DIY homemade broadheads

For all the things we make ourselves for the outdoor world that are not covered in the other specific DIY area.
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Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

DIY homemade broadheads

#1 Post by Ron Kulas »

Ive killed deer and bear with homemade broadheads in the past but they were 2 blade, single bevel designs I built. I shot them at the end of homeade arrow fletched with the feathers of Turkey Id killed. I launched them from a homemade longbow I designed and made.

This DIY homemade broadhead is a bit different. It will weigh 250 grains as that is my preferred weight in a broadhead. Roughly 91% of bowhunters that target deer use a 100 or 125 grain head. Its not my intention to ever market this head for many reasons but weight is a big one, It would appeal to less than 10% of the bowhunting community and Ive got so many projects in the works I dont have the bandwidth to bring another bowhunting product to market.

Ive got an Africa bowhunt this coming fall and Id like to take them on that traveling bowhunt but there is a lot of testing to do in advance.

Here, Im making the first set of blades. Its a work in progress. Im still waiting on the delivery of some small screws to secure the blades. Then do flight and destructive tests. Then travel around and kill some critters to evaluate performance
The Joy is in the doing.

Jamesh76
Posts: 2019
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:05 pm

Re: DIY homemade broadheads

#2 Post by Jamesh76 »

.040 thickness? what other thicknesses have you tested?

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY homemade broadheads

#3 Post by Ron Kulas »

Over the last nearly 50 years of bowhunting Ive tested a lot which is why I landed on .040" Its stout and if a good grad of steel is used (Im still considering carbon steel for the blades rather than stainless) they will hold up well.
The Joy is in the doing.

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY homemade broadheads

#4 Post by Ron Kulas »

an update and an instruction on sharpening any broadhead.
The Joy is in the doing.

Jamesh76
Posts: 2019
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:05 pm

Re: DIY homemade broadheads

#5 Post by Jamesh76 »

I assume that head is designed to be shot out of a wheel bows? Looks like short interlocking blades? What bow do you hunt with?

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY homemade broadheads

#6 Post by Ron Kulas »

I dont think it will be bow specific. I hunt with longbows, recurves and compounds.
The Joy is in the doing.

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY homemade broadheads

#7 Post by Ron Kulas »

Im continuing to advance this DIY broadhead project.

Ive had many blades made via water jet cutting and then each must be hand sharpened by me. Here I explain how to get things sharp.

https://youtu.be/kMz-O45P8is

Making each blade take some time.

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Then (since Im always concerned with tip curl) I made a tanto tip on the leading blade.

Image

Prior to kicking off the blades, I contacted a company in Lincoln Nebraska to make the stainless steel ferrules for me. The design is complicated and requires a Swiss Screw machine to produce the parts due to the complexity and tiny slots and tapped holes in stainless steel. I sent them a 3D cad file Id created as well as a drawing I made of the specs and tolerances. The supplier sent me this photo of the parts prior to shipping them.

Image

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Then I assembled the heads and did a non-scientific push test. here is that video.

https://youtu.be/wrEm0JghJ8I

In order to evaluate the efficacy of any broadhead, one must field test it on things that bleed. After assembling some heads, I set out to accomplish a few things with this field test. Since I do suburban deer culling for a couple municipalities, Im able to target whitetails and I have until the end of January to remove as many as I can.

I wont be evaluating just this prototype broadhead with this field test. I will also be evaluating a arrow mounted telemetry tracking knock ive spent more than 3 years perfecting, I will also be evaluating a thermal imaging capable drone that will be slated for big game carcass location and recovery. Here are the effects of this broadhead on a live test subject. Here is that video

https://youtu.be/FCVConNC59U

Here is a still photo from the video I made with the thermal imaging drone. This was about a half hour after the deer had expired. I had the drone about 100 feet up. Even the entrance hole from the arrow can be seen.

Image

Im now trying to source the proper thickness of tool steel (preferably O1 tool steel) that I can have water jet cut. I will then do my own heat treating and tempering to make them suitable for broadhead blades. As a custom knife maker, O1 is one of my favorite high carbon steels for blades. Its superior to most stainless steels. The only negative is that is is not corrosion resistant so it will have to be oiled and protected from rust.
The Joy is in the doing.

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY homemade broadheads

#8 Post by Ron Kulas »

My favorite part of prototype broadhead testing. The tenderloin test.


Image
The Joy is in the doing.

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White Falcon
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Re: DIY homemade broadheads

#9 Post by White Falcon »

Killer.

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY homemade broadheads

#10 Post by Ron Kulas »

I found a source for .04" thick O1 tool steel to make my next batch of blades from. I can harvest about 21 sets of blades from a 6" x 10" long piece of stock. After water jet cutting I will heat treat and temper the steel to a Rockwell hardness in the upper 50's. An order has been place.


At the same time I made the rearward blades a bit larger going from 1 1/8" wide to 1 3/16" and added some venting. The leading blade went from 1" wide to 7/8" .


Image
The Joy is in the doing.

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