Main Discussion Area > English Warbow
Horn nock inserts
kevinsmith5:
How many of us ever make an arrow knowing we'll only shoot it once?
WillS:
Has anybody had horn nocks break while shooting? I recently finished a set of 12 arrows for a 60# ELB with 2" horn inserts, cut with the grain so that the nock was at 90 degrees to the grain. Within an hour of shooting two of the arrows had broken at the nock, both the same way - the horn and adjacent wood had completely split and blown off. Surely the whole point of going through hours of work making inserts is to avoid this happening?!
adb:
I've never had this happen, even with 100s of shots from heavy (100#) war bows. What type of nock insert are you using, what kind of glue are you using, and how precise are your horn to arrow shaft tolerances?
Del the cat:
--- Quote from: WillS on January 14, 2013, 06:12:59 pm ---... that the nock was at 90 degrees to the grain...
--- End quote ---
Sorry... I got totally the wrong end of this ... I thought we were talking bows not arrows...
But back on track, my guess would be the nock being tight on the string and it splitting like a wedge in a log.
I always go for a slight keyhole effect with the bottom of the slot well rounded and open so it's loose on the string, but with the other end of the slot just tight enough to stop the arrow falling off the string.
Arrow diameter, insert width? Pic might help.
Del
WillS:
I'll add some pics a bit later, but the arrows are 11/32, 40# spined boyton pine. The inserts are buffalo horn, the glue is 2 part epoxy and the tolerance is the best I could do without machining. They're pretty darn accurate I think.
It might be what Del mentioned I guess. I cut the string nock with a multitool saw which is almost the identical width of the string. I then use a file to smooth and widen then nock until it requires a minute effort to "click" the arrow onto the string.
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