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phragmites arrow build a long
Josh B:
Ok, now that the foreshaft is glued into the phragmites and the point is attached to the foreshaft, it's time for the sinew wrap reinforcement. I use a pocket knife held at 90 degrees and scrape off the outer rhind where you intend to sinew wrap the joint. I usually sinew a section about 1 1/4" long. I also start the wrap on the foreshaft for a couple wraps and wrap it back towards the nocks. Just for extra protection of the leading edge of the phragmites. Once I get the rhind scraped off, I then size it with hide glue. I don't let the glue fully dry, just tacky. I then add another drop of glue and wrap the sinew. The sinew wrap in the pic looks bulky, but it won't be so bad after it dries. Once all that's dry, we move on to the all important nock insert. Thanks for following along so far and thanks for the tip Steve! Wish I had some of that oil with me. Josh
Knoll:
Lookin' good!
Josh B:
Alrighty then...next step...the nock insert. This step is crucial to get right with this type of phragmites. The walls are too thin for a simple cut in nock like you would use on cane, bamboo, or the heavier walled phragmites found in the southwest from West Texas to California. So we make an insert that butts up against the node on the inside of the shaft. The insert must be fitted as perfectly as possible. The inside of the node has a rounded socket shape so our insert must be rounded to fit. Then its just a matter of thinning the insert to fit inside the shaft. If you get it to thin, there will be a gap between the walls of the phragmites and the insert. That won't glue well and the nock will fail. If you don't get the insert thin enough, you'll split the shaft while forcing it in. Once I get the insert to the proper shape and size, I squirt a little glue in the shaft and spread a little glue on the insert. Then carefully and gently install the insert. I say careful because the excess glue can crack the shaft If you don't give it a chance to ooze out. Now I generally just whittle down the end of a dowel to fit, glue it in, let the glue dry and then cut the excess dowel off. I do this so I have something to hold on to when whittling and installing the insert. If you do it this way, its a good idea to put a temporary wrap of string around the nock area until the glue dries. Then you can remove the string and saw off the excess dowel.
Knoll:
Now learning how to straighten at nodes. No glory yet. Believe I'm gonna be glad that 4 dozen of these were harvested 'cause it may take 3 to get the knack.
Josh B:
Ok, glue is dried so we first cut the dowel flush with the back edge of the phragmites and make sure there are no gaps between the insert and the shaft. Glue line is good so we remove the temporary binding and proceed to making the actual nock. This is how I make all my self nocks, it doesn't have to be done this way. I like this technique because its pretty durable and snaps on to the string like store bought plastic nock. First I drill a 7/64" hole where I want the floor of the nock to be. Take your time and drill it straight. You don't want it off center from side to side or you will make a weak side that will cause the nock to fail. Once I get my hole drilled through, I then saw the slot down to the hole. A coping saw or hacksaw work great for this. Once the slot is cut, I use a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to finish shaping out the nock. Easy peasy! The nock should hold the weight of the arrow hanging from the string, but just by enough that it will come off the string by just flicking the string with your finger. Once you get that all shaped up, you just need to scrape the rhind off for about an inch from the floor of the nock towards the point, size with glue, and sinew wrap it like you did the other end. Make sure the sinew starts at the floor of the nock to get the best reinforcement from it. Now Fletch it to your own style and enjoy! Thanks for following along! Josh
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