Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: billmac on March 14, 2007, 01:20:00 pm
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Anyone use a dowel maker for making arrows? Curious to hear your experiences / recommendations.
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I will be posting pics of my homemade jobby do as soon as I get a chance.
DanaM
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Thats great Dana I love homade rigs, Can,t wait for you to post this one!! I buy nothing I can rig up myself.
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Jamie Leffler has been cranking out quite a few shafts on his dowel maker. I have a set of ash shafts he sent me. Pat
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The trouble I see with the dowel maker is the $$$ it would take to be able to make a variety of different arrow diameters. Is there a baseline standard for shafts that you work from?
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I think the one Jamie has will do 5/16" and 3/8" shafts and cost very little to purchase. I don't know how much though. Pat
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Here are two previous threads that cover home made shafting pretty well.
Making Split Timber Shafts => http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,453.0.html
Machines/Jigs for making shafts? => http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,398.0.html
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Ok as promised my primitive(redneck) dowel maker let me know what ya think guys. I've only made a few arra's with it so far.
Rip our split a 3/8"x3/8" blank then use a small plane to take the corners off. Next chuck it up in yer drill and spin it thru the 3/8" hole. Move down the line and stop one size larger than finished diameter. Sand to final dimension. Leave yer shaft long and cut er to size after sanding. This contraption actually seems to work ok.
DanaM
ps. A picture of my new bandsaw also ;D
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more
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.....Wow ..nice bandsaw, always wanted to buy one, never did get around to it, my hachet pouts when I use the word :D. Is it a commercial model and very expensive ? Nice dowel setup also............very cool !....................bob
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Yes that is a commercial model. I just got one like it on Tuesday. :-* It is well worth the $$$. It cuts wood like butter. Justin
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.....Whats brand name of bandsaw and where did y'all get it !......bob
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It is a Shop Fox by Woodstock International. I got mine at a local woodworking shop. Justin
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Thx............looks like a 14" saw, hmm.......nice table.....one more ? if you don't mind...how large is motor......... 1 h.p. or more ?......bob
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Bob I don't recall the hp i"m at work so can't check think its 2 though, its a great saw for the money. Paid a bit more than $500 but comes with the fence and miter the Jett brand(same price) didn't come with em cost an xtra $100 for fence and miter. Do you see any problems with my dowel make? it doesn't seem to weaken the shaft any, although all I've run thru it so far is ash.
DanaM
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Bob, it is 1 hp. It does come with the fence and mitre, but for me the best thing about it is the blade guides. It has bearings not cool blocks. That alone is a $125 upgrade if you buy a different saw. The place I bought it from actually caters to cabinet makers, and since I make bows they treat me a little nicer. ;D I paid $275 less than it was marked.
Dana, I like the dowel maker. How thick is the metal, and how did you make the holes? Did you thin the edge of the holes so they are knife edged? Justin
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Justin I used 1/8" mild steel sandwiched two plates between wood and drilled em. Seems like ya get truer holes when ys drill it sandwiched. Then I used a larger bit to taper it down, want to find a hone tapered hone to further refine the edge.
And yer right up the roller guides, I have a 3/4" blade on and it resaws real sweet. I have small cheap bandsaw with a 3/8" blade for doin fades and such so I don't have to keep changing blades.
Actually I have an extra dowel maker if yer interested
DanaM
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I just ordered one of these.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=52401&cat=1,180,42288
I'll let you know how it works.
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Billmac, I believe that is the one Jamie has. Pat
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Oh sure go all high tech on us Pat ;D actually I looked at those but after buyin the saw I'm broke :(
Let us know Pat maybe a few pics also eh.
DanaM
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Not me Dana. My set up is simular to yours. I've only made a few shafts from square stock. Most of my arrows are made from hardwood shoots. To me, a good band saw is a more valuable piece of machinery. Looks like you got a good 'un! Did you get it from Grizzley? Pat
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Bill let me know how that works out. I'm gonna try making one like Dana made for now. In the way of Bandsaws, I got a Jet 16" 1 1/2 hp about three years ago. It costs a little more($800), but I haven't found anything I can't do with it yet. Comes with fence mitre and roller guides. You can use it on 110 V or 220V.
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Whoops sorry Pat got the wrong guy :-[
I got my saw at woodworkers depot in Green Bay, WI
DanaM
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I have the dowel maker in Dana's photo :)
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I have been very fortunate to acquire a commercial dowel maker from a friend. It works off a drill and will make dowels from 1" down to 1/4". The photo shows an Osage dowel . This unit will spit out shafts almost on a production basis. Sorry I don't have a selection of shafts to show but it will cut almost anything that grows if you can get it square.
Dick Bernier
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like pat said i have the one that dick showed above. only problem is it doesnt have a bushing for 11/32. so i had one made. any tool maker can make the bushing needed. it does work very well and its worth the money when manufacturing a lot of shafts. if its for yourself id use a jig like matt shaowed. its easy and cheap. when using a drill to feed anystock go with whatever gives you the highest rpms and feed slowly to avoid tearing the grain. it can be done by hand hand but if your handy at making jigs. design something that keeps the drill , tooling and wood in a solid plane . by doing so ive had shafts spine out 5-10 pounds heavier than holding the drill in my hand. its just more consistent. also really pay attention to the grain of your stock and there will be less tear out peace
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Everything Jamie said is seconded :) The rate of feed with this unit is MOST important. I have added a couple of hold downs in the wooden "V" block to reduce the whip action of the shaft on exiting. A nice unit for a LOT of shafts. I find my plane and "V" board by hand a lot less stressful >:(
Dick Bernier
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Have you guys ever seen Chet Stevenson's dowel maker? It's pictured in one of his stories from 'The Old Bowhunter.' I'm going to try to replicate it some day.
J. D. Duff
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Well, I got it but haven't tried it yet. The smallest size I could get is 3/8 inch. Am I right in thinking that's a little large for arrow shafts? Do you think I'll have to sand that down a bit?
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Yea you prolly will have to, as most tips and nocks are 11/32" or 5/16"
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Hey J.D.......I have one made by Billy Armstrong(an old oregon bowhunter)- he made them, Stevenson had one and a guy named Claude Lampert had another. Was fortunate enough to have met and hunted with Stevenson and Armstrong for rabbits a long time ago, before you were born dude ;)........guess that makes me pretty old ? Watch it !.............bob ; :D
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Hey J.D...........Guess I should have added if memory serves me correctly about names in last post. Has been a long long time over 40 years.................bob
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Here's the way I make shafts:
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=53
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d72/Reparrow/DOWELJIG.jpg)
I have a slightly more sophisticated one now that has better ways to adjust it. I have bushings for 5/16, 11/32, 23/64 and 3/8.
Reparrowman
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Is that a round over bit in the router? What size?
Sorry but yer picture is a bit out of focus.
DanaM
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The router bit is just a straight one. Not sure a round-over would work any better, but might try it some day.
My shafts are slightly burnished by the outfeed block and look like they don't even need a finish. They do, of course.
Reparrowman
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I got my Veritas dowling jig Friday, and used it to make 2 dozen Hickory heartwood shafts. It did a real good job, but you gotta do quite a bit of sanding. Maybe I need to read the instructions. Asharrow, I'm gonna try your setup next. I had already ordered the Veritas before I saw it. I had used a similar setup with a 3/8 half round before, but had trouble lining up the shaft to be equal on both sides. yours looks a lot easier to set up.
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Asharrow I think ya forgot the link :o
DanaM
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Dana, you are right. The link is in my previous post, but here it is again: javascript:void(0);
Grin
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=53
Reparrowman
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http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=52401&cat=1,180,42288
This is the one I have and for 40$ including shipping you can too.Thats with an extra blade, the drill adapter, and the square stock socket.
I made over 60 shaft blanks with it the first week I had it!
Whats a dozen arrows cost? Been making 'em so long I can't remember.
It works well and very little sanding involved. Gotta taper to the tip and nock size though.
Chris
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Minuteman,
That's the one I bought, but haven't tried it yet. Do they come out pretty straight? Did you get the 3/8" size? How will you do the tapering?
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Billmac, I got mine last week. 3/8" comes out real good, but needed a lot of sanding. I did 2 dozen hiclory arrows in about 45 minutes not including sanding... Chris
Hows the string making going.
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I make a lot of arrows so i bought this unit from (leevalley.com) This is made by veritas and i paid quite a bit for it. It has paid for itself many times over. I only have the inserts for 5/16"and 3/8"and 1" which come with the basic tool but you can get setups for 5/16ths to 1" I drilled my 5/16" die out to 11/32" as i don,t do 5/16". You can easily make a new 5/16" die out of a piece of hardwood. It works on pine to purpleheart. I think it was around 170 bucks and not everyone needs a unit for mass production. The pic shows the unit with vee blocks to stabilize the spinning shaft. I recently layed a small piece of pvc pipe on the vee blocks and it works slick. Ridge
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Chris,
Glad to hear the dowel maker works. I didn't buy the square socket when I ordered. I assumed that was something you could pick up at any hardware store?
I've watched the video about 3 times and made the string jig. I got sidetracked marking trees for staves so I haven't made a string yet but I will probably get to it this weekend.
On a positive note, I've marked Ash, Elm, Maple, Hickory, Oak, White Birch, Yellow Birch, Beech, Cherry, and Hophornbeam trees for staves. That should keep my son and I busy for the summer.
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Chris, you notice that the tool your using gets really hot after a few shafts? The blade tends to get dull fast too. Have you guys had that problem with this tool too? How do you keep it sharp and from digging into the wood and pulling out chuncks in soft woods like VG fir?
David T
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Man that sounds like a heck of a lot of wood. I'm jealous ;D On the tool, i did not want to use half inch squares (too much waste). So I riped 3/8 inch suares. Then I hand turned one end for about 3". Then I could chuck thay end straight into the drill. I still have the sockets if you want em.... Chris
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David, I was posting while you were sending. I didn't notice any problems on the hickory, but I'm going to do some ash probably this weekend. I got an extra blade, but I assume you sharpen just like a plane blane....Chris
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Chris, those Hickory shafts must be really HEAVY! I'm going a bit lighter with the VG fir but I can never get the spine down at 3/8" to where I can use it with my 65# longbow. How do you adjust the cut or the shaft diamiter after running it throug the tools to eaqual the spine you want?
Also, how sharp should I make the blad?
David T.
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Hickory ia a heavy wood, but very tough. I adjust the spine by sanding. The tool has two set screw to adjust the blade. I adjusted mine then checked diameter. As far as sharpness, by the time I finish you could shave with the blade. I use a fine file and then strop with leather to polish the blade. Works good for me... Chris
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I will try the fine file. I have been using stones and it takes forever to try and get the blade sharp.
David
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I have a big commercial dowel maker that will cut dowels up to 1", It cuts by using a spinning cutting head and the arrow just pushes straight through. The head is turning at around 7500 rpms. I am thinking of building a smaller slightly quieter version for my arrows. If adjust just right it will give you a highly polished burnished arrow right out of the machine, but tends to load up with some woods then starts tearing chunks out. Steve