Thinking about trying wood arrows

[DK]

#3267

Hello all,

So I am thinking about trying some Doug fir shafts for the turkey season this spring and maybe next elk season. I have never shot a wood shaft. My questions/concerns are. I have a 31.5 inch draw. Will I have issues with spine consitancy. Will I be giving up some accuracy compared to carbon? And is Doug fir the best material. I am a decent wood worker, it looks like all I will need to get started is a tapering tool, nocks, points and sealer. Please let me know if I am way off. I am looking at this avenue because my new bow shoots faster than my old one and I had to give up some point weight and am a little lower than i would like to be for total weight (640). My draw length doesn’t allow me to trim any to stiffen an arrow and am already shooting 300 spine arrows.

Thanks,

DK

[jpc]

#18122

You’r not alone with 31,5 draw length

Look for tapered shafts spined and weighed around 80/85 Lbs

Wood is not carbon, but if you choice first quality wooden shafts you will reach your goal

let us know how this sounds ( and goes ) for you

[DK]

#18145

Any suggestions on where to buy the best quality shafts would be appreciated. There are a lot of companies out there.

Thanks again,

Doug

[jpc]

#18164

have a first look at 3 rivers archery but remember spined and weighted

Good quality wooden shafts have a spot to let you know what side is spined This is important to glue nocks

[Doc Nock]

#18173

Keep this up top and you’ll get good feedback from this group…there are “woodie die hards” on here… have to be!

I’m just not one of them… When a good set of matched wood raw shafts, spined and weighed to closer tolerances than buying 100 shafts to get 2 dozen good ones, started to reach carbon shaft prices, I just switched.

Long draw folks have tougher go of it…28.5 is all I worry about and shoot for arrows around 29.5 – 30″, but let the spine/tune dictate the draw as long as I have BH clearance.

Good luck!

[Stephen Graf]

#18316

DK wrote: Any suggestions on where to buy the best quality shafts would be appreciated. There are a lot of companies out there. Doug

I’m playing with Douglas Fir and it seems like a really good arrow wood. Super fine grained, almost no runout, strongest softwood.

I bought a test pack from surewood shafts. you can get a dozen arrows with 4 sets of 3 spines to test. I did this to get in the ball park.

The arrows I got from them were perfectly straight, no grain run out, with 9 inch taper on the backend. After finishing the arrows, they all weighted exactly the same, 620 grains.

I’ve since ordered a dozen in the 75-80 spine weight which seeems to work with my 55lb longbow.

In testing, these arrows shoot the same speed as my carbons of the same weight. And I can’t really tell any difference in accuracy or flight.

There are 2 main suppliers of douglas fir shafts. Surewood Shafts and Hildebrand Arrows. I think 3Rivers gets theirs from Hildebrand.

[jpc]

#18340

I think 3Rivers gets theirs from Hildebrand.

[i][/i]

This is possible but I’m in Europe and it’s difficult for us to order in USA

Custom ( french)charging a lot, and very rare archery shop working oversea

[DK]

#18477

Steve,

You will have to forgive my lack of knowledge. What is 9 inches of taper on the back end mean. I thought the back end tapered just enough for the plastic nock. I was looking pretty hard at sherwood shafts. What length do they come in when they are completely raw and what is your draw length. I think I will get the four sets of three test kit starting with 65lbs and work up. I shoot around 58lbs at 31.5 and will have around 150-200 up front. Does that sound about right. Or do you recommend starting with a stiffer spine. One more thing do you just use the pencil sharpener taper tool on Doug fir?

I am excited to try this. Once I get some money. Got a brand new baby and momma may not be to happy with me spending money on test kit material.:twisted:

Anyway thanks for the help everyone,

Doug

[Patrick]

#18662

I’m no wood arrow expert, but my next batch of arrows will be Surewood douglas fir shafts.

[wojo14]

#18989

I shoot Douglas Fir when I shoot wood.

Surewood Shaft out of Oregon is the place to get em!

They match pine within 5# and can match weight within 10#.

I even give them special orders, and they fill it!

They are top notch!

[Stephen Graf]

#19066

DK wrote: Steve,

…What is 9 inches of taper on the back end mean. I thought the back end tapered just enough for the plastic nock. … What length do they come in when they are completely raw … I think I will get the four sets of three test kit starting with 65lbs and work up. I shoot around 58lbs at 31.5 and will have around 150-200 up front. Does that sound about right?… One more thing do you just use the pencil sharpener taper tool on Doug fir?

I am excited to try this. Once I get some money. Got a brand new baby and momma may not be to happy with me spending money on test kit material.:twisted:

Anyway thanks for the help everyone,

Doug

Tapers – There is the point taper, the nock taper, and the shaft taper. The 9 inch shaft taper basically tapers the last 9 inches of the shaft from 11/32 down to 5/16. The shaft taper ends at the start of the nock taper, which will fit a 5/16 nock.

Length – I think they come 32 inches. The website will tell you. You can also ask for longer shafts.

Spine – I’d start at 70#’s for the test kit

Taper Tool – Douglas fir tends to gouge with the pencil taper tool. Tapers should be sanded. 3Rivers has a $10 or so tool that will let you sand the tapers on a disk or belt sander sander.

Momma – Buy her some flowers and tell her she’s wonderful, then she’ll be ok with whatever you want to buy 8). Remember… If momma ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.

[DK]

#19185

Thanks for all the help everyone. I will get going on it. I am sure I will have some more questions. I am very excited.

DK

[Ralph]

#21885

I have some tapered cedar shafts from Braveheart Archery that I’m enjoying right now but I do like Surewood shafts.

I think for the most part they’re heavier per inch than cedar.

Nothing like watching your hand crafted wood shafts flying to their mark.

Sure is hard to leave a lost one lost. 😀

[DK]

#22991

I got some shafts on the way. Is this the right process?

I was going to stain the back 10 inches with a water based craft paint. Do a little cresting with the same paint just not as watered down and then seal with Minwax. Let it drip dry. My only questions are do I need to protect the tapered nock and point end from the sealer to assure the point and nock adhere to the wood? And how quickly does this process need to take place? I am worried if I do this to all 12 arrows they won’t be sealed fast enough and possibly warp.

Thanks for the help.

DK

[Ralph]

#23002

With what your using my thinking says Duco or Fletchtite either one will work and I’ve never worried about them adhering to the shaft. I’ve never special prepped either end other than maybe spin the nock end in a folded piece of fairly fine sandpaper.

Before I put any finish on my arrows, after I have them straight, I usually go ahead and install the points because the point is what I use to hang them with to dry using clothespins.

[DK]

#23057

Thanks R2,

Do I need to get them sealed within the first 24 hours? I will hang them from the points and use duco for the nocks. Good to know.

Doug K

[Ralph]

#23076

What i do is straighten them with heat, let lay around in dry house for a day, sand them then straighten them again, usually with shaft tamer, and let’em sit for half day or so. Check again, steel wool, then use my stain. Of course I live in dry climate so the rest time is no prob.

[DK]

#23083

It is very dry here as well. That is all good to know. Steel wool. If there is anything else I missed feel free to let me know . I am brand new to this. I will send you a pic when they are done. Thanks.

DK

[Ralph]

#23101

Have fun. I’ve gone from really pretty arrows to just neat looking ones for the most part over the years. I still like making them and shooting them.

Enjoy and good luck. And take the time needed to gitt’em straight. 😉

[jpc]

#23695

Making very good wooden arrows is as complicated than result can be ( expected ) correct

In 2014 shooting wooden arrows is a pleasure not best or fast way to make arrows flaying straight

If shooting no more than 15 / 18 feet when hunting,can be nice if you use real trad bow ( not a machine made of carbon, glass etc…. ) as I do 😈

[WVSTICKMAN]

#30425

Try out Dinks Feather Shop. The guy that owns it is Duane. I had ordered my first dozen cedar arrows off him. I couldn’t believe how straight the whole dozen arrows was. He takes alot of time making sure every arrow is straight and the correct spine before he sends them out. When I wanted to start doing my own up I gave him a call and we probably talked for an hour. He has so much knowledge on cedars and was such a really nice guy.

[Stephen Graf]

#32408

I’ve not bought arrows from Dinks, but I have bought a bunch of his targets. I like ’em!

[Jason Wesbrock]

#33713

Sorry I may be a little late on this one. You state you have a 31 ½’ draw. As someone who draws 32” I can see one problem you’ll likely face right away, that being arrow length. Most wood arrow shafts are 32” long. Once you taper the front for a point you’re down to 31”. That leaves you ½” short. This isn’t much of a problem if you’re shooting a target point. You’ll just draw the back of the point into the riser a bit. But once you put a broadhead out there you can’t do that anymore. The back of the blade will hit the riser, and that’s if it doesn’t cut your hand first.

You may want to see if you can find some arrow shafts longer than the normal 32”. Hopefully someone here can point you toward a source. I used to just foot the end of mine with walnut to make then 34”, but that was extremely time consuming and the arrows ended up being way too heavy for my tastes.

[DK]

#33919

I actually have been messing around with my shooting form and have managed to get my draw down to about 30.5. I have to lean forward a little and open up my stance but I think it will work. It is actually more conducive to hunting. I was standing straight up and not leaning in at all, pretty much like an olympic shooter would. I found that this very erect posture left me exposed when close to big game this fall. I think a broadhead will touch my nuckle when at full draw. I have heard people say that this is dangerous and I have heard it is a blessing because of the consistancy it creates. I will just have to see. My Doug fir shafts are in the mail. Any thoughts on a BH touching my nuckle would be appreciated.

DK

[James Harvey]

#33933

DK wrote: Any thoughts on a BH touching my nuckle would be appreciated.

DK

I was just rereading some Saxton Pope’s stuff yesterday and he purposely cut his arrows to that length, it was like a draw check system for him. I think Hill did the same from memory.

[Jason Wesbrock]

#33936

I’ve heard the same thing about the back of the blade touching a knuckle; some like it and others don’t. As long as the back of the blade isn’t sharpened, I think it falls into the category of things that only matter if you think they do. For me, having a sharp blade that close to my finger would make me nervous, which of course would affect my shooting. Other people like it because it gives them a positive feedback that they’ve reached full draw.

There’s no right or wrong on this one. It’s completely personal preference.

[DK]

#38957

So, I am not very smart. I got my new shafts stained, sealed and points glued on. I glued the nocks on so the grain of the wood is perpendicular to the string. My fletching jig does not line the cock feather with the nock. I took it apart and I cant adjust it. I could switch it over to four feather but even then there would be no consistency in the way the feathers are glued on, does it matter with four feathers. I feel pretty dumb, anyone have a solution?

Thanks DK

[Ralph]

#39001

Smart has nothing to do with it, experience does though along with blind luck sometimes. 😀

I never glue my nocks on permanent while fletching. I use just a little drop of glue on the outside, enough to keep them from moving about, then when I’m through fletching I can twist them off easily and reapply how I like them to be permanently.

[DK]

#39009

I thought the grain of the arrow had to be perpendicular to the string. That gave you the strongest and most consistent spine taking the brunt of the force created by archers paradox? If it doesn’t matter I will change it. Although I think my nocks are permanently on now. Dang. Oh well maybe I will try four feathers.

DK

[Ralph]

#39060

Maybe this’ll help courtesy of TJ. He draws pics better than I. 😀

[DK]

#39145

This is what I looked before I glued on the nocks. I didn’t think about how the clamp would line up with it. What I think you are saying is you glue the cock feather to the arrow by looking at the grain of the arrow. Cock feather on the grain that runs continuously down the entire shaft and the hen feathers it their appropriate places. Then you break the nock loose and permanently glue it in place. I get it. I glued my nock down first and hoped my jig would line up on it. So the question is. Is it to late to break my nocks loose and reuse them? I think I should be able to get them off and sand the nock taper a little to get the glue off. Will the nocks still be reusable? I did find one shaft that would work with four feathers so I fletched it up. It flew great. It sounded great as well. Sounded like shooting wood. I really like it.

Thanks

Doug

[Ralph]

#39203

I have to use heat to get nocks off that have been glued on for real and they’re definitely not reusable.

My old Jo Jan multi fletcher, when 3 fletching is when I just temp glue nocks. When I convert it to 4 fletch I’m happy how they come out so I go ahead and glue them on permanent when 4 fletching. Just the nature of the beast and perhaps some of it is the way I have my helical set.

My arrows will work fine actually as they come off in 3 fletch mode but I’m particular how nock and feathers are aligned after years of doing it “my way”:D

I really never think about it anymore but I can remember way back when I had to.

No set guidelines, just ideas and examples. I buggered up more than one arrow in the learning process.

That’s why I think a baker’s dozen arrows would be nice, 1 to experiment with, 12 more to build like you want them.

R2 dozens seem not to add up to 12 for very long:D

[DK]

#39933

Thanks R2 my buddy has a tower fletching jig which i hope will work for fletching these up. The next dozen will be better.

Hava a good one.

[Stephen Graf]

#40482

I glue the nocks on the way they need to be to match up with the grain.

Then I take a sharpie and make a small mark on the shaft where I want the cock feather to be. That way, when I put the arrow in the jig, I can flip it over / rotate it in the jig till till I get the arrow oriented correctly for fletching. In my case, cock feather in.

If you want it somewhere other than in or out, you will have to do it as R2 suggests…

[DK]

#41164

Steve,

What kind of jig do you have. My jig will not allow it to line up with where want it. The grain will not line up with where I want the cock feather.

Thanks DK

[Stephen Graf]

#45743

DK wrote: Steve,

What kind of jig do you have. My jig will not allow it to line up with where want it. The grain will not line up with where I want the cock feather.

Thanks DK

I’ve been using my bitzenburger jig lately with the fletching tape from bohning. Hard to beat.

But i have a jo-jan 6 arrow fletcher too. Both will work as I mentioned – for 3 feathers at 120 degrees.

For 4 fletch you can’t do as I suggested. You have to do as R2 suggested. For myself, I am happy enough with how the fletching jig affixes 4 fletch (X the string) that I don’t worry about it.

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