how i make simple primitive arrows from shoots....

[michbowguy]

http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x74/michbowguy/?action=view&current=38414da9.pbw

[JackCrafty]

Awesome slideshow!  I like the wedge in the nock idea....what do you wrap the nock with?  Doesn't look like sinew.

[michbowguy]

its sinew...last years "freezer burnt sinew".
i was worried if it was going to work at all.
put some in the freezer that i shot late in the season and forgot about it,i did not scrape it and dry it or anything.was worried if it would loose elastic /glue properties.
so i unthawed it and dried it indoors by the fan to keep flys off and speed up the dry time.when it got semi hard i threw it up on the roof on the black shingles to dry out.
then i pulled of some long slivers and all was good, just VERY white-ish.

bg

[D. Tiller]

Do you leave the wedge in?

[michbowguy]

yup.have too.
they work realy ell for both the nock end and POINT END od shafts, keeps you from messin' up the grooves.
ya have to bind them for rienforcing anyway right!
think about it, on any shafts and thin diam shafts ...if you were to carve in a nock/notch you get thinner and thinner walls....with the wedge you get the most you cant get from the arrow shaft.
jamie

[D. Tiller]

Interesting! Never thought of that before. So on small diameter shafts ust the wedge to make an oversized groove on the nock and the point ends. Makes sence to me! Unfortunatly I'm working with rose shoots and there is a huge pith in the center of them so I have to ues hardwood nock inserts and foreshafts. I like the  foreshaft idea so that if you break the foreshaft you just replace it and your shaft is still ready to use. I will be using your technique on some of my smaller diameter syringa shafts.

[Cromm]

Nice.....

[michbowguy]

use this style with rose shoots as well, but just trim off the tiny bit of walls that has a grove in it...
or just leave it! the inner wood of rose is very soft and it will eventually rubb out ok in the long run anyway.

if this isnt good enough for ya, take a thorn and poke and pull and clean out pith... then take the thorn and use a bit of hide glue white glue what ever and just push the thorn down into the pithy section then cut the rest off.
and then carve a self nock, but i wouldnt worry about pith,as the walls on the nock are just for the folks that "need" to have the arrow "snap","stay" in place on the string.

heck with the right shooting style you only need a slight indent or a locator cut in just so the string doesnt "roll" out of the indent when shot.

lots of options my man, just try some and see what ones you like.
jamie

[D. Tiller]

So you think the walls on wild rose shoots are strong enough to hold up to the pounding? So just glue a slug of hard wood in the rose shoot where the pith is?

David T

[ZanderPommo]

if you use a broadhead, might splitting the shaft for the point stop the arrow from having a smooth transition from point to shaft, thus hindering penetration into an animal?
also does the wide nock hit the arrow shelf or side of the bow after released?

Zander

[michbowguy]

zander..

1st question.
no.
as you place the wedge in place you wrap the sinew back further and put in a smaller angled wedge,and then fit the stem of the broadhead.
then you TAPER DOWN nock "tabs" on the outside right to a fine edge.
and when you fill the gap,and broadhead stem with pitch,and work it in the pich will sinch everything tight together.
and then secure it with sinew,and coat the sinew with thinned pine resin to waterproof it.

2nd question.
NO NOCK ON ANY ARROW SHOULD EVER HAVE CONTACK WITH THE BOW/RISER.
if this is happening it MAY be that the nock is not wide enough and the string is sticking in the groove, but more than likely the arrows are either radically unbalanced or bent,under or overspined etc.
so the knock realy has not that much to do with that scenerio.

just try it out!
ya may like em'

jamie

[michbowguy]

i also was told how to tie your rienforcement of sinew from the point to the nock end and then pry the split open and keep it open with another pc of branch and just "weave" like making a interlocking effect with figure eight type passes throug the split and then just cutting the tag end off and pushing down the sinew deep into the split and let dry....

when it is totaly dry the sinew will be rock hard and your string will seat up against the sinew instead of a wedge of wood.

for the times you dont have a knife in hand and you just do the same atthe point end or just crush the point end down to splinters and dip the splinters fully into pitch and form around the tip,then wrap solid.


bg

[blaine]

MBG--  I was inspired by your arrow demonstration yesterday and tried the wedge on a couple of bamboo arrows.  I am here to tell you that this is the easiest,fastest way I have ever made self nocks. 

an obsevation -

As they were just a proof of concept I did not plug the bamboo.  I think that a plug would make the nocks better. 

Thanks!

[ZanderPommo]

I will have to try that out MBG, i see you know what you're doing and those arrows came out great

Zander

[Pat B]

Nice work, Jamie and a nice build along.  Thanks for posting it.         
 That's a neat idea with the wedge, too!        Pat