Mikelee,

Yes you can use your carbon saw to cut woods. Just change the blade. If your saw is a standard apple brand you can find a small wood blade that will work on it just fine. When I was in the arrow business I found a blade at one of the big box stores that worked great. I could cut 12 shafts with the wood blade just as fact as carbon with the abrasive blade.

Other than that you tune the same. Instead of removing the nock and trimming from the rear you pull the point and trim from the front.

Troy

One thing to keep in mind with building wood arrows is grain orientation. Wood shafts are spined on the edge of the grain, so make sure you make your arrow so the grain runs perpendicular to the bow (i.e. With your bow straight up and down, the arrow grain runs left and right. If you make them so the grain direction is random, your spine will also be random. Aside from that, the tuning is the same as with any other arrow shaft type.

J.Wesbrock wrote: One thing to keep in mind with building wood arrows is grain orientation. Wood shafts are spined on the edge of the grain, so make sure you make your arrow so the grain runs perpendicular to the bow (i.e. With your bow straight up and down, the arrow grain runs left and right. If you make them so the grain direction is random, your spine will also be random. Aside from that, the tuning is the same as with any other arrow shaft type.

I never would have thought about that. I am still in a big debate with myself to start making my own arrows. I think it would be a blast but currently I do not have any space where I live…once I own a house and stop renting then I will get more serious.

Another thing to keep in mind when buying wood shafts or completed arrows is to make sure they are matched in not only spine but weight. Wood shafts, being a natural material, can vary by over 100 grains, even in the same spine group. I learned the hard way many years ago to specifically ask about shafts being weight matched before buying them when I ended up with a dozen shafts that were so far apart in weight they were useless to me. From that point on not only did I make sure they were weight matched before putting down my money, but I made sure they weighed the same as what I was already shooting. 

Don’t forget about the straightness of the grain either. The straighter the grain the better the shaft. You can buy deals on shafts, but find out after you get them that the grain runs off at mid shaft. Straight grain is the number one thing when it comes to the strength of the shaft as well as being able to keep them straight.

Also check on what sealer is being used (if buying ready made arrows). Not all sealers will hold out moisture.

When I shot wood shafts I would straighten them, then I sealed my shafts with a mixture of epoxy and acetone (commonly called the Massie finish).

Gasket lacquer works great as a cap sealer over other types of finish, but is something I found not to be that great when used by it’self.

Troy

I worry more about spine than about the weight of each shaft. Maybe it’s my shooting ability but I can’t seem to tell that much difference in the weight and how they shoot. Spine on the other hand can make a lot of difference. Gary

Mike,

Yes, heat the point to remove it. then after cutting to length regrind the taper and glue the point back on.

Troy

If you are serious about shooting wood arrows, I recommend investing in a set of test arrows covering the span of spines you figure you will shoot. If you don’t know your spine, a good fletcher can point you where you need to be. These arrows can be cut to your desired length and you let the arrows tell you what spine you need. I prefer the arrows to be marked with their actual spine rather than a 5-6 lb group and find paper tuning with fletched arrows to be better than bareshafting when tuning wood arrows. Bareshaft arrows can fly pretty sideways and woods tend to break when they hit a target that way.

Much good advice here. I shoot recurves, longbows, and selfbows with a variety of wood arrows. I mark all of my arrows with length, spine and weight. Near the nock using a fine marker write that info for quick reference.

The nock alignment is for safety reasons too. If the nock is aligned with the grain, instead of perpendicular to it, when shot it can result in a split or exploded shaft! Very important to get this right.

tkohlhorst wrote: [quote=J.Wesbrock]One thing to keep in mind with building wood arrows is grain orientation. Wood shafts are spined on the edge of the grain, so make sure you make your arrow so the grain runs perpendicular to the bow (i.e. With your bow straight up and down, the arrow grain runs left and right. If you make them so the grain direction is random, your spine will also be random. Aside from that, the tuning is the same as with any other arrow shaft type.

I never would have thought about that. I am still in a big debate with myself to start making my own arrows. I think it would be a blast but currently I do not have any space where I live…once I own a house and stop renting then I will get more serious.

Don’t let renting stop you, I made a take down recurve on an apartment back padio, and several longbows in rental houses. When the Marine Corps moves you, you just set up shop where you can. there is not much that is more satisfying than using equipment you made yourself.

I have built lots of my own shafts out of Douglas fir, spruce

and western larch, and out of vg bamboo. the last 2 are what I have found to be the best and the strongest. Its lots of fun and a chalenge. I have one of those veritas arrow makers wear you spin a half inch square wood stock threw it with a fast drill gun. Make shr you get strait grain wood for best performance. I am looking to sell my arrow maker becouse I am making arrows in bigger quanitys.In all 4 types.

I will be back if any want to know more info on how the veritas arrow maker works.

Jonathan

Bitter wrote: I have built lots of my own shafts out of Douglas fir, spruce

and western larch, and out of vg bamboo. the last 2 are what I have found to be the best and the strongest. Its lots of fun and a chalenge. I have one of those veritas arrow makers wear you spin a half inch square wood stock threw it with a fast drill gun. Make shr you get strait grain wood for best performance. I am looking to sell my arrow maker becouse I am making arrows in bigger quanitys.In all 4 types.

I will be back if any want to know more info on how the veritas arrow maker works.

Jonathan

I was really interested in making my own shafts with a veritas, but where have you found to be a good source for wood? I’m having a hard time finding straight fur, and I don’t know what Larch and vg bamboo are. Where would I find those? Any info you have would be appreciated.

Find some Surewood shafts. The ones I’ve gotten for the past 2-3 yrs. been good shafts. Rare is it that you’ll find a wood shaft that doesn’t have to have some straightening done to it. That’s part of the fun.

A reaply back about the wood I use and how get it. I have a big advantage becouse we are in the heart of some of the best old growth timber there can be found. I have cousins that have a family owned saw mill. And they get lots of premium wood in.I dont know how much it would cost to ship you some.

The vg bamboo I cant tell becouse I am going to try to market that and my supplyer is a little unstable. If you are more interested we can talk more.

I don’t understand. snag32 on 4/23 and marine nelson 4/26 with jwesbrok commentin on nock orientation to arrow grain.

one says grain should be perpendicular to string and grain, the other says the opposite. or they are saying the same thing with different words,,,or I just don’t understand.

I run grain perpendicular to bow and allege the nock and cock feather with the grain. ie bow is up and down grain is left/right and tab on nock and cock feather also left/ right. right ?

jreller wrote: I don’t understand. snag32 on 4/23 and marine nelson 4/26 with jwesbrok commentin on nock orientation to arrow grain.

one says grain should be perpendicular to string and grain, the other says the opposite. or they are saying the same thing with different words,,,or I just don’t understand.

I run grain perpendicular to bow and allege the nock and cock feather with the grain. ie bow is up and down grain is left/right and tab on nock and cock feather also left/ right. right ?

Well crap, wrote a big answer and this thing times me out:x. Yes they are saying the same thing. Align the bowstring and the nock groove perpendicular to the grain of the arrow. I drew a pic to show, hope it helps.

Got into building wood arrows myself after reading so much about it in recent articles by G Fred and others. I had great success in the build and the performance as they shot great and were super quiet but……. was shocked to find after all the work (fun) and artistry of dipping, cresting and fletching that my carbons built up over 100grain heavier. All along I figured the woodies would come in heavier but that was not the case. The woodies shoot great, and fun to build but not the weght that I expected.

pewanogo wrote: Got into building wood arrows myself after reading so much about it in recent articles by G Fred and others. I had great success in the build and the performance as they shot great and were super quiet but……. was shocked to find after all the work (fun) and artistry of dipping, cresting and fletching that my carbons built up over 100grain heavier. All along I figured the woodies would come in heavier but that was not the case. The woodies shoot great, and fun to build but not the weght that I expected.

Can you give us some specs such as: Shaft material, where you got the shafts from, finished arrow length, broadhead weight, which bow(s) you shoot them from, etc,? I’m going to start a new thread so I don’t hijack this one!

Thanks!

TomBow

TomBrissee