Built a tool

[Hill billy]

It’s been several years since I built woodies and never perfected the art by a long shot. But I used the shaft of a screwdriver and rubbed them out while looking down the shaft. Kind of hard to explain but I did straitened them.

[Captainkirk]

I generally prefer 5" if it's gonna be tipped with a broadhead. Target arrows shoot 4" fine.

[elkslayer4x5]

It’s been several years since I built woodies and never perfected the art by a long shot. But I used the shaft of a screwdriver and rubbed them out while looking down the shaft. Kind of hard to explain but I did straitened them.

Not too hard to explain, I mean if I got it.. That is basically what I was doing by rubbing the shaft as flexed. I've seen a tool, just basically a grooved piece of some hard plastic that is used to rub heat into the bend relaxing the grain to straighten woodies. I probably try some spruce next, lighter, but tougher, and harder to straighten.

Pure coincidence Capt, a thread on the wall on fetching length, 74 posts, most saying it doesn't matter, once tuned properly.

All done with the shaft work, a two color stain, and three coats of Minwax Oil Modified Polyurethane. Clear Satin. Directions say allow 2 hours between applications, I waited a day, it's a 5 years old can. Sanded with 220, sponged off dust, let dry and repeat.
Just in time. The straight nock receiver for the Bitzenburger arrived today along with a digital scale with 3000 grain capisity. Weighed a few shafts on my RCBS scale, then and spent the 7 bucks.

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[elkslayer4x5]

Got five of 'em fletched today. Outta be able to see these.

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[Grizzly]

Will those be your grouse arrows?

And to think I'd shake my head in disbelief at those who hunt squirrels with bows. I think i'm too much of a cheap skate to be willing to lose that many arrows - but I'm sure it's alot of fun. I could hardly hit a ruffed grouse with a shotgun never mind a bow. That's why Dad finally bought his Browning Superposed choked skeet and skeet and took up the sport. I have it now, though I'd give it up in a heartbeat to be able to kick up grouse with Dad again.

[elkslayer4x5]

Finished the rest of that dozen.
Not specifically, but for hunting, and practice These will be trimmed to a 3.5" parabolic but some of them will get a judo and go in/on the quiver for roadside grouse I usually see on the roads into my area. I'll get close to this seasons birds fairly easy, older, bigger birds tend to fly 10-15 yard away from the gravel they're looking for, on the down hill side and I need something with airbrakes for them! A missed shot that flies even 40 yards can cost a long climb back up, or the arrow. A reversed spiral wrap will work great but I don't want one of those big flags in/on the quiver. I might trim the backs of a couple to see how far they'll go. But I have other ideas for those arrows. Birds that fly to the uphill side are stalkable and don't always land in trees.
Splicing them the way I did left me lots of odd sized bits that I was thinking of staggering into a flu-flu. With the two colors.

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[Carpdaddy]

Those are too pretty to shoot!

[elkslayer4x5]

Those are too pretty to shoot!

Not when you know how hard they are to make. Used less than half of the full length feathers I got for this project. You've probably seen the Bounty Hunter videos on youtube where Derric Herring strips and peels the quill skin for his splices.. I gave it a try, now have two full length feathers I can't use. His method works great but I pay for each feather, so any long learning curve is out!
Researching splicing, I came across a comment from someone who spliced goose and turkey, a guy who also tied flies. His statement was that all feathers, regardless of species will want to knit together
So I took a short cut. Each fletch is 3/5". 2.5" plus a 1"piece. I kept the quill width the same. Cut white 2.5, cut 2 white 1", cut red 2.5 & 1 1" red, and another 2.5 red. I made my cuts with an Exacto knife at an angle, so the back 1" piece quill wants to slide under the 2.5 piece, slide fingers up the vanes so they'll knit, and apply a bit of blue masking up the seam.(I didn't, used the regular stuff, it removed the "dyed" barring ) Took less than ten minutes, put 'em in the clamp, run a bead of glue down the quill, let it fill any gap in the quill and put it on the arrow.
I alternated back and forth like I mentioned to keep the angle of the vanes approximately the same. As you move from quill point to tip of the feather the vanes change angles.
Here's a couple of ways to wrap a spiral, both 9 " feathers. Red will fly further.

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[Grizzly]

Interesting. I never thought of that. It's probably been over 15 years since I spliced a feather, but they add so much more to a set of arrows.

[elkslayer4x5]

Interesting. I never thought of that. It's probably been over 15 years since I spliced a feather, but they add so much more to a set of arrows.

Which?
Went to hardware store this morning before I got back to work on these arrows, needed an upgrade for the Young Feather Burner. Have never understood why Young didn't include an inline switch. And no, the ribbon is not set.

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Made 3 more feathers and added them to one of the already fletched arrows, now have a 6 fletch, boy, does it drop! Only three have any kind of point, the one next to quiver has a rubber blunt, the 6 fletch and the arrow to the left have 125 gr field points. Shot the regular arrow at 19 yds, and held the same place with the 6 fletch, it hit a foot lower. Loud though. Not much of a test as I've only shot this bow less than a dozen times, today was the first shots with arrows I built for the bow. Good news, I've apparently learned to interpret a spine chart, no nock point on the string, just eyeballed it, NO fishtailing, we'll see what happens with the broadheads.
I'm back, a 20 minute break while I mounted 3 broadheads, and shot them a dozen times. Got a little fishtail, but still no nocking point. Looking good! Impressed with my 520 gr arrows penetration with that 130 gr No Mercy up front. Put em as deep in the block as my 63# compound drove Beamen Hunters with 125 gr 3 blade Muzzys. The Darton is 46# at my draw. Might be the difference of two vs three blades.

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