Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: Andrea S on March 31, 2008, 03:08:44 am
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I'm looking at making some cow bone arrowheads, and the bone I have is pretty much 1/4" thick. How much should I thin it down to be able to haft it? Should I flute it to retain some strength? I won't be using these points for hunting, just target practice, and the shafts I'm using are cane.
Thanks,
Andrea
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Okay, if no one knows...for you knappers out there, how thick do you usually make your points?
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i would make it a little thinner than 1/4" it doesnt have to be much but i would thin it some
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id love to help but im still learning on that subject my self. sorry. and how old is ur bone? if its to old it will break easly.
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Andrew, I would guess to make it a bit thicker than a steel point. I haven't made any but on ones I have seen were thicker than a steel point. I think that after I got the outline, I would work the bone down until it feels right, if you know what I mean. Where the thickness wasn't out of proportion with the width and length with a slightly arched sides. Pat
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Recurve,
I don't know how old it is, I got the bone from the pet store! Had to scrape some gristle off it.
Pat,
I figured it would probably come down to intuition and what "feels right" :). By the way, it's Andrea, not Andrew...I'm one of the spare few gals who frequents these boards. ;) :P
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haven't done any myself (the designated cow bone is still waiting in the freezer ;o) but i was planning to make mine between 1/8 and 1/4 (so about 3/16 ;o) or just go with half the shaft diameter.
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Just make them as thick as you can (for strength and weight-bone is light) and still have them easily mountable on the arrow shaft. I haven't tried cow bone, I've made a few from deer leg bones. They make tough, durable points. Not always fun to get pulled out of targets, though-if you're using them for target points make the shoulders rounded instead of square or barbed.
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hillbilly, you don't happen to have pictures of your bone points?
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Hi,Andrea I dont remember the thread,but PK has some nice bone points hes done. Send him a pm,Im sure he will give you lots of details. Auggie.
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Marius, I don't have any at the moment, I don't think. I've made several in the past, but they have all been sacrificed to the gods of rocks, treetop squirrels, dense briar patches, and foam 3D targets. :)
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Sorry Andrea. I'm so used to all these guys I wasn't thinking about a woman. ;) Welcome! Its nice to know there are a few women out there with the same passion as us guys. Pat
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Welcome fellow bow Person,I would feel the thickness would depend on the diameter of the shafting material used,or better off make the size of the head according to the shafting material for example a 5/16 shaft and a 1/4 head would be kinda tuff
Dennis
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Andrea: I've been making these stone points and a few arrows. I've discovered (at least with the bows I'm shooting) that I need to make the points a little bit thicker and heavier for the arras to fly truer. Don't know a thing about bone points, but being lighter than stone I would think leaving them a quarter inch thick and grinding a flute for hafting would be a good bet. I may be totally off, but that's the way I'd try it for starters.
Ya know, I remember DBernier mentioning that he inserts different lengths of soldier (spelliing? that stuff used to sweat copper pipe together) into the ends of his cain arrows to get the same grain weight on all of them, hmm :).
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Andrea S you going to post some pictures of them when you get them done
Dennis
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Andrea,
Let us know how it goes. I have some bone I want to try. I was thinking of doing a point similar to a target point, footed into the shaft. Bullet point at one end and a fine wedge shape at the other.
Have you worked bone before? Smells nasty when sawn or any heat generated. Better with slower cooler hand tools.
Mark in England
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Don't worry, I've been documenting it well with my baby(Canon Rebel XT dSLR), and I promise there will be a bone point build-a-long. Mark, I've cut the blanks out with my dremel and some cutoff wheels, I discovered the hard way how smelly the dust is. Unfortunately, I don't have any hand tools with me here at college that would be sufficient for working the stuff, just a few tiny files.
There's a spot in the bone I'm using that I've been thinking of making a target-type point, where two of the planes (flat surfaces of the bone) meet and form a thicker point (since the rest is pretty consistently only 1/4").
You know, I think I'll post what I have so far in the Build-A-Long section. Then some more work to do on the porch! It's a balmy 35º out today.
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I picked up a buffalo rib today at this minipowwow here in town for this purpose.
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Here are a couple of deer bone points I have made. I use them to rabbit hunt. They are just a little thicker than a quarter and hold up really well. The holes I put in them so I can make a bunch and put them on a fishing line loop so I can keep up with them.
Chris
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man, them there points are nice.
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Wow, those are gorgeous. I'd have to take the bone I've got and saw it in half thickness-wise to get it close to that thin. How sharp are they?
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They will cut you if your not careful. I use a bench grinder then fine sandpaper. To finish them I burnish and polish with leather.
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Andrea, if you decide to hunt with the points, I would suggest some serrations along the edges.. bone tends to be so smoothe that deflection is a problem on slick haired critters...... you can do the serrations with a small file. Pluss they look really cool. Hawk a/ho
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Just curious, does it help to heat treat bone points to make em tuffer? Joe H
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Heat makes it more brittle and will break easier.
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Andrea-
Bone points are fun to make and shoot. I have only use cannon bones form elk, but I'm sure cattle are similar.
If your worried about the strength, soak them with super glue and re-file the edge. This will add weight and increase strength.
Here is the style I like. I'd also recomend pluging the cane with a heavy wood such as Rami (dowels) to re-inforce and add weight.
Bryan
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/BryanB/PrimativeArrows007.jpg)
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Good point Bryan. I should have mentioned that I use osage inserts and nocks to give my arrows weight.
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that is an awesome point
how much of a weight difference does filling the cane make? why even make an arrow out of cane if you have to fill it?
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Nice Points Bryan....looks like a Meat Getter to me!!
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If you use a heavy wood it can add quite abit of mass, which means more kenetic energy transer from the string to the arrow.
Also I have had problems with points (bone or stone) spliting the arrow. In my oppinion if you shoot cane arrow from a high
poundage bow it is safer to use hardwood nocks and point inserts. Another handy thing is if you arrow breaks more times than not, your point will stll be securely fixed in the insert. All you have to do is replace the shaft.
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real nice point. i dont know how to flintknap, so im sure my upcomeing sourwood and canes will have bone points.
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andrea one other secret to bone is too sharpen them towards the shaft. if you sharpen towards the tip it has a habit of breaking the tip off. peace
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Adrea; I have made some nice bone points. I personally like to keep them at least 1/4" thick. Then I shape them in the style I want, Usually triangular, and then I thin them down from the middle towards the edge. Leaving it looking like a diamond shape looking from the front. In other words, it is like looking at a double edged dagger from the front. I leave about 3/4" of shaft, and thin it down from a 1/4" or larger, to about an 1/8, or 3/16". That way the shaft can but up against the arrowhead, and you can taper the shaft down to it, so there is less resistance on penetration. If I knew how to post pictures I would post a picture of one I have left. Or I could send it to you. If you want me to send it to you drop me an e-mail. Curly494@bellsouth.net . Like they said if you are just going to use them for targets, round the shoulders, or angle the shoulders out from the tang. you could make a leaf pattern blade, or flatten them out by sanding, or filing, or grinding, and glue two or mor slabs together, and file them, or grind them down to a semi round shape, then put them in a drill bit, and with 80 grit sand paper, or a file, turn them down to a dowel shape, and shape a feild point on it. Lot of work, but beef bone takes a nice shine, and some bones have character shading, and coloring in them. I used to make jewelry out of them. They make nice knife handles, and pistol grips, inlays,and pendants, and such.
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Sorry these are the only Pics of the bone head arrows I could find right Now,Also sorry it took so long.
The points are about 1/8 by whatever long. I spined the Aroows to about 40-50 because the tips are so light still learnin. I will post more pics in arrows of the new Field point arrs Ive been working on soon.
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