Love it when I learn something new!  Arrow node is something I never heard of before Arctic Hunter.  Thanks for that!

2016 and 2018 depending on which bow I'm shooting.

Quote from: barebo on December 24, 2025, 10:11:22 AMKirkll, that is the highest compliment from someone that builds incredible bows in several styles. I've made just over 90 self and backed bows since '99 but work over a tarp with a vise in our utility room.
Never was able to attempt a glass bow for lack of a "real" shop. Rasp, drawknife and a few files. Been fun. Lots of sandpaper to boot!

I never really got serious about building self bows from staves, or even laminated board bows. But... I sincerely appreciated the bowyers that do. There is much more to it than meets the eye. The difference between building glass and carbon backed bows and an all wood bows is night and day, and both require a skill set learned best though trial and error.

 I never could get past the heart break of loosing so many wood bows. The humidity and moisture content seriously affects a finished self bow, and string follow issues can result over time, and longevity is a roll of the dice depending on how much use they get and how they are stored when not in use. You really need to be in love with the whole process building self bows and board bows, and accept the high mortality rates.

With glass backing it's a different story. Your true tillering is done with the form geometry and taper rates , and wedges used in the core. Fine tuning is done with width profiling and a bit of trapping, and sanding glass. A drum sander and milling your own tapers and wedges is a must to successfully prototype new designs, and draw weights can vary a lot with only .010-.015 thousandths of an inch in thickness. Learning to build custom bows to exact specifications takes a lot of experience and keeping a very precise bowyers log. Even then, you get different results using different materials.

I appreciate the self bowyers out there, and their passion for the trade.

I wish you the best of luck as you follow your passion.  Kirk

Quote from: Stringwacker on Today at 11:18:16 AM

Quote from: buckeyebowhunter on December 27, 2025, 02:39:51 PMFor the last couple years I've been shooting 2018s from 50ish lb bows with reasonable success. My arrows weigh about 630 grains.

Was wondering what shafts everyone preferred for 50-55lb bows. I shoot 200 grain snuffers up front.

I'm shooting 2018's out of a 47# @ 27" draw bow. They perfectly bareshaft with 135 grain head weight giving me a 528 grain arrow. I've killed four animals this year with it and I have been pleased.

Just curious, you shoot a heavier bow than I do, but are using a much heavier head weight. Is that what your bareshaft tuning lead you to?

Yes, they bareshaft okay from it. I have them cut pretty short about 29" and shoot 4 fletch with big feathers. Over the years I've put less stock into bare shaft tuning and focus more on tuning with a broadhead and feathers.

This is interesting. I've done a lot of research on this exact topic lately. I shoot 5mm shafts and have probably been nerding out on trying to build a more forgiving setup. I've had bows that just tuned easier than others, and I've tried to figure out why.

I've noticed that Olympic and barebow shooters try to keep the arrow node behind the rest. There was a good explanation by a barebow shooter on how that creates a more consistent paradox of the shaft as it leaves the bow, and a more forgiving paradox to a bad release. Looking back at the arrow setups, I've noticed the easiest tuning and most forgiving set ups all had a longer insert and the arrow shaft was cut almost to the riser to get good bare shaft flight. Which I hypothesized was moving the arrow node back behind the pivot point on the strike plate. I checked my current arrow setups ups, which I've had some issues with, and all the nodes were in front of the pivot point.

I guess my theory is, it might not make a lot of difference in how much the shaft flexes or the dynamic spine, but it could make a difference in how consistent the shaft flexes around the riser and leaves the bow. I'm going to try some longer inserts and lighter tips to move the node, just to see if it makes a difference.

Idk... I'm bored, currently injured, and need something to tinker with.

All of my bows hang vertically from dowels. There are selfbows, sinew, hickory and boo backed bows with my Treadway longbow, the recurve was my first bought Trad bow built by Jeffery's and a R/D style long bow I got in a bow trade here on Trad Gang. A few arrows, shafts and quivers thrown in for good measure.

I give up. It shouldn't have to be this difficult. 

Another try.

Here another DIY version.  I added a small shelf on top for socks and misc stuff.

Sometimes my pictures post, sometimes they don't. Anybody know the secret?