Question for wood arrow builders

[J. Holden]

I'm wondering, for those that make their own wood arrows, do you find the stiff "side" of the arrow and orient it a certain way in relation to the shelf?

Thanks,

Jeremy

[Maclean]

Yes, stiff side perpendicular to the riser.

[Deno]

grain orientation

[trad_bowhunter1965]

ditto on Deno posts

[J. Holden]

Thank you for the visual.  Maybe I'm overthinking this, but what I meant to ask was whether the stiff side of the arrow should be in towards the riser, or on the outside of the bow.  Thanks!

-Jeremy

[Stumpkiller]

Just as Deno's graphic shows.     Stiffer, I guess, would be towards the riser.  But either side of the growth rings/grain should be equally stiff and perpendicular to the riser.

[Orion]

The grain orientation in the picture does place "the stiff side of the arrow in toward the riser".  Afraid I can't visualize what "on the outside of the bow" looks like or means.   

[Tim Finley]

The stiff side towards the bow . But without a spine tester you don't know which is the stiff side  . You or the shaft maker can spine one side of the arrow according to grain and rotate it 180 degrees and it maybe 7 to 10 lbs. different . Ands because the grain of the arrow is straight doesn't mean that's the stiffest part of an arrow . To really have perfect woodie's you need a spine tester.

[J. Holden]

Thank you Tim, that is what I was looking for.  I do have a spine tester and did find the side of the arrow that was more stiff.  Maybe I'm not understanding the pictures but they both show the same thing, just the grain orientation.  I did find that on some of the shafts they read 65 +/- and then when rotated would read 67 +/- for example.  I thought I remembered reading somewhere about the orientation of the more stiff side in relation to the riser.

-Jeremy

[gbarmer]

Yep, I spine both sides of the arrow with the correct grain orientation and build them so that the stiffer side is against the bow when the arrow is on the string. Both sides of the arrow should be within 1-2lbs of each other.

[Orion]

If you look at the orientation of the grain of the shaft on the spine tester, it will be stiffest when the grain is vertical.  Of course there are two orientations of this. You can flip it 180 degrees, and the grain will still be vertical and the poundage should be about the same. If you turn it 90 degrees, the grain will be horizontal on the spine tester and the poundage will be considerably lower.  Of course, when you put the arrow on the bow, you change the orientation from vertical to horizontal to get the stiffest orientation toward/perpendicular to the bow.

[Greenstyk]

I agree stiffer side toward the bow plus I put the runouts on top of the shaft pointing away from me. I’ve never had a shaft splinter upon release but the theory is if one does the sharp piece will go above your hand.

[Northofspokane]

Orientation of the growth rings as as shown in the image above is correct. This will naturally result in the stiffer side being either against the riser or opposite the riser that is not nearly as important as orienting the grain runout facing away from your hand or in the up direction. The V’s that face forward NEED to be on the top of the arrow. This is especially important when using Doug Fir. For your safety.
Respectfully
Chris B

[Northofspokane]

I’m sure some of you see my join date and think I’m a newcomer newbee.  I’m just old and can’t remember what my login was so I just took the easy route and created a new account. I built my first fiberglass bow in 1989 and my first selfbow that same year. I have owned an arrow making and built custom selfbows for years. I am not claiming I am always correct but I have a ton of experience in both building bows and arrows and hunting with longbows.  I have not always been active on these sites due to life events. I will try to get better at passing on years of experience to all those that might benefit from a whole lot of trial and error.
Respectfully
Chris B

[Northofspokane]

I have attached (I hope!) a photo of a Doug for shaft showing the correct GRAIN orientation I hope this is clear because an arrow splitting into the bow hand generally requires several surgeries to correct.

[trad_bowhunter1965]

I have attached (I hope!) a photo of a Doug for shaft showing the correct GRAIN orientation I hope this is clear because an arrow splitting into the bow hand generally requires several surgeries to correct.

Looks good

[dnovo]

I always orient my arrows with the grain as shown above. I do use a spine tester as there can be a few #'s difference from one side to the other. I quit worrying about the grain runouts long ago. Never had an arrow split that way in 50 years.

[Dave Pagel]

As NorthofSpokane showed is correct.  I believe the term for it is rift, but you want “point” of grain features on top and pointing away from you.

DP