Cost of making your own arrows

Wudstix · June 11, 2012, 11:28:00 PM

Its a labor of Love. After you get the fletching gig and some stain. A dozen arrows cost about $45 to make.

Bjorn · June 11, 2012, 11:37:00 PM

I love making wood arrows, no idea if it costs less or not and don't really care. I have well over a thousand 50 year old POC squirreled away in the spines I need-my grandchildren will not run out of cedar.
When you make your own you can get them as close as you want, as pretty as you like, and flying as well as you like.

Flying Dutchman · June 12, 2012, 02:27:00 AM

There are two major factors involved:

- How many arrows dou yo use per year?
- do you enjoy making your own?

Ofcourse you have your starting-up investments, they are all summed up here.

I live in The Netherlands. When I make a premium arrow, my costs are € 4,15 per arrow. That is for the shaft, feathers, nock and fieldpoint. Ofcourse you need glue and stuff to make the arrow look pretty. When I want to buyt the same arrow I have to pay over the € 10,-. That is a difference of € 6,- per arrow, or € 72,- per dozen!

But what I didn't read yet here: when I break an arrow, I re-use everything. The end whith the fletching goes in the micro-wave. The glue melts and the feathers and nock come of easy. Sandpaper the arrows to remove the glue and you can re-use them! Heating the point will melt the glue. You can take it easily off then. I always collect all parts that come off from broken arrows. It goes in a special bag, ready for re-use.

The only costs for making a new arrow is the price for a new shaft then!

Another point is that all my starting costs were payed back, because I started to make arrows for friends. They were amazed how good my arrows looked and shot nd asked me if I was willing to make some for them. So you can actually earn some money with it too.

But you must enjoy it, otherwise you can better buy them.

I started making my owm arrows 3 years ago and I never looked back!

gregg dudley · June 12, 2012, 06:51:00 AM

QuoteOriginally posted by USN_Sam1385:
I hear a lot of guys tell me that they save a ton of money hunting deer, and eating the meat.

When you figure in time invested, camo clothing, ammunition or arrows, deer stands, gas to hunt, etc etc etc... it's cheaper to buy Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon from the grocery store.

But not near as enjoyable or fulfilling. ;-p

Fun costs money. If I played golf as hard as I hunted I would spend more money and have less backstrap!

kbetts · June 12, 2012, 08:19:00 AM

Priceless.......

deaddoc4444 · June 12, 2012, 09:59:00 AM

THE initial cost of your tools and equipment to make arrows is an INVESTMENT . MY BItzenberger Jig and MY JOJAN Jigs are well over 30 years old and are just as good as the day I bought them . MY YOUNG feather burner is at least 25 years old and I also still have older type burners that have no reostat and you have to plug them into the Iron and use that as such BUT they still burn feathers well. Cost is something that dissipates over the years .
ANYTHING I make my self for archery helps me to understand and know archery better.
I can experiment with all manner of changes in arrows when making them my self . I just cant conceive of NOT doing it my self .

grayfeather · June 12, 2012, 10:23:00 AM

I think it will cost you alot more to make your own arrows.Shafts $45 tyd,crester $130-$175, feathers $43x2,you want to get a 100 at a time, then maybe a burner, cresting paint,glue nocks points etc.Oh yes, spine tester $220.I can get really great arrows from ALL WOOD ARROWS, but then i did not make them myself.I really like making arrows myself.So if you like doing stuff like that then,go for it !

Mike Mecredy · June 12, 2012, 10:41:00 AM

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000116

Roy Steele · June 12, 2012, 11:56:00 AM

Most people don't biuld arrows to save money.

Flying Dutchman · June 12, 2012, 02:40:00 PM

Nore do I

lpcjon2 · June 12, 2012, 03:52:00 PM

Making arrows is a passion, after you have all the essentials the price doesnt even get factored in.

As Mike said if you can get a set of custom arrows made for you for #125.00 take it and look at what attention to detail and pride was put into it. Then later when you get the desire to start on your own, dive in. Its not about saving money its the pleasure you get from making and shooting them.

Mike Mecredy · June 12, 2012, 03:58:00 PM

I pretty much do it to save money, mostly because I don't have that much.

gringol · June 12, 2012, 04:27:00 PM

Ok, I think we may have confused the lad, guys. Making your own arrows WILL save you money, but it takes building a lot of arrows for the savings to become noticable. If you are burning through a ton of arrows due to the magnetic attraction of arrows to immoveable objects (trees, rocks, anything hard really) it may be worth it to start building your own.

If you are going to build your own, I suggest you start with the minimum and slowly work up if you like. The minimum IMO consists of:

-shafts
-taper tool
-fletching jig
-nocks
-feathers
-points
-glue
-finish

There are plenty of shaft manufacturers that produce very good, consistant shafts, so a spine tester and grain scale are not essential initially.

You could cut your own feathers, but that doesn't save you much money unless you have loads or raw turkey or goose feather lying around.

For glues and finishes you can save a little by using common hardware store stuff. Superglue is just fine for nocks and feathers. I would suggest hot melt glue for points. You can use just about any wood finish. Tung oil, True Oil, wipe on poly, and spar urethane will all work just fine. I'm partial to True Oil and tung oil myself.

If you enjoy building them you can always get into cresting and the fancy stuff later on.

JRY309 · June 12, 2012, 04:37:00 PM

For me personally no matter what the cost I prefer to make my own arrows.If I get some used arrows,I'll strip them and refletch them.

barebow17 · June 12, 2012, 04:44:00 PM

You can also build your own spine tester and cresting machine.

June 12, 2012, 04:56:00 PM

I make arrows for about ten people right now that either do not have enough money to experiment on what to get get or do not have the knowledge as just what to order. I only make wood arrows, tapered cedars from Wapiti. For those that know exactly what they need and how they shoot, it may be a wash, but for those that are new to this it is a huge advantage having someone like me around that can get them on the right arrow the first time around, especially since I usually don't charge anything. I would suggest that if one is new to traditional archery and their form has not settled down, that jumping in head first and buying a bunch of arrow building supplies may cost more than you think if you get the wrong stuff.

Brianlocal3 · June 12, 2012, 05:09:00 PM

Well thank you everyone for your information. I do have a fletcher, and taper tool. I also have a homemade spin tester, ( not spine tester) I'll look at picking up 1/2 doz 60-65 shafts and see what I can do. I also have an Amature wood shop in te garage, so all other things I.e. stain, sealer, sandpaper etc I already own. Ill give them a whirl and see what it comes out like.

WESTBROOK · June 12, 2012, 05:45:00 PM

Brian, do you have a disc sander? Its the best way to taper the nock and points.

Eric

jonsimoneau · June 12, 2012, 05:50:00 PM

I recently got back into building wood arrows. Not to save money although I do save some but mostly for the enjoyment of making them. There is nothing more satisfying than killing a deer with an arrow you meticulously crafted yourself. Size of the deer does not matter in this situation. The feeling of self-reliance is intensified.

barebow17 · June 12, 2012, 07:44:00 PM

Brian please post pictures when you build them.