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some pics and thoughts of home made arrows

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Orkraider:
I posted a bit ago about finally having some luck with home made arrow heads. Here's some pics of how they came out. 

This is the very first one I tried using coat hanger wire.


This was my second attempt; this has the end of the wire recessed into the shaft, and bound with thread rather than duct tape. This arrow also has my first try at a home made black stain using tannic acid and iron acetate:


These are what's left of the 18 arrows I made today to take to the range and test.  These are 5/16 dowels from Menards, the cheaper ones, so they're not oak. Cut to 28".  Self nocks. The nocks were cut with a metal cutting blade on an angle grinder, to 1/2" deep, and then sanded smooth and rounded a little with sandpaper.  Then I cut a narrower notch about 1/4 " deep on the tips.  I cut a 10" length of coat hanger wire, which I believe is 14 guage steel; a ten inch length works out to exactly 125 grains.  I then bent the wire around a nail so that the 2 ends were parallel, about 1/4" apart. Seated the wire into the notch on the tip. Taped the ends to the shaft. Put a sanding blade on my angle grinder. Took off the excess wood, tapering it a touch, and leaving enough to hold the wire in place. Put a subtle edge on the steel wire at the tips.


Here's a closer look at the tips after shooting. Each of these got shot about 10 times into hay bales, or, when I missed, turf: 


Here's the one that hit the metal pole behind the uprights. So help me, next time I got to that range, I'm bringing some padding for that arrow killing pole:


Here's the earlier design I tried, using a masonry nail with the end ground smooth and skinny. I liked this, but it took forever, and it wasn't very durable: 


And last, here's the 3d modeled pic I put in the earlier pic in an attempt to describe the construction process. It's a little different then what I ended up doing for this batch; I didn't tape the head end of the shafts, and I didn't cut a groove the full length of the wire: 


Any thoughts, questions, or feedback are welcome.  Cheers!

Tsalagi:
Honestly? I think the duct tape adds a lot of weight and I noticed pieces of it sticking up. That will cause drag. You're using duct tape for fletching, too, I saw. I'm not one to defecate on anyone's riff, so, hey, if you're happy with them, that's all that matters. They're not my cup of chai, but if you're happy with them, shoot them and have fun.

Orkraider:
The duct tape does indeed add some weight. Right now, these arrows are coming in right at 10% FOC, at 28" with a 125 grain point. That was exactly my target. Once I decided on a final method of production, I'll be doing barrel tapers on the shafts, and using feathers instead of duct tape for fletching. That will create a substantial reduction in weight on the tail end, and bring my FOC to way up over 10%, probably over 20%, which would be bad. That's why at that point I'll be binding the ends of the wire with thread instead of duct tape. There is one pic of that method; I know it'll work, it's been tested, and that will be part of my final design spec. For testing the rest now, tho, duct tape is a useful fast tool.

I'm very new to Archery in general, as well as bowyering and fletching.   I've been going through a lot of arrows as I improve my technique in all 3. It's simply not cost or time effective for me to make the arrows all purtified right from the get go, or (heaven forbid) to spend money on arrows someone else made. 

Everyone has a different developmental process; for me, when I'm going through a design and development phase, I change one or two measurable variables at a time, until I come up with something that will work; then it's on to the next step. 

My per unit cost for these bad boys is about 18 cents, not counting time. 

These arrows are waaaay ghetto now; but wait 'til I'm at the end of the process rather then the start. That'll be a whole 'nother cup o' chai. =)

Fred Arnold:
Me and Red Green both love ya!!!! I'm laughing but I'm not making light of the situation. I'm thinking that if the duct tape is wrapped with finess and tight enough, it'll work. You are using it for your own purposes. Wrap tight, add a coat of sealer and shoot em til they fail. I think your adding FOC.
I'll tell you the duct tape, grasshopper, and trout fishing story someday.
2 thumbs up.
Bowferd

youngbowyer33:
duct tape fletchings are awesome!so much less work

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