Arrow shafts from lumber

Making arrows is just as, if not more important than making bows… as the saying goes, “any ole stick will make a bow, but is takes a special talent to make a good arrow” illustrates just how vital that piece of the equation truly is. In this episode I cover how to make an arrow out of a piece of cedar stock. While the material is Cedar, the process remains the same for any other type of wood you may want to use. The ability to make a quality arrow shaft is actually not as complicated as the old saying may lead you to believe. Follow along to see it all come together, additionally, I’ll cover the use of spent hand-gun shells to make both blunt and penetrative style tips.
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[@BadSinHunter]

Just what I was looking for!!!!….may god bless you.. I have watched your other videos and have came to the conclusion that trial and error have made you the guy I want to listen to.. definitely a fan from now on

[@drax12343]

Thank you so much for your tutorial! I was very curious on how arrow shafts were made and hopefully in the future I will be able to make some for me to use.

[@mattheweskender7781]

Beautiful arrow shafts! Nice work! ❤❤❤

[@bienyamientoefy1923]

{sorry for the error }waiting for this lesson as though you read my mind.this is a very usefull lesson for me.sir,you always have a smart and intelligent way of doing things.

[@larryrickman-yt9wj]

Thank you for all the helpful information I just found a whole bunch of videos I need to watch. Thank you.🙏

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

Thank you! Happy to help any way I can!

[@andrewbuckner127]

I just started making White Pine shafts, much the way you are, however I picked up some cool tricks. Thanks

[@bienyamientoefy1923]

greetings mr. pettit.thank you sir.thats what i was waiting foras though you read my mind.

[@ericlind3569]

Great video!! I’m definitely going to try making my own arrows like this. As a cabinetmaker, I have a TON of quarter sawn lumber left from jobs, I’m going to try and make some out of tight grained quarter sawn black walnut I’ve been saving for over 15 years, if only as decorative arrows!!!

[@kathleenfoster9887]

Great presentation,makes want to make som arrows

[@growinmoflower3391]

I'm speechless ,wow

[@knolltop314]

Home Depot also carries 1/2" thick tulip poplar boards. That's what I use primarily. Because tulip poplar grows so straight, it's easy to find boards with straight grain. I have found the resulting shafts to be sturdy. I like your "shooting board" jig. Also, 3Rivers stocks a point/nock tapering jig that utilizes inserts for the various standard shaft diameters ... 1/4", 5/16, 11/32, 23/64. I make use of those inserts as "go nogo gages" as am sanding shafts down to final diameter. Thanks for doing the vid!

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

I’ll have to try some!

[@richardthompson3791]

Great video my technique is similar.I have been doing that since 1970 Over time I stopped planeing shafts any further than an octogon It I found to be plenty sufficient .I also have sanding guages to ensure perfect diameter.That is just a piece of hard wood block with an 11/32" or 5/16" hole drilled in it .I get the shaft to just fit in the end of the hole at the tip of the shaft and progressivily work the shaft I periotically test the fit untiI the guage is a nice push fit for the whole length of the shaft Do my shafts a bit differently though as all my shafts I glue footings to.great work.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

Thank you for watching! And I like the idea of a shaft gauge

[@TommyAtkins-eh8cd]

I usually split the wood, like I'm making matches. Smaller and smaller until I get to a half inch. That way the grain always runs perfect. If I can't split that section it's no good for my weight of bow.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

That’s a great practice! Even at light weights, grain is a major consideration.

[@sjohnson4882]

Thanks

[@musaadfelton3909]

Sorry if I have giant bamboo with very thick walls. Can I cut the bamboo into those square Dowels. Then use that to make the arrows? Because bamboo is straight grain.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

Yes… although bamboo is more dense as it gets closer to the outside rind. Not sure how this would affect spine, or the flight of the arrow. I was going to take up the same experiment, but I am going to have to glue up my bamboo to get it thick enough.

[@musaadfelton3909]

@@meadowlarkadventuregear thank you so much for your response..I appreciate it..I found bamboo growing somehow and it's giant bamboo..the walls are very thick..i didn't measure the thickness of the walls yet but it could be 12 to 15 millimeters thick. When I place my finger on the top of the bamboo where it's cut. It's thicker than the first part of my index finger or finger joint. The part of my finger where my nail is. From the tio of my finger to the first joint line on my finger. Lol can't think how else to explain it. When I get a chance. I should measure the thickness of those walls.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

Let me know how the arrows turn out. This might be another area where heat tempering the material would make the difference between great success and mediocre results

[@musaadfelton3909]

@@meadowlarkadventuregear I will 👍 The bamboo is not ready yet. Its stil green. Probably needs to dry for another two months.

[@Terpedup925]

How do you know the stiffness of the arrows?

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

I used a spine tester that I built from a tutorial on Sam Harper’s channel.

[@charlesbyrne7277]

How does these shafts compare with port orfred shafts .

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

Port Orford shafts are definitely more durable and available in heavier spine weights than I have managed with the cedar that I’m using. But pretty much on par with the Fir, and Pine shafts that I made in conjunction with this video.

[@draven3838]

You can sand your heavier shaft to get them closer to your lighter shafts without cutting them down

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

True. The other side effect of sanding down the shaft is losing some of the spine stiffness - so you have to balance your efforts to get them just right.

[@CoffeeFiend1]

I've never seen an actual buyable shooting board, literally anywhere, it baffles me. The entire internet is how to make your own or shooting board takes you to archery targets or fletching jigs.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

You're giving me ideas..! lol! Thank you for watching!

[@mickleblade]

I can see why most of use buy shafts, a lot of work there.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

And why they are so expensive.

[@grejen711]

More work than building a bow!

[@mikenorris6769]

How do us mere mortals spine and weigh the arrows? d

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

I use an inexpensive grain scale that has 5 different units of measure for the weight, and then made spine tester fashioned after one that Sam Harper did a build along for on his KZbin channel by the same name. it’s not too complicated to make and use.

[@pistolpeds]

Good work but very labour intensive. Most people don't have that much time or patience.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

I have just enough of both of those things - so I make it work! lol

[@baz3184]

Very modern problem. a modern solution is just buy premade arrows but where is the fun in that?

[@twintwo1429]

Most people do have plenty of wasted time every week, no excuses buddy. Wish more people would make and repair more things.

[@thomaskirkpatrick4031]

You would get much better results if you, made a stop to keep the jig itself from moving, and invested in a decent plane.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

Having proper tools is certainly a game changer…

[@thomaskirkpatrick4031]

@@meadowlarkadventuregear a decent place won't break the bank, you can get a good one for well under $100.00, but you will have to invest some time and effort into tuning it up.

[@dmg4415]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIWWk3Znl5V6g5Y As an alernative way to do it.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

Not surprisingly, this method is pretty hard on the shafts. if using cedar, it will literally shred the shafts into non-existence… I did it with some Sitka spruce and then spent just as much time cleaning up all of the tear out as I would have had I just used the shooting board in the first place. I’ve made a jig that uses a sharp, wide chisel in the same manner as a pencil sharpener that seemed to be the best of both worlds, but still not good for cedar.

[@chrisandbrennacatania5864]

That's actually not a correct way to make arrow shafts because unlike arrows, dowels don't need to be straight. Pushing the wood through a hole in a thin steel plate is not going to result in a straight shaft because there's nothing to keep the cut straight; due to the thinness of the steel, if you wobble even slightly (which you will) the cut will also wobble. I make dowels for joinery with a similar method, those things never come out straight even for 6 inches, let alone 30. Fortunately, for joinery that doesn't matter.

[@dmg4415]

@@chrisandbrennacatania5864 As always, the holes keeps them straight. ;)

[@rabanalesarchery5994]

Que medidas tienen las varas cuadradas???

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

They are 3/8" square

[@aprovost8733]

Hello from France ! I'm really fan of your fantastic videos ! It gives me a big help for building my first bows for leisure. After two failures, I already succeed to make two simple ipe-bamboo bows : one 25 pounds and one 35 pounds :) But I would like now to try more sophisticated multi-laminations like yours. So, in one of your former videos "Limb Laminations / bamboo back and belly bow build pt.4", you gave some important dimensions : I have a question for you about it. I have noted for bamboo back : width 1,5" in the middle fadded to 5/8" at tip and thickness 0,16" in the middle fadded to 0,01" at tip of limb : this last figure 0,01" (very thin, isn't it) surprises me : is it really 0,01" or 0,10" ? I have also a second question : could you share the thickness of the core ? and also of the bamboo belly ? Very much thanks in advance for your answer. Would appreciate an e-mail, if you like ([e-mail]). Wich you the best for continuing your really fantastic and amazing work !! A.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

Thanks for watching my videos - I’m glad I can be of help! You are 100% correct that a .010” thickness is way too thin. The correct thickness was .10”. As for the core, it was .20” at the center tapered out to a .06”. The belly lams were .18” near the grip, to about a .12” at the tips. The important part about the bamboo back and belly is that the thickness at the tips is determined by the taper that gives the right tiller when pulled in reverse.

[@aprovost8733]

@@meadowlarkadventuregear Many thanks for your very clear and usefull answer ! Wish you the best and I keeep following your videos :)