Hey Fellas! My recent elk escapades have left me with naught but 4 arrows to shoot. I love the ease of carbon arrows, but I have heard too much about how special wood arrows are to just mindlessly buy more of the same.
That said, how hard is it to make a good batch of woodies? What special stuff would I need? Is it going to cost a lot more than my GT blems from BigJim? All I have at the moment is a cheap fletching jig. How hard is it to get them flying well with a decent FOC? I shoot a 68 lb bow at my 32" draw. Are wood arrows readily available in a stiff enough spine and at that length?
A dwarf with a 32" draw? :scared: I love and shoot woodies exclusively, but at 32 inches, you are going to be hard pressed to find arrows long enough. I shoot 30 inch arrows, and I draw 28 inches, so I cut off 2 inches from the shafts. For you, that could be a problem.
If you can find longer shafts, woodies are not hard to make, and you will find them to be quiet and forgiving.
The trouble would be getting them in length.
The length will be the issue, not the spine. Also, woodies don't typically do well with a whole.bunch of foc. It can be done, but you'll need to compensate by increasing spine which will increase gpi and you'll likely end up with an arrow in the 13/14 gpp range.
If you can find shafts long enough, you should go for it, just don't try for extreme foc.
GoldTips are 32 inches long, and wood arrows can be bought at that same length, I shoot full length arrows too, and I have NO trouble shooting woods, Wood arrows are really not that much trouble, Just takes a little more time to seal , stain or crest or whatever. Get a dozen and see for yourself, wood arrows are just a pleasure to make and shoot for me.
Yeah, everyone hit it on the head. Length of the shafts is the issue.
You'd have to go and get 36" dowels or something but thats a major pain in the butt and you'd nbeed a spine tester and grain scale to even start thinking about it ... plus IIRC from the dowels I have bought and spined (3/8" oak) I figured I would have to buy about 200 dowels to start makign reasonably matched sets ... that is within 5#spine and 10% weight. They'd also end up being like 700-800grains.
Although wood shafts are 32", when you taper them the most BOP you can really get is maybe 31"
Forrester is a sponsor on here. His company is forrester's wood shafts he does custom shafts for a very reasonable price. He made me some 34" shafts.
http://www.forresterwoodshafts.com/
With a 32" draw while it might be hard to find arrows there are a few wood vendors, like Kootenai River Archery. Might want to give them a try.
I like my shafts to be 32 and 1/8" (length of my GT's with a 100 grain insert). What do I need beside a fletching jig if I decide to make wood arrows? Is fletching tape still a valid option?
Also, I don't need crazy FOC. I would like it to balance a couple inches past center, because I think good flight is hard to achieve with less than that.
Wood shafts are typically all 32". You lose an inch for the point taper. Couple things you might try is using woody weights to gain length or you could use short section of aluminum shaft to foot them. You could get actual footed wood shafts made a bit longer for the length, but they are expensive especially for just starting out
Check out 'reparrow' this will give you a 35" shaft. Spine will be a problem for you-I recently spec'd arrows for a friend-32 1/2 draw 62#@32 recurve worked out to 110# shaft. You can get these from Surewood in Doug Fir. My Advise is stick with what you are using if they are flying well for you. Spectacular Elk BTW!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Wood arrows are fairly easy to make but like the others I think your draw length is going to make finding affordable shafts very difficult. In your shoes I'd stick with carbon or if looking for a change try aluminum.
Forrester shafts and try the leopard wood shafts.
Again with Forrester wood shafts. He can make em that long and add thickness up front for foc. Ill second the leopardwood shafts.Hard and heavy and beautiful. Good guy as well.
Another vote for the Forrester wood shafts. Great guy to deal with, and I also second giving the leopardwood shafts a try if he can make the long enough. Give him a call.
Native Americans took down Bison with wood arrows, good enough for me !
You can also get long shafts from Hildebrand.
Denny
They Look Cool!
Here are some of mine I made up for this years hunting
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y479/Wolfshead1/IMG_1990_zpsc32ce79f.jpg) (http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/Wolfshead1/media/IMG_1990_zpsc32ce79f.jpg.html)
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y479/Wolfshead1/IMG_1989_zpsba7e4cb1.jpg) (http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/Wolfshead1/media/IMG_1989_zpsba7e4cb1.jpg.html)
And I'm not that good...
You should see some of the other artists on here!
Reparrows will give you about 3 inches more length. You can buy any standard shafts and get the length you want by adding Reparrow footings. You do get a little bit more weight forward and a stronger front end.
http://reparrows.com
They look nice too. (//%5Burl=http://s33.photobucket.com/user/Reparrow/media/archery/8reparrow_zps93f1377c.jpg.html%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d72/Reparrow/archery/8reparrow_zps93f1377c.jpg)[/url] [/IMG]
Jim
Trumpkin,
Rob DiStefano, Trad Gang Admin guy, did a great tutorial that shows everything you need to make woodies. I made my first set a couple months ago and followed his instructions to the t.
Here it is... http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000119;p=1
I guess I should add that I just bought a dozen GT Blems from Big Jim though... :rolleyes:
I just havn't been able to get the woodies to fly quite right yet. I'm not giving up, I'm just not ready to fling them at deer yet.
Wow, I'm excited to see that Forester does Mahogany shafts. Too bad I have 2-dozen port oxfords hanging in my booth as of yesterday. I was thinking that black walnut or mahog would make for good a good spine for my 55# bows. Now I get to find out. Thanks guys!
HINT: IF you get 36" Dowels, I hope you have a Heat Gun! :thumbsup: They are a BIG Help when Straightening Dowel Rod Arrows!! Been There, and they work Great! Of course mine were only 27.5 long too, BUT I would think that would help too!!
Trump,
To answer your question, All you need essentially is a fletching jig, yes tape works so does glue. And a taper jig. I have used the pencil sharpener style but now use a disc sander.
Let your imagination fly, I like to use spray paint for the cap, stain the shaft and clear coat it with a spray clear coat polyeurothene. Follow some of the tutorials and you will be set.
x2 for surewood for heavy spined shafts. for finishing i use gasket lacquer and the squeege system... big dipper i think its called, and its super fast and easy. if you have a protractor and a disk or belt sander its super easy to make a taper jig for nock and point tapers. the pencil sharpener type taper tools are ok for cedar, but tear out the grain on fir. for cresting i use a very redneck rig i made with a drill. hot glue stick for points. here is my supplies for wood arrows: prices are approximate and based on my memory.
big dipper $12
gasket lacquer $24 a quart
taper tool made from stuff i had
crester made from stuff i had
cresting paint $1 tubes of craft paint
digital grain scale $30
hot glue stick $3
alcohol burning lamp (for melting glue) $6
arrow straightener screwdriver i already had
fletching jig $50
feather chopper $25
once you got all that stuff, it don't cost much to make a dozen, i get surewood premium shafts for $50 shipped, and full length feathers from Sagittarius archery for $30/100
ps. i have used leftover wall paint sponged on thin for cap dipped effect. works great. i use masking tape to mask off the area not to be "dipped" then crest over the transition. and leather dye works beautifully too.
here is a sample of last two dozens i made up. green one is house paint, brown one is leather dye.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130921_094434_301_zpsfba9bb4b.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130921_094434_301_zpsfba9bb4b.jpg.html)
Footed hexshafts from wispering winds, Bob Burton, works for me with 32inch arrows. Mike
Add a long hardwood foot and solve both issues. Increased FOC and increased length.
Trap
Add a long hardwood foot and solve both issues. Increased FOC and increased length.
Trap
Woodies are the best. Certainly the most quiet and aesthetically the most pleasing. This is an artsy photo of my shooters. Grousing arrows are always a little simpler of course. I'm in missoula and would be happy to show you the "deal". It's like flyfishing. Eventually you hate using anything but you own creation. I became the same way with the bow.
(//%5Burl=http://s128.photobucket.com/user/DeanTowarnicki/media/9-20-2013/09b3032b-3fd2-4735-9447-2ec227fe53ea.jpg.html%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p169/DeanTowarnicki/9-20-2013/09b3032b-3fd2-4735-9447-2ec227fe53ea.jpg)[/url] [/IMG]
Machino,
that Toelke is almost identical to mine! And those woodies look sweet. I ordered some more carbons the other day, but thank you for the offer.
Switched to natural woods a number of years ago w/no regrets. Can make up a dozen in no time. Fly great from my big bows & pack a punch. Also have a router & jig to make my own shafts pdq. You can even burnish at the same time as you whittle down the shaft to any length you want. Plenty of wood options & stains & fletch & even add-ons for FOC weight. Good luck
Not wood, but you can get bamboo spined up to 100lbs and 39 inches long.
Wood arrows are awesome. No need to say any more.
Have We All convinced ya yet???
Mr. Dwarf, It won't be easy to find woods spined heavy enough for a 68# bow @ 32". My chart suggests you will need 100-105# spine for that Whip.
If you need extra length get someone to foot you some shafts.
Jim is right, Reparrows are a good option for adding a few inches to a standard length shaft. They are tough, and work very well for repairing broken arrow tips, too.
I'll put in my two cents worth of response to the questions:
It isn't hard to make a good batch of wood shafts. It does require more than a little time and patience, though, and a bit of reading to get started on the process.
You'll need a fletching jig ( which you've already got), a point and nock taper tool, some Duco cement, hot melt glue (or epoxy), and your choice of a sealer for the shafts (oil or water based poly, tung oil, or similar). Stain if you want it. Likewise for cresting (these or of course optional).
Personally, I have found it way easier to get a good flying wood shaft, than a carbon. But carbons end up with high foc easier. Woodies do fine with moderate foc; I easily get good flight with 125grn points.
Spine will be no problem.
I've fletched up several dozen shafts now with tape, do a whole lot of roving in rough woods year round, and don't recall having any problems due to the tape.
Others have offered great advise on length.
Now I am no expert by any means. Shot wood for a few years, tried a couple of sets of carbon, went back to woodies and learned how to make them, this was just a year or two ago. I find it very satisfying to make them, and much prefer shooting them.
Enjoy your journey.
I have been shooting Doug Fir from Sure wood for a while now. Great people He can fix you up with stiff enough arrows. They list them 100-105 spine way stiffer than you need Give them a call. They are also a sponsor.