Trad Gang

Want to make the .92 cent arrows for general purpose shooting and target practise, but I have a 29.5" draw and shoot a 55# bow.  Has anyone found a way to make the .92 cent arrows for that weight range and stay within 9-10 GPP?

Take your spine tester with you to the hobby store, and find you some shafts.

I give up... why 92 cents?

Me too whats the 92 cents   :dunno:    :dunno:

Go to the How-to section of the website, and there is a build along done for .92 cents. I believe that the poundage you are looking for is what Rob shoots, and he is the one who did the tutorial.

Bought ash 11/32" (?) dowels at the hardware store very cheap. (2 doz-$12.00) These spined stronger than I imagined but not enough for my heavier LB's. Fletched up some dozens & sent them to friends who claim they shoot great around 50#-55#. BTW, saw plenty of warps & bends on at least 25%. Straighten w/little effort.

Mike is right about what i'm referring to but it was presented by Mike MeCredy of Maddog bows and his was for bows up to 45-50 spine. I was wondering if anyone made any modification to his how to get the higher spine but at a loner draw lenght? I draw 29.5 to BOP.  Here the original link
 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000116  
I know Rob was expermenting with adding wt to the tail for heavier spine, not sure how it worked out.  I did a search for a follow up post but didn't find one.

the 92 cent birchers work just fine for me, up to 55# and 29" long.   :thumbsup:   not the most accurate shafts/arrows, but good for shot roving shots and not having to worry about busting or losing 'em.  i fletch them with left-over pieces of full length feathers and for some i use spent 38 cases for blunt points and internally foot them with 40-60 grains of nail.

Rob, do you think i could get them to work out at a 30.5 BOP lenght and 55# longbow?  What was the finished weight of yours?  And did you put the wt in the nock end to increase spine?

For less than a buck, you can't go wrong trying.  Let us know how it works.

Cheap arrows for practice is not the way to become a better shot.I don't really see a lot of rocky terrain in MS that would lead to excess breaking.
If you break or miss too often, you're out of your comfortable shooting range. If you want to extend your comfortable shooting range, you should train for that on a big target first. Then refinement on a 3D.
I broke 3 custom cedar arrows behind the point last year. All are repaired with an arrow-fix footing and are as good as new. You don't go out to the gun range to sight your rifle in with ammunition that has inconsistant powder loads in it. Why do it with your bow?

Because premium wood arrows aren't cheap, like you stated.  Alot of us just flat out like to watch the arrow fly,  and if breaking a few won't hurt the pocket book then have it and make up some cheapies to have fun with.

I know at the range I shoot .38 instead of .357 because they are cheaper.

Either way I'm out having fun at very little expense.

I sure don't think the .92 arrow isn't accurate enough. They certainly perform as good if not better than I am capable of shooting them.  These were at 20 & 25 yards from 3 different bows ranging from 40-47 pounds at my draw.

(http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc157/pactac/100_2124_opt.jpg)

(http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc157/pactac/100_1965_opt.jpg)

(http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc157/pactac/100_1902_opt.jpg)

And even at 50 yards they do just fine

 (http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc157/pactac/th_50yardshot.jpg) (http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc157/pactac/?action=view¤t=50yardshot.mp4)

Roland,

Hey good input and you are correct as for rocky terrain here in south MS, but as Mike and Duane stated Cost and Fun factor is high on my list.  I just got back from the Howard Hill Classic and it was my first 3D event ever and I had a ball, but I also lost and or damaged some Carbon arrows at around $10 apiece time you round up feathers, shaft , points, inserts etc...This tends to take the fun factor out of it for me.  Now before I'm accused of being too cheap for this sport I'm not I have and will spend the money to enjoy what I like to do, but Traditional Archery is a lot about the "do it yourselfer" and if I can get a good arrow from a little effort and still get the accuracy I'm currently capable of I say go for it.  It seems to work for a lot of the fellow here, Duane that some good shooting at 50 yards!

I'm with Rob on this one, birch dowels sanded to what spine I am looking for. I have shot 75# spine weight out of a 55# wheel bow in a stump with no damage to the shaft. The birch dowels need constant straighting for hard use. If you get them straight they are accurate. No less than any straight arrow.

with a 125 grain point they typically weigh a bit over 500 grains.  i slather on some wipe on polyu to help keep them from warping too bad, and fletch up with left over full length feather ends (i have a big box of 'em).  the fletches are typically about 3.5" long and i just cut them to a kinda triangular shape with a pair of big scissors.  one straight cut per fletch.  i also set the fletches much further from the nock, 'cause the long feather ends need some room. they're fun arrows, for sure.

dunno if they'd work for a 31-32" arrow @ 55#      

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/birch1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/birch2.jpg)

If you use a shaft tamer on those to compress the grain a bit you can get them to spine higher. Wieght isn't an issue, with the right point you can get them to weigh in over 600 gr no problem. I didn't feel like buying a $40 shaft tamer so I made one from a piece of elk antler that works well to bone (burnish) the shafts.

Mike when you "burnish" the shaft is that just rubbing another smooth object against the shaft to cause fiction and in essence temper it?  When do you know how much is good?

"burnishing" is one way to straighten a woodie, applying heat and hand pressure is another.  i use both.  my burnishing tool is a steel guitar slide ...

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/steel1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/steel2.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/steel3.jpg)

I use Wally Worlds "Best" Ramin Dowels to make My Arrows!  Sometimes to go through the Whole Bin to find semi-straight dowels, but My Time is Cheap!
Have purchased Hardwood Dowels at the Lumber Yard, but they All seem to shoot pretty much the same. I use 5/16 for my 45-50# LongBows.

Mississippi... yes just another smooth object on the wood to cause heat and temper thrugh friction.  I can't explain when it been enough, it just looks stright and a bit glossy.

Thanks Rob and Mike.

3/8" birch dowels spine in the mid 80s mostly, and if you leave them long, use a heavy point, and/or sand the middle of the shaft, they will work fine.

You can buy them from American Woodcrafters for around $25.00/100.

I'm in dire need of some arrows, and I think these will fit the bill nicely.  That way I can save my cane for hunting arrows.  Only problem is I don't see 5/16" dowels on the woodcrafters site.  Everything there jumps from 1/4" to 3/8".  Where are y'all finding the 5/16" dowels?

Folks, be very, very careful using hardware store dowels for arrow shafts. They can be dangerous if you don't know how to read the grain properly. A defect that may not look that bad could put a broken shaft through your hand. Not for the beginner.

QuoteOriginally posted by jonathan creason:
I'm in dire need of some arrows, and I think these will fit the bill nicely.  That way I can save my cane for hunting arrows.  Only problem is I don't see 5/16" dowels on the woodcrafters site.  Everything there jumps from 1/4" to 3/8".  Where are y'all finding the 5/16" dowels?

"woodcrafter", not "woodcrafters" (http://www.woodcrafter.com/d04516inx36indowelpk100.aspx)

QuoteOriginally posted by Don Stokes:
Folks, be very, very careful using hardware store dowels for arrow shafts. They can be dangerous if you don't know how to read the grain properly. A defect that may not look that bad could put a broken shaft through your hand. Not for the beginner.

I was wondering about this, what's the best inspection method?  I'm really interested in putting some of these together for stumping and all around practice, but am a total wood arrow newb.

http://www.americanwoodcrafterssupply.com/wooden-products/dowels.htm#Dowels

Here ya go, American Woodcrafters Supply.

Johnathon it's on  www.woodcrafter.com (http://www.woodcrafter.com)  item # d04 $21.50 / 100ct

Carpmaster, I recommend buying arrow shafts from a reputable dealer before going to dowels, to get some experience and learn what good grain looks like. When you learn to read the grain, then you can select your own. BTW, ramin wood is the most difficult grain to read of any species out there, and I don't recommend it to anyone. I've seen it shear off and stick in the target twice! That happened to Dan Quillian, and he quit using ramin after that. Ramin is so difficult to read because it's a tropical hardwood and doesn't have regular growth rings like most woods available to us.

$20 for a matched set of Doug Fir shafts, 2x 4.5" feathers cut out of one full length one for 30 cents per full length feather, makes 45 cents for 3 fletch, field point 30 cents, plastic nock 15 cents, 20 cents for finish, thread and glue.
Result: A good arrow for $2.80 a piece. Even lower with self-nock.
There is a reason why wood arrow shafting costs more than "hardware store dowels". Grain orientation, imperfections, spining and weighing costs labor and leads to more "waste wood" in the production process. This must be paid for. I have seen too many hardware store dowel arrows arrive at the target as two arrows. And those guys were damn lucky with their bowhand. With the cost of a hospital stay in the US, I would never consider hardware store dowels. But to each his own.