooden bow for the first time.
this is the first three shots from about 15 yards. a smidgen low, but I'm feelin' the love.
I shot a dozen or so more arrows with no ill effects on the bow. Hell, it's better now than when it was new. I'll shoot it a few more times before I finish sand and try to make her pretty again. or maybe I'll just paint it flat black and be done with it.