Arrows

[longbow]

Hello folks,

Finnaly got some spare time so decided to waist it making arrows .

 

You dont need many tools to make arrows,just the basics and a baby vice will do for a servicable job.

 

First thing you need to do is find which way the grain travels through the wood,you want to follow the grain when you make a 2" cut for the Insert.

 

You need to file and sand the Buffalo Horn until it's no thicker than 1/16",you can make it wedge shaped if you want but i prefer a nice straight sliver.

Pinch some of this stuff from your girls dressing table and pour over the horn and the cut in the wood,nail varnish remover has Acetone in it which is a great wood degreaser .

Once dry (it takes seconds for the Acetone to evaporat) use a two part epoxy glue and liberally cover the horn and push some into the bottom of the cut,push the horn into place and clamp shut for a few hours,ideally 24hrs.

When cured you need to file and sand the excess horn away.

 

Once the Horn is tidy its time to smooth down the shaft,i use 120,320 and 600 grit paper then finish with 000 steel wool,it only takes a few moments and the shaft feels silky smooth afterwards.

Once prepped its time to apply the stain,i like my shafts quite lite for English arrows so i use three coats of Danish oil and finish with a spray on Lacquer.

After the staining the grain can lift somewhat but this is easily sorted out with a quick buffing with the steel wool.

 

For Fletching i'm using these Barred Turkey feather's (cant get any Goose until september!).

Cut the fletching's to shape then arrange the shaft in the jig and glue on the feather,taking care about positioning,its easy to ruin a arrow at this stage.

[longbow]

I used Guttermans top stich to whip the Feathers (the green one this time).

 

 

The thread needs protecting from the rain etc so i coat mine in PVA glue,i like using pva because it dries clear and leaves a nice shine over the thread.

 

Now the fun bit ,these heads are hand forged by John Marshall.

Type 8B for armour penetration.

Type 7 for mail.

type 14C for Nags.

 

 

Cut the shaft for the arrow socket,you want to leave as much wood in the socket as possible.

Again degrease the metal and wood with the acetone then glue the head into place with a two part epoxy,i use Araldite.

[longbow]

Swallowtail 37.47grms.

3/8" Ash shaft.

7.5" barred turkey 1/4" tail.

Green thread whipped twice per inch.

 

second arrow.

Type 8B 25.36grms

3/8 ash shaft

7.5" barred turkey 1/4" tail.

Green thread whipped five times per inch.

 

Take care folks

Andy

[miguel]

cool!!

 

Where can I get the arrowhead?

[Pertinax]

The 14c is the large headed unit at the bottom of the shot?

Very nice presentation btw.

[longbow]

Yes mate,the 14C is the Swallowtail.

 

Miguel,all those heads are hand forged by a Arrowsmith,they are exact reproductions of Medieval English warheads and quite expensive .

You can buy them online from Hector Coles,Mark Stretton and Simon Stanley.I get mine from John in Sheffield but he's underwater at the minute.

You can get Drop forged heads for a lot cheaper but there pretty crap,and not Accurate to say the least.

I get most my gear from Steve Stratton,but i buy my heads from John Marshall who doesnt have a website i'm afraid.

DIY archery

The top head is a hand forged Type 7

Bottom head is a drop forged type 7,quite the difference,especially in weight.

 

Here's a Type 1 Broadhead what i'm saving for a Livery arrow,Livery arrow is the same as the ones above but with Goose/Swan fletching,no Laqcuer and a 1/2" Ash shaft.

Edited June 26, 2007 by longbow

[Pertinax]

I would not like to attempt extracting the anti-nag head at all. Would you be aiming to drop this arrow at an angle so that it was tending to plunge downward into the flesh of the animal?

[longbow]

Believe me,its not easy to get them out of sponge targets never mind flesh .Historically the Horse killers were not glued onto the shafts,i do it because i dont plan on shooting any horses,Frenchmen however.....

There's a little hole in the socket for 'pinning' the head on,this way the archer can pull the shaft out,snapping the pin and leave the head in the animal,it takes too long to cut them out on a Battlefield.The heads were the cheapest part of the arrow,there not now bu they were then .

 

If you click on the image it will upload in higher resolution,may take a few mo's i'm afraid but you can see the pin hole at the base iof the socket.

 

As for shooting these big heads,as you can imagine you dont get anywhere the near the distance you would normally get with a smaller point,they tend to go up to a lower arc then plunge down rapidly,a lot moreso than normal.

With the right Bow you can shoot these heads straight for around 70mts before the arrow will start to drop,so i would aim high just for the trajectory of the shot,aiming plum for his chest.The point of the big head is to bleed the animal to death,put a hole in a horse that big and he'll die in a few moments,causing havoc as he thrashes.