# Home made arrows ??



## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Does anyone on here make their own arrows, I stopped by the sporting goods store today to pick up a few and found out they no longer carry any. I figure I can do just about anything if I set my mind to it, can I make my own and what do I need. > Thanks Marc


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

With todays powerful modern bows, it's really not practical to make your own, if you're talking about wooden arrows.

If you're talking about buying shafts and doing the cutting and fletching, etc, yourself, the equiprment can be pricey but will last nearly forever.

It comes down to how much strength and accuracy you need.

When I started shooting bow, there WERE no arrows available other than Cedar.

It wasn't unusual to break one the first time it was fired.

Now I have Aluminum arrows over 10 years old that are still in good shape


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

You can make them yourself. If you are lucky enough to live around river cane, that makes a good arrow. You can also cut fairly straight shoots of various types and bundle them together until they dry. Scrape them smooth and straighten them over a fire. 

I save wings from the turkeys we butcher, wild turkeys I shoot, geese, sandhill cranes, etc. If you cut or pluck them, you will want to keep left and right separate because they spin different directions and you don't want to mix. Grab the tip of a primary flight feather and slowly pull apart and it will split down the middle. The middle will be rough and uneven so hold it between two boards and sand it smooth against a belt sander or sandpaper or scrape with a knife. Now you can glue them onto your shaft with fletching cement or use pitch if you are up against it. You can also wrap wet sinew spiraled around the shaft and going thru the feathers every 1/4" or so to help hold the pitch glued feathers in place. Then cut the height you want with scissors. 

Cut a nock in the end with a saw or small rattail file. 

Put on a point of your choice.

There are some good methods to make shafts out of sawn boards so you can use various lumber to make arrows. You use a router, a drill motor and a little jig and can turn out shafts in a hurry. 

I normally use cedar or hickory and shafts last for years with a longbow or recurve in the 55-65 lb range. I like rubber blunts for practice and small game hunting and those almost never break. 

The goose and crane feathers are waterproof for hunting in the rain. 

They make some simple cheap jigs to do one arrow at a time.

One of these volumes has some good arrow making info, I forget which one without going to look it up.
Amazon.com: The Traditional Bowyer&#39;s Bible, Volume 1 (9781585740857): Jim Hamm: Books


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Around here, arrows are a seasonal item... by late summer, all the outdoor shops are stocking em... by the middle of gun season, they're on closeout. You'd have to order them via catalog the rest of the year, unless you go to a store specializing in archery....


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## Ohio Rusty (Jan 18, 2008)

That is a question that shows how things have changed over the years. In the 60's and early 70's ....everyone pretty much made their own. They bought shafts, raw feathers and either glue on field tips or broadheads (MA2's. MA3's. Bear razors, etc)

I still have my Dads blitzenburger feather fletcher that I use for fletching my crossbow arrows. I also have an original Young feather burner for cutting the sheild shaped feathers from raw turkey feathers. The Young feather burner/trimmer is still made.

We made ALL of our arrows at one time ... You didn't buy them in a store. Field arrows, hunting arrows and flu-flu's for bird hunting. Fiberglass and aluminum arrowes changed the whole face of archery. With the modern powerful bows requiring stiffer, tougher arrows from materials like carbon/graphite ...... self made arrows are almost obsolete now. I guess that I a library full of arrow making info I'll someday take to the grave as no one is interested in that anymore. Making your own arrows went the way of atari's, DOS, and other long gone inventions.

Ohio Rusty ><>


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## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

many potential ways to make arrows. Find sites like "Anderthal" that teach early culture skills and you will be quite surprised what you can do.

I think "helplessness" is a trait that TPTB would love us to learn and clutch to our bosom's, but I find it hard to go along with that.

If you have heart set on hi-tech archery, there is plenty in catalogs.

Good Luck






springvalley said:


> Does anyone on here make their own arrows, I stopped by the sporting goods store today to pick up a few and found out they no longer carry any. I figure I can do just about anything if I set my mind to it, can I make my own and what do I need. > Thanks Marc


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## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

atatal's ? Spear chucking leverage devices.



Ohio Rusty said:


> That is a question that shows how things have changed over the years. In the 60's and early 70's ....everyone pretty much made their own. They bought shafts, raw feathers and either glue on field tips or broadheads (MA2's. MA3's. Bear razors, etc)
> 
> I still have my Dads blitzenburger feather fletcher that I use for fletching my crossbow arrows. I also have an original Young feather burner for cutting the sheild shaped feathers from raw turkey feathers. The Young feather burner/trimmer is still made.
> 
> ...


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Thank You all so much for the info, I do a lot of things that have gone by the wayside. It is nice to know how to do a bunch of things, if you only use them once a year, or once a lifetime it is worth it in my book. > Thanks Marc


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## NELSELGNE (Nov 13, 2006)

Arrow making - How To Make your own arrows.

Making arrows for your bows

http://www.wildernessoutfittersarchery.com/Arrowmaking.pdf

The Stickbow's Bowbuilding Forum

Archery Arrow Shafts by Hexshaft Canadian Wood Arrows

http://www.archers-review.com/arrows-and-arrow-making

Make an authentic Native-American arrow -- Boys' Life magazine


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## Lizza (Nov 30, 2005)

One of my daughter's just made her own wooden bow and is now attempting to make arrows, these are mostly for decoration, they don't seem terribly useful but who knows, she's having fun making them. 

I was thinking of getting her some bamboo? Do you think that would make a decent arrow or bow? I'd have to ask her but I think she watched Youtube videos on making her bow.


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## Lizza (Nov 30, 2005)

We were posting at the same time, thanks for the links Nels!! I am going to pass those onto my daughter.


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## redhousekiwi (Nov 30, 2008)

morningstar said:


> One of my daughter's just made her own wooden bow and is now attempting to make arrows, these are mostly for decoration, they don't seem terribly useful but who knows, she's having fun making them.
> 
> I was thinking of getting her some bamboo? Do you think that would make a decent arrow or bow? I'd have to ask her but I think she watched Youtube videos on making her bow.


Bamboo stalks tend to split and splinter - so I wouldn't think they would hold up very well as arrows unless you reinforced them. You can see this if you get a piece of bamboo and stand it on end on the pavement and hit the other end with a hammer (which is similar to the stress you put an arrow too). The bamboo will split lengthwise between the 'knuckles'. I have to be careful putitng bamboo stakes in the garden or I get this happening.

Cheers, Liam


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## Lizza (Nov 30, 2005)

redhousekiwi said:


> Bamboo stalks tend to split and splinter - so I wouldn't think they would hold up very well as arrows unless you reinforced them. You can see this if you get a piece of bamboo and stand it on end on the pavement and hit the other end with a hammer (which is similar to the stress you put an arrow too). The bamboo will split lengthwise between the 'knuckles'. I have to be careful putitng bamboo stakes in the garden or I get this happening.
> 
> Cheers, Liam


Thanks Liam! No to Bamboo then, I think she has used Fir branches so far, only because that is mostly what our forest is.


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## NELSELGNE (Nov 13, 2006)

I made arrows out of 3/8"birch dowels, back in the 50's.
My bow was 35 pound pull. I had a 3-vane fletching jig, 
feather burning jig to trim the turkey feathers, and a cresting
box for painting stripes around the arrows.
Red Dogwood shrubs had lots of straight wood 
and they were stronger than the birch dowels.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

The dog wood sounds good, neighbor down the road has lots of the dog wood. > Marc


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

Or to use cedar is common for arrows, split em out & then shave em down - methinks offhand that a jig of some sort could be made for a jointer . I just ordered a new 50 lb. recurve bow from sportsmansguide, but will still try to shoot my 35 lb. one off my porch each day for practice. If I'd only had it when the bobcat walked through the other day ! The chicken killer !
Some of you no doubt will critisize this idea, but I have saved some can tops to make arrow heads with (in winter some time later), they are razor sharp. Cut 2 triangles w/your Wiss snips & put a 90 deg fold down longitudinal center (through the point), then force them opposing each other into the 4 way slots you have cut w/fine saw blade into arrow tip - re-enforce w/wire below your arrow point, maybe dip into your homemade glue from leather boiled down.
OR, grind down pennies for arrowpoints ?


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

I won't criticize you, but nowadays everybody else only thinks about buying something. When it's no longer for sale, they will be out of luck.

Here is an example of a turning jig for shafts. I made one for a guy fifteen years ago that was a bit fancier, using aluminum and drill bushings, but this one seems to work as well. 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lF2YXLdoiY]Making Wooden Arrow Shafts.flv - YouTube[/ame]

I've made many heads out of various thin metals. I once found some old appliance that had stainless the right thickness and made a bunch of two blade points that work fine on small game. 

A 38 Spl or 357 case glued on makes a good small game or practice blunt. You can poke a nail out through the primer hole if you want a point on it so you can climb trees to retrieve your arrows while squirrel hunting.


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

Thanks for that link, there are others there at youtube that I will watch later. Oh, but what is the wood, where are these blanks coming from ?



Ed Norman said:


> I won't criticize you, but nowadays everybody else only thinks about buying something. When it's no longer for sale, they will be out of luck.
> 
> Here is an example of a turning jig for shafts. I made one for a guy fifteen years ago that was a bit fancier, using aluminum and drill bushings, but this one seems to work as well.
> 
> ...


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## gean (Apr 7, 2005)

The indians in my area used Indian Arrowwood also known as Spindle Tree,Wahoo or Burning Bush for making arrows. Artists used its charcoal for sketching. In the past some tanners preferred the bark to that of all other trees for tanning and dyeing leather. Knitting needles can be maade from the plant and the berries are used to treat animals that have the mange.

I may still have some small plants if anyone wants to do a trade.


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

rickfrosty said:


> Thanks for that link, there are others there at youtube that I will watch later. Oh, but what is the wood, where are these blanks coming from ?


That's the nice thing, you can go to the lumberyard and pick through the pile of oak or hickory or cedar or whatever wood will make a good shaft for a nice flat grained board. Take it home and saw it into 1/2" squares and make your shafts. The modern bows with training wheels are all about speed so they use tiny light arrows to get the most fps for advertising. They are also loud. A heavy hardwood shaft with a heavy broadhead and feathers launched by a flatbow or longbow from a fur covered rest will be almost silent, and the arrow will penetrate to a huge depth.


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