wood arrow grain

[Kent57]

I thought that the grain of wood arrows was supposed to lay horizontally when the arrow is on the shelf of the bow, is this true? I read a article about building wood arrows that has me second guessing myself.

[Bud B.]

perpendicular to the riser, horizontal with the shelf/ground when the bow is held upright for shooting.

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=134383;p=2

[swampthing]

picture these as grain   =  orientate that way
against the sight window

[joe skipp]

[snag]

You got it right Kent.

[D.Ellis]

Don't forget, the rift.......points of grain runoff should be on the top with the points forward......if the shaft breaks the sharp goes up and away instead of down and thru your hand.
Top of arrow should look like this(if there is grain runnout).
nock>>>>>>>>>>>>>point
Darcy  

[snapper1d]

D.Ellis I was told that was unnecessary because you never see it happen.I make mine just like you say because there is always that first time that a broken shaft can go through your hand or wrist and end your shooting forever or even the use of your hand forever.I dont take chances because of Murphy's Law and it always happens to me.

[Jon Stewart]

I just fletch them , use them and don't pay any attention to the wood grain.  Been doing it this way for 50 years with no problems.  Can't say it hasn't happened but I have never seen an arrow blow up coming out of a recurve or longbow.

[Dave Lay]

Originally posted by D.Ellis:
Don't forget, the rift.......points of grain runoff should be on the top with the points forward......if the shaft breaks the sharp goes up and away instead of down and thru your hand.
Top of arrow should look like this(if there is grain runnout).
nock>>>>>>>>>>>>>point
Darcy          

very good point that alot of people are unaware of.   a arrow can be cracked from a shot and the user not know it untill it breaks at the next shot...

[MO Bow]

I am by no means a master at making wood arrows, but I just wanted to ask a question about the post that Jon Stewart put out.

I thought that when the spine of an arrow is measured, it is measured perpendicular to the grain because that is the strongest edge against flexion...Kind of like an I-beam.  You don't build a structure with all your I-beams laying on their sides.  

When I make arrows for myself or for others, I pull out shafts that are matched to the pound.  If I fletch those all willy-nilly, instead of having the grain perpendicular to the bow, that will mess up the initial spine measurement and now I don't have consistent arrows.

I understand that what works for you, works for you, but if your goal is to have consistent flight among your quiver of arrows and you asked for a specific spine...even if it was a 5-lb range...you have to fletch them all the same.  

If you ran the grain parallel to the riser, then your arrows will fly weaker than advertised.  I can't tell you by how much, but they will be weaker.

[fujimo]

x2 on the above.
also- i was out stump shooting the other day- and trying to "thread the needle" thru some brush.
when i retrieved my apparently perfect arrow, i hesitated for a second, seeming to think the arrow just sounded a little different!!
so i did a quick flexion of it before my next shot, and the arrow shattered-
that was a very close call- as i couldnt see the break!!!

thats my first hand- very real experience!!

[Kent57]

Thanks  My friends. I appreciate all your info. This truly is a brother hood here. Thanks

[Grey Taylor]

Kent, I'm curious what article you were reading that seemed to be pointing you in a different direction.

Guy

[Walt Francis]

I have a scar on my right arm that says the rift matters.  Also, the rift is opposite when you shoot your brothers arrows setup to shoot right-handed from the opposite side.  I'll give you one guess how I found out.

[Kent57]

Guy, I read it on the web, on a trad. site but I can't remember which one exactly. I'll let you know if I find it again.

[Gordon Jabben]

I have always made my arrows with the grain perpendicular to the riser as described above but I have wondered if it was necessary. I have never been able to tell any difference in spine when turned parallel.  I just checked a hand full of cedar shafts on my spine tester and found no change in spine whether they were horizontal or vertical to the shelf of the bow.  I think Jon's right and it doesn't make any difference but I will still make them like I always have.

[Orion]

Mo Bow:  If you only have a dozen shafts say with a 5# variation, and you want to get them all as close together in spine in the finished arrow, you can do it by turning the arrow such that the stiffest spine is not always perpendicular to the riser.  However, that's not the way to bet.

What most of us do is buy a lot more shafts so we can get a close, even exact spine match for 12 shafts, for example, all with the grain oriented perpendicular to the riser.  Other shaft spines will be made into different groupings.

Regardless, most folks won't notice and certainly can't shoot the difference in 5# of spine.  That's why spines are generally grouped in 5# increments.  If you orient all of them with the grain perpendicular to the riser, even though the spines don't match exactly,they'll still shoot better than most have the capability to shoot them, and they'll be less susceptible to breakage.

[MO Bow]

I agree with you 100%

But seeing as I'm anal retentive and a control freak, I've got to get my arrows as close to the same as possible.  That way I can only blame myself when I mess up a shot.

[rraming]

I've posted this before - point on left, nock to the right