Footed wood arrows?

steadman · February 12, 2009, 06:13:00 PM

I am going to try to make some footed shafts this weekend. They will only be 2 splice, as I don't have a jig or router at the time. My question is: How long of a foot and how long of a splice would be best? I am thinking 6" on both. What do you guys think? Thanks.

Orion · February 12, 2009, 07:11:00 PM

You can make whatever you want, but that is a little longer than "standard." The footed shafts I have (commercially made) have about a 4 1/4 inch spliced section and 3 1/4 inch solid section, the last inch of that being tapered, of course. A longer footing will give you more FOC. Good luck.

jonsimoneau · February 12, 2009, 08:36:00 PM

Yep. I made mine with about 4 inch wings and 4 inches solid. Next time I am going to make the solid part longer for more FOC. If I were you I would try about a 4 inch wing, and then 6 inches solid. This should give you great FOC.

steadman · February 12, 2009, 11:04:00 PM

Thanks guys. Jon you inspired me to try this. How'd yours turn out? They looked great.

jonsimoneau · February 12, 2009, 11:24:00 PM

Steadman, they have come out great! I don't have them fletched yet, but I have crested them and stuff. I will try to post a picture. Don't worry, it is not as hard as it seems.

steadman · February 13, 2009, 12:00:00 AM

Sweet! Looking forward to the pics.

jonsimoneau · February 13, 2009, 12:22:00 AM

Damn battery on the camera is dead. I'll get them up as soon as I can. That purple heart wood looks sooo good after it is sanded with fine sandpaper, cleaned and then dipped in sealer 5 times!

jonsimoneau · February 13, 2009, 12:54:00 AM

Here are some not so great pics, but you get the idea Steadman.

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jonsimoneau · February 13, 2009, 12:55:00 AM

pics don't do much justice. They look really good. Have fun!

Dave2old · February 13, 2009, 10:53:00 AM

Has there been a good footed-shaft build-along thread here recently that I've missed? If so, can anyone point me to it? It would have to be aimed at folks like me who have never done this before and lack fancy shop machines. I have a bandsaw but wouldn't trust it for cuts so fine. If no such thread exists, maybe someone can provide us with one. Much appreciated, dave

unclewhit · February 13, 2009, 11:21:00 AM

Hey Jon those look great, I've started a few more, what a great way to recycle broken shafts.
Get some feathers on those puppies, then you can post them here for a give away.HA HA only teasing, shoot them with pride buddy.

jonsimoneau · February 13, 2009, 11:33:00 AM

Dave, I did these with cheap hand tools. You don't need anything fancy to do 2 wing footings, but the 4 wing footings require a jig, and it looks more complicated. I did these with just a small thumb plane like you get at any hardware store, and sandpaper. The first one took awhile, but the others went much faster.

I used the footing billets that 3 rivers sells. But with your bandsaw you could easily make your own.

my wings are around 4 inches. I cut my shaft to the length so that after the footing wsa attached it would come out the length I wanted.

Then I marked the arrow 3 3/4 inches from the point end. Now before we get down to wittling it down keep in mind that we are only planning down 2 sides of the shaft. You need to plane down the rift sides of the shaft. The idea is to take your small plane and wittle down from your mark to the point end. The arrow will come out as a wedge. Then take some sandpaper and smooth it up.

Next take your billet(either one you purchased or made yourself) and sand out the slot in it.

Now it is time to glue it together. You will need a good glue (I used gorrila glue) and three 1 1/2 in C clamps. Get the shaft wet on the end you wittled and apply the gorrilla glue. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Now just slide the shaft into the slot on your billet. Normally it is tough to get it in there on the first try, but after the glue gets in there, it becomes easier.

Once you have the shaft in there, eyeball it to make sure everything is straight. One wing may be sticking out further than the other, but it won't matter as long as everything is straight.

After the glue dries, take your small plane and simply start rounding off the corners of your billet. I normally start on the wings first. Take it down as much as you dare without getting into the original shaft.

Now just flip the arrow the other direction and plane it out towards the point. Once I get it close, I move on to the sanding stage.

For this I made a little tool that makes things easier. Take 2 pieces of 1x4 or 2x4 and cut them to about 6 inches long. Put them together side by side and tighten them into a vice.

Now drill hole longways, right through the seam where the two wood blocks meet. Make the hole just a shade bigger than the diameter of your shaft. Now undo the vice. You have 2 pices of 2x4 with a half circle groove down each side. Set one aside for now.

Take a piece of heavy grit sand paper and cut it to fit over the groove and down the sides. Clamp this into the vice with the groove side up.
Now take your shaft and sand away by pulling it back and forth and spinning the shaft as you go. At first, the shaft will not fit into the groove. When you sand it down to the point where it will fit into the grove, you can move on to the next step.

Take each block of wood and line both groves with sandpaper. Clamp it back together in the vice. Now just insert the shaft into the hole and start sanding again. You may at first need to adjust how tight the vice is. Eventually you will have it down to where the footing is exactly the same diameter as the rest of the shaft.

Clean the dust off it, straighten if needed and dip them in your sealer once.

From there you can go on to cresting and then dip 4 more times. After that all you have to do is put the nocks on, fletch them and taper the point end.

I hope these directions are not to difficult to understand. I'm making some more next week, and maybe I will try to do a buildalong.

The Spring 1991 issue of Traditional Bowhunter explains how to do all of this.

jonsimoneau · February 13, 2009, 11:38:00 AM

Forgot to mention that when you put the 2 blocks of wood together for the last sanding stage, you are using ligh sandpaper. The footing comes out so smooth it is almost like marbel.

By the way, if for whatever reason the footing end does not come out straight, you can straighten it by heat treating it pretty easily.

Before you seal them take an old sock and clean the shafts. This will get all of the dust out of the pores, and makes it look much better when it is done.

jonsimoneau · February 13, 2009, 11:40:00 AM

Unclewhit, I have actually thought about that. But first I better make a few dozen more for practice. Mine are coming out very well now, but there have been a few screw ups along the way.

huey · February 13, 2009, 03:10:00 PM

Dave2old there is a video on you tube, how I make arrows. I split four of my shafts the other day and as, unclewhit said, thought I would recycle some shafts. I did the same thing except, instead of spliting the foot I cut it.I would post a pic, but don't know how. My foot was 12" so I could make a 30" shaft.

steadman · February 13, 2009, 07:56:00 PM

Jon those look great!! I have some rosewood I'm gonna try if it doesn't snow 6" tonight. Thanks for the input. What does your small hand plane look like? You could send me your shafts and I'll fletch them for you. Of course I wouldn't be responsible for any lost in the mail when I shipped them back.

jonsimoneau · February 13, 2009, 10:00:00 PM

Hey Steadman. It's just a little plane made by Stanley. It's 3.5 inches long. The model number is 12-101. Once you see it in the store, you will know what it is. I got mine at ACE hardware.

CO_Redneck · February 13, 2009, 11:59:00 PM

Great info Jon! How wide was the split in your footing? I'm going to cut mine on my bandsaw, so should I make it 2 blade widths wide or so? Also, what were the dimensions on the footing?

jonsimoneau · February 14, 2009, 12:15:00 AM

Co Redneck, the slot is 1/8 inch, and four inches deep. The billet is 7/16 square. It is 8 inches long. But If I were making my own, I would make everything the same except make it 10 inches long. This would give you better FOC. So make the slot 4 inches, but the whole billet 10 inches. I have not tried that yet, but that is what I am going to do on the next batch!

CO_Redneck · February 14, 2009, 12:33:00 AM

Thanks for the info. Problem is that my arrow split 5.5 inches back from the point. Since my arrows are 28.5 untapered, I was thinking about cutting the shaft about 10 - 11 inches back. Is that going to be way too much or would I be alright with a 4.5 solid piece and a 5.5 inch foot or should I go with a shorter solid piece?

You the man