Medieval Arrows

[hunterguy1991]

Morning all,

Just wanted to share some work I've been up to the last few days...

These are my set of 6 EWBS Standard arrows for distance shooting with the warbows. They are 3/8 red oak shafts cut to 32 1/2" nock throat to socket and weigh on average 57 grams. The fletching is 6 1/2" long and cut to 3/4" high at the very trailing corner (all EWBS Specs)

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As these are just for flight shooting I have just used some 190gr field points on them for now... even machined type 10 bodkins are pretty pricey coming from the UK but I will eventually swap them over so they look the part.

Colin

[Nezwin]

Tidy job by the looks of things. I've not been interested in making arrows until lately - they seem so finnickity to build and they always break - but I ordered a fancy jig from the States before the aussie dollar dropped too much, so we'll see, given time.

What was your build process? And why did you select Red Oak as opposed to a more 'traditional' material? Availability?

[hunterguy1991]

Cheers Neil!

I used red oak for these because is cheap, readily available in decent quality dowels and the right size for what I needed. I would like to do some heavier ones in Ash for a different style of arrow (heavy war arrow for shows) but it is much more expensive and difficult to find in 1/2" dia here.

These are quite a time consuming arrow to make as they are done with horn inserts and self nocks but the Build process was as follows:

Dowels came in 1.8m lengths so I first halved them to get 12 rough shafts.

Next step is to locate and mark the grain direction on one end of the shaft for the horn insert... This is marked parallel with the grain not perpendicular. The nock itself will be marked perpendicular to the grain to minimise the chance of splitting.

I then mark a line around the shaft 2 inches from the end I have marked for grain and connect them... this forms the guide lines for the horn insert slot.

Using 2 hacksaw blades taped together in the hacksaw I then cut the slot for the horn insert and then clean up the very bottom of the slot with a small hobby file so its square and neat.

Horn strips I purchased from the "Longbowshop UK" are then glued into the slots with 5min araldite and clamped at the very end to ensure a good strong bond.

After the horn is left to dry for a half hour or so I then trim off the excess ( they're 3 inches long when you buy them) and file off the edges to match the shaft. Nocks are then marked perpendicular to the horn. The nocks are 1/4" deep, cut with the hack saw and then widened with files... the ends of the nock are then rounded with sand paper for a neat, tidy finish.

I then sand the shafts with 240 grit paper to smooth them off before a coat of wipe on poly is applied to seal them.

Once dry they're ready for fletching. I mark around the shaft at 1/2 inch in from the end, 1 1/2" in from the end and 8" in from the end to coincide with the start and finish of the feather and the nock binding.

I don't use a traditional fletching jig when making these styles of arrows... I use a small square of leather with a 3/8th hole drilled in the centre and 3 long slits at 120 degrees from the hole out. I slide the leather onto the shaft just back from where I want the feathers to be then push the feather in each slot to the 8 inch mark... the leather holds the feathers in place as I "whip" them onto the arrow. NO glue used to hold them on, it is the whipping that hold the feather onto the shaft. This is how I believe it was done in the middle ages.

To orientate the shafts I look for grain run-outs along the shaft and ensure they point forward on the top of the arrow depending on if it is a left of right hand shooter... this helps to deflect the shaft up over the bow hand rather than down into it should the shaft break on the shot.

Feathers are hand cut to specs and then whipped onto the shafts at the marks made earlier. The nock is then bound to further reinforce it against splitting.

Oncer the whipping and nock binding is complete I then coat it with PVA glue to help stop it wearing out through shooting.

Shafts are then trimmed to exact length, tapered and points seated.

All up it takes me about 4 hours to complete the 6 arrows... However, they should not be broken or lost any time soon.

I will post some photos of parts of the process as Im doing them later as Im currently working on another 6 for a friend.

Colin

[UPTHETOP]

Very nice job. The nock accent inserts look good and so dose the fletching and binding. Get out and launch them mate, good luck.

Cheers Wayno

[hunterguy1991]

Cheers Wayno!!

Looking forward to sending a few down range on the weekend

Colin

[bigbob]

nice work Colin! Lot of work but great satisfaction hey?

[hunterguy1991]

Thanks Bob! Yeah it sure is!! I love watching a matched set of arrows come together, especially ones like this that take time and effort to make well.