arrowheads

[RikJohnson39]

Sorry for the new profile. I posted the explanation in the Prancing Pony.

last year I found an ad in Craigslist for archery gear $20!
I rushed out to the middle of the desert to find some guy with a box of heads, tools, shaft sctions, etc. There were over a hundred arrowheads both glue-on and screw-in, both target point and broadhead, all sorts of neat stuff.

Thinking about this, I decided to try something.

The top row are original arrowheads I bought, the bottom row are what I adapted or made myself.

This is a broadhead I converted to a swallowtail.



I took some of the broadheads to my belt-sander and came up with a make-shift swallowtail arrowhead. Not as good as the one I bought but affordable.
Also flattened some PVC and made some faux-bone heads. Once I get some real bones (I occasionally find a dead cow while hiking), I'll use the techniques I learned with the PVC to make some bone arrowheads.

[Peter Remling]

Rik:

I sent you an email re:the old account.

When you eventually use bone make sure you either wear a face mask or preferably grind it outside. If inhaled it can make you ill and it will stink up your house something fierce. I already made that mistake.

Pete

[RikJohnson]

I found some heads on Etsy so had to make a few awwors.

Top Row left to right:
- couple old brodheads from the early 70's
- birding head I got ofgf etsy
- home-made varmet head.
Bottom Row left to right
- 3-blade broadhead I got from Cjhina
- couple bodkins from Etsy
- couple swallowtails from ebay
- 2 broadheads (one double blade the other tri-blade) I got from a great deal and modified into modern swallowtails. Got a huge box of dozens and dozens of heads and gear for $20 off CL.



Pre-etsy deal, I wanted to make my own birding points so made these from some spoons and target heads. I still need to solder them together.
I doubt that the longer ones on the right I made from the spoon-handle will be workable. Probably will twist-&-shatter the shaft if I hit anything.

I just received 2 dozen cedar shafts from Saggittarius and expect a couple dozen more from etsy this weekend so instead of paddling Canyon Lake, I may make arrows instead.
My home-made dip-tube works well.

I made it from some PVC and the cover to a mop I found.

The drying stand is closed-cell foam I drilled holes into.


Obviously I canno throw anything away nor can I pass up any good deal. If I can find properly spined shafts for $18/doz, I'll buy them up in case I loose of break shafts.

I did have to remove the antler arrow-rest from my longbow as it was stripping feathers. Poor design.

[Elleth]

Ah, darn you! I've been checking the delivery number on a dozen shafts all week. Can't wait to get get heads on 'em and experiment with real medieval(ish) heads and fletching for the first time!

Rik - do you buy finished fletchings or start with raw feathers? If the latter, can you offer some pointers on the "removing the feather from the vane / preparing the base" stage? I think I grok the "masking-tape-and-razor-knife" technique for shaping the vane, but how to handle the base is still befuddling me.

Any advice?

[RikJohnson]

re: advice... not much. Mostly on mistakes I make<g>.

I buy my feathers pre-cut from Saggitarius to keep them uniform, BUT I did buy a feather-cutter from 3-Rivers and have experimented with it. I can cut them easily with the cutter but am having trouble getting the spine cut-&-sanded properly. The problem with cutting my own feathers is getting a steady supply of decent feathers. You would think that with the turkley hunting season and all the people around who raise geese and turkeys, it would be easy... but I can never get decent feathers from local people.
I did request from Sag that all my feathers be 'left-wing'. I had no reason other than I flipped a coin and find it easier if I buy ONLY one wing to prevent me from mixing left and right feathers on the same arrow.

I bought 2 dozen shafts from Saggitarius and have nothing but praise for them.
I bought 2 dozen shafts from an archedry dealer on Etsy and... well they are in the process of becoming display arrows. A good deal may not be worth buying which is why I now avoid shafts from China or Etsy.

So I will go back to Sag. At least I got 2 dozen good target arrows and a dozen or more hunting arrows of differnt types from the remaining Sag shafts.

The bottom line is that although I make my own gear such as string-jigs and nock-jigs and poundage-tester, etc, those are simple engineering projects.
I prefer to buy my shafts and feathers from a reputable dealer like Sag or 3-R and assemble them myself, though I DO cut my own traditional nock.