Anyone ever try this tool for adding weight to shafts?ever try it on 11/32 cedars?what do you use for weight?

ask Rob,he knows all about them.you stick on the jig and drill the hole.then you insert a finish nail cut to fit.then you glue on your head.i believe that is all there is to it.Rob knows more about it.hope this helps,steve

I have heard very good thing about this jig. Its on my list of thing to get ..lol. As far as what to use? Anything from nails, steel round stock, copper etc. I have even though about molten lead or solder?

Do you taper the shaft first?

Rob said you can do it either way but untapered would seem to be easier i would think.jmo,steve

yes, works on both untapered and tapered, BEST on untapered.  the shaft MUST have a good fit inside the jig body.  if too loose, the bit *might* drift.  i've drilled out many dozens of shafts for footings.  some i use iron nails for an added 60-70 grains of weight, some i use bamboo just to stiffen without weight.  love the internal footings, really helps stop the weak part of the shaft from snapping when it hits a rock.    

Thanks for the pics and feedback sir.

I like 1/8" lead wire for weight.  At 35 gr/in, it is heavier than the other metals except for tungsten, and pretty cheap, $1/foot.  Tungsten is great, except expensive, harder to find and hard to cut.

I drill my hole differently, but the end result is the same.  I like it.

I am shooting 5/16 shafts and the jig at 3R is for 11/32 shafts. will it work on my shafts. I am now melting lead and adding to my 5/16 points to make 160 gr heads but would like to use a nail for strength and weight but am not sure if I can use the jig on my shafts????

That's a neat little system there Rob, thanks for the pics. If I decide to stick with woodies I may have to check into that?

Not to highjack this thread, but thanks Rob.
The pictures sure do help when considering this option. Saw the jig in 3R. cat.

May buy now and use it on some Surewoods Ric is making for me.

My dad just did some cedar shafts for me with the internal footing jig from 3Rivers.  He used a big nail and ground the head off.  

According to my calculations these shafts with the internal foot and 190 grain tip are 20.9% FOC.

Anyone ever internally foot a hardwood footed shaft?  I'd like to see what you could get the FOC of one those up to.   I imagine with Brazilian IPE and lead internal footing you could get a pretty wicked arrow FOC wise... although it does seem a little like wearing belt and suspenders!

Buckwheaties,

Yes you can use the tool for your 5/16 shafts, just put a couple of wraps of blue painters tape around the shaft in a couple areas to get the proper fit and then drill. I think Rob posted this with pics in the .92 cent arrow build in the how to section.

I have done both internal and hardwood foot. But I have found that with hardwood foot I havent needed the internal foot for my setup. I normally use the internal foot on parallel shafts to get the total grain weight up to my specs not so much for strength. In an older post I listed some of my FOC results with internal and with hardwood footings, dont know how to search for that info. I was not getting extreme FOC but I wasnt needing it to get my weight and great arrow flight. Seems like I was in the upper teens and lower 20's for FOC and it was working great out of my selfbows.

I find internal and hardwood footings well worth the effort on my wood shafts.

Thanks Americanhunter7, never would have thought of that simple solution.. I'll do it.

yep, like john said - the jig will work just fine with 5/16" shafts by wrapping with tape for a snug fit inside the jig, which insures the shaft end will be centered properly.  you can reuse the tape a whole buncha times, too.

after the initial hole is drilled, i remove the jig and run the drill bit in as far as it will go, to allow for more nail.  if i don't wanna add weight, just stiffness, i use a bamboo bbq skewer instead of a nail.

also, i like using iron nails for the foot weight cause they're cheap and heavy enuf.  just dremel or hacksaw off the head, resulting weight is shy of 70 grains, trim and weigh on a digital scale to match up all the weights.  epoxy or cya glue'em in.