Recycling Arrows

[Stephen Graf]

#142021

So I have several buckets of over-spined arrows.  This has happened as a result of switching my shooting style from a more static tournament style to the more dynamic swing draw style.  This transition caused my draw length to go from 29.5″ to 26.5″.  Add to that a trend towards lower poundage bows over the last few years and, well, you know how it is.  These arrows seem to reproduce faster than rabbits!

I leave the light on in my shop so they stop getting so randy.

I found myself contemplating the purchase of yet another dozen arrows to go with my newly made, lower poundage bow.  Then I thought maybe I should see about some of these old arrows.  So I picked 6 good looking candidates from a bucket and commenced to sanding on them.

I chucked the arrow up in my drill by the field point.  Then I gently half wrapped the shaft with 60 grit paper and started the drill.  I tested the shaft on the spine tester several times as I went through grits of 60, 150, and 400.  It took me about 30 minutes to get 6 arrows ready to shoot at a lower spine of 42 or so pounds.

All 6 arrows shot well.

So I thought I’d share my results.  In the following table, I recorded the data from the 6 arrows I recycled.  I neglected to record the weight of the first arrow.  But from the results, you can see that if you want to sand some arrows down, you can expect to loose about a thousandths in diameter per pound of spine and a little more than 3 grains in weight per pound of spine (I think this number is probably closer to 2 grains since I had to sand the finish off which comes to about 20 grains).

When I was done with the arrows, I taped the point over and dipped them in my lacquer tube.  They are in my quiver now, ready for adventure.

The following table includes my results:

[richard roop]

#142038

Outstanding project !!!

If you ever get really bored, try adding a hardwood footing with a fishtail splice and then tapering the shaft.  With a micrometer, a grain scale and a spine tester some quality shafts can be produced. F.O.C.  is also very good but the whole thing is a sign that you have too much time on your hands.

[Stephen Graf]

#142039

Not too much time, too many arrows…

Footing arrows is for people who like to sit on the couch and admire them.  I like to shoot them, no strings attached.  I would find it hard to part with a footed arrow, especially in the woods full of hard places to land.

By this experiment I found it takes way less time to recycle a half dozen arrows than it would take to build a half dozen from scratch.  Not to mention that I didn’t need to spend any scratch to get them.

[Raymond Coffman]

#142041

Stephen

I had not thought about this before. But , as you have shown, a good way to “reuse “arrows too heavy in spine for lower poundage bows. It is especially handy in these days of ever more expensive arrows. Thanks for the info.

Scout aka Ray

 

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