On a cedar or other wood shaft, how do you cut self nocks? I can't keep the cuts straight and even.  Is there a link somebody can point me to?
Thanks

I use a jig something like the nifty nocker but
I can do 4 at a time

Sam, a lot of guys use the 3 hacksaw blades taped together.
I use a ceramic tile sw blade TNT fits in a hacksaw.

If you're cutting the nocks by hand then that tile saw blade rocks.
When you cut, if you frequently change sides of the shaft it will help you stay straight. For instance, start the cut on one side, do a few strokes of the saw, turn the shaft 180 degrees and do a few strokes on the other side. Alternate back and forth until the slot is fully cut.

Guy

I cut mine with a 1/8 inch router bit.

I use a Dremel

I use a single bandsaw cut and open up and shape the self nock with a thin blade knife and sandpaper folded over and over again until it fits the string.

Pretty labor intensive, but I make my first cut with a single blade hacksaw, then open that up with a tile saw, and finally finish with a chainsaw file. If you work slowly and carefully with the initial cut, everything else will follow.

Good luck!  

Those are nice looking nocks SCATTERSHOT, what do you use to wrap 'em with?
                             Will

Strong, thin thread set in glue will work to wrap below the nock but real sinew works best.
 I chew a strand of back sinew, wrap it and let it dry. Your saliva and the sinew will make its own glue. When dry I seal with pitch varnish, TBIII or super glue.

Thanks for the tips, guys. Now let's see if advice can be converted into functionality.

Question: If hardwood footings are used, is wraping still necessary, especially in bamboo?

I use a wrap on self nocks but not necessarily on splined (reenforced) self nocks, no matter if it is cane, cedar or hardwood, shoots or dowels.
 The 2 on the left are black walnut dowel arrows, then a sourwood shoot arrow and a hill cane arrow, all with sinew wraps below the self nock...


these are cedar shafts with rawhide splined self nocks and sinew wrap...


these are fully tapered ash shafts with osage spined self nocks and sinew wrap...


these are hill cane arrows with self nocks and sinew wrap...



...and then you have these hill cane arrows Art Butner made for me with maple footed self nocks and maple point footing...

  the cane is wrapped with thread set in superglue below the nock but the point footing is not. Note the color difference in the cane and maple footing. This joint is a long taper. I've only broke one of the footings loose when I hit a rock hard. Been shooting these arrows for 5 or 6 years now...

I make my first cut with a exacto razor saw then I use a tile saw to make the wider cut.  I use hardwood inserts and use the same procedure for that cut also.  I then use a emery board and a small file then finish it up with sandpaper.

QuoteOriginally posted by iohkus:
Those are nice looking nocks SCATTERSHOT, what do you use to wrap 'em with?
                             Will

Thanks. That is wrapped with unwaxed dental floss.

Three hacksaw blades and sandpaper. Real sinew