made a quick one tonite,and made a slideshow...
here is what i used.
pc of seasoned dogwood...
4 strands of sinew...
a heat source...
2 turkey feathers...
pine pitch...
dacite stemmed point...
sharp knife...
animal fat...
quick rundown,
roughly clean up the bark and twigs from the dogwood branch.
somooth up just with sharp edge of blade acting like a scraper.
shape nock area into a nice "dome" shape.
take a course of sinew and rienforce the nock about 3/4 inch from the end.
then use your sharp knife to split the dome , only to the wraping.
then i cut the shaft to desired length,and use the leftover pc to take a donor "wedge".
take this donor wedge and make sure it is as wide as the nock, no more.
then wedge into the split into the dome shaped tip.
push it down to the wraping.
take two turkey feathers and cut them to desired length.
pull off excess like pictured in the slide show.
tie down the featheres to be upside down and away, as pictured with the second course of sinew.
now adjust feathers so that when laid flat the feathers will line up with wedge nock.
then use a wrapped whip technique to tie down feathers, be sure to pull down tight,and secure them with the third course of sinew.
i cut my notch to fit the arrowhead stem,but you can do the same method as the nock end at the tip, but you must use a slightly longer wedge and double the length from the notch back from the front of the arrow and wrap.
now i heat up my pitch stick,and apply to a pre heated notch,then to a preheated point,and then i fit together and work thepitch and fill in all the voids in thenotch to make a seamless fit.
then i heat up a little more pitch and work it around behind the "shoulders" of the point and smooth down nicely.
i then take my last course of sinew and wrap behind the tip to realy secure it down and prevent splitting of the shaft.
* note * if you used the wedge method ,the wedge will act as a "wall" to the stem on the back of the head and not loose energy to the shaft by splitting it ,but instead it will keep driving home as it is a very sturdy setup.
http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x74/michbowguy/?action=view¤t=38414da9.pbw
MBG: Thanks for the inspiration and the wonderful slide show. Your wedge technique is new to me. We have red osier dogwood here, too, and it is wonderful stuff to work with. I love to use it for atlatl dart shafts. Also have some dacite deposits in a few places. I find it a bit harder to knap than obsidian, but love the look and feel. I'll have to make myself an arrow straightener.
Very best to you!
Bill
dogwood is good, hazel,maple viburnum..heck just about anything that doesnt have too much pith.
mbg
Nice job on your arrows.
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f165/ROY-CHRIS/2007arrows024.jpg)
sheesh...nice job with yours!
Very nicely done! Like the wedge trick...Learn something new everyday.
Tim
Like Tim said very nicely done and learning new stuff every day.
Roy: Those shafts look like river cane. Are they? Very nice job.
Hey Jamie,
Im wonderin,if i may know that rasp in the background?LOL
Yes they are river cane Bill, thanks. Roy
(http://www.geocities.com/roy2953/2007arrows019.jpg)
yes you do traxx!
i think i have some of your clients toenails in it!
and no the shaft is red osier.
Michigan: Details on your pitch stick? Out here in Oregon the preferred pitch is ponderosa pine. What are you using?