[desertdude49]

in reply to: Wood Arrow Build Along "Finished" #53532

Steve,
That’s my feelings also, I just paided $50 for a dz shafts that are supposed to be xx-xx they better be for that kind of cash…..I was lucky in that the guy who designed this Spine Tester is a friend of mine…..

[desertdude49]

in reply to: Wood Arrow Build Along "Finished" #53479

Just a note on a Spine Tester….. If you have a shaft/broadhead that is flying perfect for you, contact the person where you are getting your shafts from and send them that shaft so they can match it….

I have done this in the past with great results…..

[desertdude49]

in reply to: Wood Arrow Build Along "Finished" #53436

Next step for me is deciding on which end I’m going to use for the Nock end….. I’m looking for the end with the least amount of grain run off. Meaning I don’t want a bunch of these (> > > > > >) near the nock or the point end.
I’m also looking for no bends at the end of the shaft.

Next will be to cut the nock taper. There are a couple of ways/tools to do this. For this build I used a Taper Tool.

**TIPS** Keep the blades new/sharp

I have used this tool for many years but it only works on soft wood shafting…

I also have a guide that I use with a disc sander to sand the nock/point tapers.

The “WoodChuck” Taper tool is another great tool.

I like to give the nock tapers a couple a twists on some sand paper to clean them up a bit. Not alot, don’t want to change the nock taper…

[desertdude49]

in reply to: Wood Arrow Build Along "Finished" #53423

Great question and input.

Here is my take on a Spine Tester. I have bought alot of different shafts from different shaft sources. You would think that you would Get what you asked/paided for. Not the case, I will not mention any place by name but in the past 2 years when I ordered 75-80 I would get anywhere from 65-85# spine shafts. For what reason I don’t know, at first I thought it was my Spine tester so I tested a bunch of different shafts and had a friend check them on his Tester (Adams) They all tested the same. I know that when I started bying Footed shafts from Kye @ Great Basin Footed Shaft I was a little unsure what to order because of my past dealings.

All the shafts I have recieved from him have tested the same on his and my Testers. So for me it’s one of the Most importent things, ever had a shaft just fly right and you right if off as a “Flyer” well come to find out it was way under spined (right handed shooter).

As for buying in large quanities, Like Dave Said you may get within the spine group (60-65 pound spine) but the shafts Will differ in weight by 100gr or more. Now on the other side you may get 35 shafts that will be right in your weight range and the rest you can use for Flu-Flu arrows or stumpers or testers.

[desertdude49]

in reply to: Wood Arrow Build Along "Finished" #53365

Ok the first thing I do is to spine check and weight all shafts. I wright the results on one end of the shaft. The shafts I’m making here are Cedars from 3Rivers, they are 11/32 parallel marked 65-70#. I found that all shafts were between 65-70# but the weights were between 389gr and 431gr.
That’s a Big difference, That’s why it’s so importent to check each shaft. I will do my best to fix this problem later.

When using a Spine tester it’s very importent to do 2 things.
1. Zero the dial, in the picture it shows a dial that’s not Zeroed.
2. Make sure the flat grain is facing you or end grain is facing up.

[desertdude49]

in reply to: For those who love Footed Arrows #49129

Dave,

I paid $15 for the shaft…Hate to think what a dz would cost.

[desertdude49]

in reply to: For those of you that hunt with wood arrows #48221

Been down with the Crud. Will start tomarrow…Sorry

[desertdude49]

in reply to: For those of you that hunt with wood arrows #44767

Great!!!
I’ll get everything together and we’ll get started after the Super Bowl. I will start with all the tools and items needed laid out in a picture. I understand that alot of you are already seasoned wood arrow makers so jump in and add please.

In this build along, I will cover the following areas.
1. Spine Testing
2. Type of sealers
3. Cresting
4. Dipping and Staining
5. Hand Strightening (Cedar)
6. Point and Nock tapers
any other topics you find interesting. Like I said input for other arrow makers is welcomed. I try my best not to misspell to many words along the way. Thanks again for the interest.

Mark

[desertdude49]

in reply to: For those of you that hunt with wood arrows #43362

Would a build along help? I have to make a dz for a guy just starting out. Nothing to fancy, but I could take pictures along the way and answer any questions some might have?

[desertdude49]

in reply to: Shoulder Shots 2 #42716

Dave,

You look so young then.. Simple smile tells it all……

Thanks Bro

[desertdude49]

in reply to: Shoulder Shots 2 #42396

What’s so Refreashing is that in our sport/way of life, is that we pass on this type of information.

[desertdude49]

in reply to: Shoulder Shots 2 #39620

Doc,

Just ordered my starting point arrows,
Beamon ICS Bowhunters 340 spine 9.4 GPI
100gr inserts
200gr Grizzly’s
100gr BH adaptor
300gr field points
The way I have it figured the shaft at 30.5 will weight 286.7gr + 100gr insert + 300gr Point + 15gr nock + 10gr feathers + 20gr 2″ aluminium footing 731gr with 420gr on the working end. I’ll let you know my FOC when I get the balance point. This should put me in the high 28-29% area if I’m right. this should work wounders on Hogs and Elk this year as long as I do my part. If I mess up a little I hope I have inproved my arrows performance enough to help me out…..

Mark

[desertdude49]

in reply to: tungsten-footed woodies; considerations #37504

Dave,

First off, thank you for taking the time and effort on this project. I pm’ed Kye at Great Basin Footed shaft with a few questions.

1. What is the lightest wood shaft material he can get in my spine (85-90).
2. What is the heaviest footing wood he has.

My thought is if he can find or has some lighter cedar than I’m using (mine are around 450gr).Maybe I can get a few more points of FOC by taking it from the shaft and moving to the point area.

I know that every little thing we do helps. I have my first ever Elk hunt this year and I have this deep down burn to use wood arrows. My goal is to get my FOC ove 20%. This is going to be fun, please let me know how you come out with the metal rod….

Mark

[desertdude49]

in reply to: Performance Differance between the 160 Grizzly and the 160 STOS #36184

Thanks Dave & Doc, I just ordered 1 1/2 of the 200 gr Grizzly’s. I’ll bring a couple of nice cigars and some backstraps and we’ll make a day of it…..

[desertdude49]

in reply to: Performance Differance between the 160 Grizzly and the 160 STOS #35937

The more I think about it (brain hurts, 2 cells fighting) the right answer is to learn how to sharpen the Grizzly. I shoot RW feathers so I’m lucky there. I guess this means a road trip up To Kings range for a day of shooting and Grizzly sharpening…… This ol dog Will learn a new trick…

I’m off to hunt hogs the a few months off on my first Elk hunt.

[Author]

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