I have made some tapered POC 80#-85# arrows. I made sure the nock was positioned correctly in relationship to the grain for strength. I have been shooting them for several weeks now. This morning 2 out of 5 blew up on me. They split the nock and up the shaft for about 8"-10". The part that split away from the shaft is about 1/4 of the shaft. The arrow made it out of the bow for about 5 yards...in pieces. That will wake you up! Too much excitement that earlier in the day. My dog just walked away with his head down as if to say, "you are on your own now!" lol Is this just to be expected with the quality of POC today? Is there just going to be a percentage that will do this? Should I have spotted this problem in the shaft when making these? I thought if the nock was lined up perpendicular to the grain this wouldn't happen..?
Highly unusual indeed. Sounds like the spilt ends about where the taper starts, yes? May I ask how you tapered them and what diameter the shafts were to begin with? Glad you are not hurt!!! What weight/type bow are you shooting? To answer your quality question, no, you should not expect a certain percentage of shafts to fail.
Snag,
I read on another thread that you were shooting a 55# recurve. If this is the bow you were shooting these arrows out of, that spine is way too heavy IMO. I would bet that the shaft was kicking off the riser pretty hard (though possibly not too noticable) instead of bending around it like it should. If there was a flaw (weak spot) in a shaft, that's a good way to find it!
These shafts are fine for this center cut recurve. The arrow flight is excellent. They aren't kicking off the riser. Infact the bowyer had me try this bow out with the same spined arrows when I went to pick it up. He told me because it is center cut you can shoot a wider range of spines out of it.
What knocks are you using?
Yep. I'd look at the nocks as well. If the shafts are splitting from the nocks, that means the nock is failing first. I'm assuming you have straight grain, i.e., that the grain isn't running off the shaft in the first 8-10 inches. If it is, this could cause the break as well.
They are Classic nocks, new from 3Rivers.
QuoteThey are Classic nocks, new from 3Rivers.
Well there ya go :goldtooth:
Agree with several posts above. Shaft won't split unless nock splits first.
Further, grain orientation is more about avoiding injury if the arrow breaks in the middle, not about not splitting at the nock--not since self nocks gave way to plastic.
An unusuall problem. I shot a well glued classic nock off one of my P.O. Cedar arrows yesterday. I had to cut the remnants off the shaft but the shaft itself was undamaged. The only nock splits I have ever had came from other arrows pegging them.
One of the nocks split in half. The one half stayed glued to the arrow.
snag,
Glad you were not hurt! It could have very easily ruined your day and your bow. Wish I could be of more help to you, but I really do not have a clue without seeing the arrows.
Take care and try not to hurt yourself before the big Oregon Bunny Hunt in April.
God Bless,
Paul :)
Snag-
I believe it must be Karma catching up with you for holding out on getting the Forgewood business up and running. :readit: :rolleyes:
Did you bare shaft with those arrows? If so, you may have damaged them before fletching and it just took a while to give. Otherwise, I agree with the others, the nock had to go first unless something else damaged the shaft.
Paul, look forward to walking in the fresh air and shooting some bows!
Molson, I did bareshaft them...but I don't know if those 2 were the ones I used...? As for the Forgewood business...it is hard to find a source of quality POC. Still talking with people. Haven't given up.
Snag, Have you tried compressing Sitka Spruce?
Did you try to open the nock to make it fit more loose on the string? The nock could have been cracked that way.
I had one split up the middle at the pointy end once without the point coming off. It was just a 'line' about 6 inches long.
I suspect that in each of these cases the wood was split before the arrow was made and we missed that. Possible?
Snag-
I'd bet the two that broke are two you bareshafted. If the nock stayed on the shaft, it had to have been stressed inside and finally gave up.
I've had it happen while bareshafting. I was fortunate in that my finish held the shaft together until it hit the target. I checked the other two that I was bareshafting with and could see small fractures forming. That is one reason why I don't recommend bareshafting with wood unless you are experienced with the process and with the wood.
Did they look like this?
(http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc272/IAOUTDOORSMAN/p2140016.jpg)
(http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc272/IAOUTDOORSMAN/p2140017.jpg)
These are two seperate arrows. NOT POC but Hex. No modification to nock, no bareshafting. Classic nocks split down center. I have never had a problem other than with the Hex Shaft. Same thing, nocks still glued to shaft, arrow exploded out of the bow.
I had a pack of classic nocks that did the same thing a couple of years ago. It was only out of this one pack of 100's white ones. I haven't had any problems since so i figured i just got a bad bunch.
Now THERE is something I never saw before! :eek:
In Snag's case, however, I think that Morrison of his is just too fast for his arrows. He should send it to me for safekeeping. ;)
Killdeer
Snag-I had a nock blow on me this weekend testing some new arrows. No damage to the bow,but it sure did whack my arm,man that hurt.Scared the daylites out of me,never had that happen before.Sure makes you gun-shy for a few shots.-----------Bone--
Yes, I've had plastic nocks break. I've never had a wrapped selfnock break though that I can remember. Jawge
But never had a nock break and split a shaft like that. Jawge
I have...lol ;) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/ashstyk/bows%202/IMGP1966.jpg)
No problems if you use a substantial arrow. :bigsmyl:
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/104%23_elephant_bow.jpg)
(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u31/snag23/DSC00569.jpg)
Evidently not an isolated case!
The last batch of 5/16" plastic nocks I ordered seem to be somewhat brittle (and more glassy looking) compared to the ones I've used in the past. But this actually helps me when a nock is hit while practicing. Just the ears break off instead of splitting the nock itself. But my shafts never ever split because of a simple thread wrap under the plastic nocks. Common thread coated with fletching glue is all it takes. -ART B
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/artcher1/AAA031.jpg)
Killdeer thanks for being concerned...lol But I couldn't let you take the risk with this bow!
Misunderstood what you meant by the nock staying on the shaft. Definitely a nock failure!
We've had three Classic nocks break on us this year. Seeing this has me wondering how common it is with the Classics. Prior to the past year, I've always used Mercury with no problems.
Great Photo Ron! You must've been down here in Ohio!!! You know our Bucks are much tougher than those Wolva...Wolver... whatever those little rodents are in Michigan. :D
The only nocks I have had split were too tight on the string, causing the string to wedge itself into the nock at the shot. You might double check and see that your serving is not too tight in the nock.
good luck!
Good advice. Thanks, David