Main Discussion Area > Arrows

Medieval arrow shaft production method?

<< < (2/3) > >>

Hawkdancer:
Finding one might be a bit of a challenge!  Flea markets, farm estate sales, antique shops, etc, maybe.  You can make one out of a leaf spring piece that has the mounting eye, then grind the edge to about 45 degrees.  The handle slides into the eye so it is opposite the edge, you also need a mallet to drive the froe.  You may already know that.  I got mine cut out, but haven't sharpened it yet.  Will try to remember where I got all that good info and put up the source.  They likely come in different sizes.  I was also wondering if a steel hatchet like an Estwing, would work, especially for smaller cuts.
Hawkdancer

burtonridr:
Leaf spring is a great idea!

What about a machete? You could take the typical plastic handle off, make a long wood froe handle with a slit cut in the side to accept the blade. The front of the blade is curved, I don't know if that matters, but you could sharpen the back of the blade(which is straight).

Our family has an old froe from way back when they used it to build their home(now our family cabin) in the early 1900's. I might ask if I can restore it and get some use out of it.

willie:
BR

the handle of the froe is used to lever a split from the side of a larger billet,  thus making the split run out or taper. to make the split drive back into the stiffer side, you have to bend the stiffer side rather than the thinner side. of course as you can see, you will not have too much luck bending the stiff side of the billet until the log is reduced quite a bit. As ksnow sez  "Also when splitting, if you split pieces exactly in half," is the way to reduce the billets until they are thin enough to flex.

I mentioned cottonwood because you said "medieval' and I presumed you were interested in english warbows or such, and poplar was one of the more common woods used there. If you are in doug fir country, that would be my first choice.

machete will work. maybe a bit on the thin side. a way to bend the billets needed. two trees growing close together maybe?

I have had better luck when I cut my stock closer to four foot long, trimming the finished arrow blanks to use the best 30"

Hawk- i find if my wedge is too thick, I cant work it down through the length of the billet far enough to control the split before the split runs out to the end.

TSA:
we use steel wedges that are about 14 to 16" long, and only 1" thick at the fat end.
they slip in with minimal compression and damage at the fat end. and if pounding in multiple wedges, one can just stop pounding on one chosen wedge, and pound the others, so that it becomes loose, remove it as soon as its loose, then double up the wedge with another, put it back in and carry on.
with Sitka, we sometimes have to triple or quadruple the wedges. but its super tough to split!
Tougher to split than fir or Cedar or Chundoo.

As Ksnow said- keep splitting in halves- you will have less runout.

Hawkdancer:
For sure, restore that old froe!  It will be a working family heirloom, and add authenticity to your arrows.  It will be handy for any splitting job that comes up!

Wayne, are those wedges special made, or commercial?  Thanks!
Hawkdancer

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page