[Fletcher]

in reply to: Hardwood Arrows #47840

As long as they are well sealed, wet weather shouldn’t bother wood arrows. Footing is normally used to add weight and/or strength to the front end of the arrow, neither of which applies much to hardwoods. Footing is also used to add length if needed. There are plenty of us fletchers who will build with the laminated birch.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Nock left? #47830

Nock left for a lefty should mean stiff. Glue on a heavier point and see if it straightens up.

The website is Adcock’s. That is about the best info for bareshafting from what I understand. However, with wood arrows I don’t recommend bareshafting. IMO, paper tuning works much better with wood arrows.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: I have given wood another try and its all your fault… #46794

Wildschwein, those are really sharp, great job! I hope I was one of those that got you to try wood again. Carbon and cans make OK arrows but wood has life and spirit. Good choice on the Doug Fir. IMO it is the best shooting of the arrow woods.
Rick

[Fletcher]

in reply to: fred bear t/d #44440

Brown, green and red were pretty common.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Wet wool smell #44437

I know the smell well, but have never noticed it bother anything. You could hang a wet piece someplace where you know they will smell it and see how they react. Just make sure to keep your smell off of it. 😆

[Fletcher]

in reply to: EFOC with Wood? #44390

If your 70 lb cedars tune well you are in luck. Sitka spruce spine generally maxes out around 80 lb, but that gives you another ten pounds meaning you could move up to 190-200 gr class broadheads. I think you will like them.

Fir is my favorite shaft, but even a light fir is 50 grains heavier than spruce. Fir can get you plenty of spine, tho.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: EFOC with Wood? #43335

For sure, Sorno. The bow is a 54 lb @ 26″ Pronghorn TD longbow cut about 1/8″ out from center. It normally shoots a tapered 50-54 lb fir shaft, 28″ with a 160 gr point. My EFOC arrows are lightweight tapered 70 lb spine sitka spruce shafts, 28″ BOP with 50 grains of lead wire up the nose and a 190 gr VPA Terminator 3 blade. Total arrow weight is 610-620 grains. I could have tuned to a 27″ arrow by dropping a few lbs spine and picked up a bit more FOC.

Wood arrows are more FOC limited than carbon and maybe even aluminum, but you can usually pick up a fair bit. Long arrows and high draw weights add to the limitations.

What are your regular arrow specs?

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Small Game Heads #39544

Match the weights to your broadheads or whatever shoots best. One of the good things about the Ace Hex Heads is that they are available in numerous weights and diameters.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Stiff Side #38337

If you get hand spined shafts they should be spined against the edge of the “grain”, so that is how you should orient the nock and cock feather. According to the old standards, arrows should be fletched so the pointers on the top of the shaft point away from the archer/toward the point. That is how I do it. Some fletchers don’t believe it matters. Electronic spine testers don’t care either.

Shrimp, IMO, Duco is the fletching glue of choice for most wood arrow finishes. Saunders NPV works well, too.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Great Northern Bows #27841

I have a GN Critter Gitter that is GREAT bow and one of my preferred hunters. Plenty of zip, deathly quiet and no bad habits.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: I love my classic Bear bows! #26274

Congrats, Coyote! sounds like you are having a great season.

Small suggestion if I may; reposition your bowquiver into the riser so the mounts aren’t on the working part of the limbs.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Waterproofing feathers?? #26265

I’ve had good results with the powder, too.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: EFOC with Wood? #25150

EFOC is quite doable with wood arrows, you just need to figure for it. Balancing weight forward is best done with a lightweight shaft like Sitka Spruce or POC, and a heavy point like the 200 gr Grizz you mentioned. However you do it, the added weight up front will weaken the dynamic spine of the shaft so you will need to start with a stiffer static spine. If you are going from a 125 to a 200 gr point, add about 10 lbs static spine. I have wood arrows for my 54 lb longbow that weigh around 610 grains, have 21% FOC that paper tune and shoot great. Yes, it can be done.

If you are just wanting a heavy arrow, ash shafting is a workable option. If you are wanting to increase FOC, stay with a lighter shaft. Ash is very tough, but I believe you will find fir, sitka or POC to make a much better shooting arrow, and the extra FOC will make them shoot and perform even better.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Woody Weights #25138

That makes sense, Buzzard. Woody Weights add weight and a bit of length to an arrow, both of which require a stiffer shaft to tune for good arrow flight. Plan on another pound of shaft spine for each 7-8 grains of added point weight.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Fletching jig #20133

I used to have one Bitzenburger jig, now I have 30. All you need to go from one style of fletching to the other is a different clamp. The Bitz has different nock indexers available, but if you start with a standard (or straight) you can cover it all. The BPE is probably the most adjustable I’ve used, but you still need different clamps for left and right helical.

[Author]

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