Ozbow

Morning all,

Just finished up binding what have probably been the most over the top set of target arrows I've ever made. They are a barrelled 11/32 POC shaft (5/16 at the nock and point). They have hand cut horn inserts to strengthen the nocks and have self nocks cut and filed. Fletchings are 6" long, also hand cut on a template and then bound on with thread. 125gr modkin points up front.

Each arrow took about an hour to make so quite time consuming.
Col

They may have been time consuming, but they've come up a treat.

modkin = modified bodkin? Home made, or bought in?

One day I'll get to having a go at arrows...

nice work Col.that's why I don't make my own arrow shafts ,too time consuming!

Afternoon.

hunterguy1991 wrote:... Each arrow took about an hour to make so quite time consuming.
...

Try making a set of footed arrows and minimising the mass spread across the set next time. They will consume a few more hours. Probably will not shoot that much better but they will look good. It is all a learning experience.

Thanks lads!

Modkin = Modern Bodkin... they're a machined head for a standard taper but look close to a medieval point.

I've been playing around with footing shafts Grahame, but its quite tricky doing it all by hand. Seen plenty of folks do them with router tables and what not but I don't have access to those tools. I imagine many hours would go into doing them tho. Something to move on to next!

Col

Afternoon.

hunterguy1991 wrote:I've been playing around with footing shafts Grahame, but its quite tricky doing it all by hand. Seen plenty of folks do them with router tables and what not but I don't have access to those tools. I imagine many hours would go into doing them tho. Something to move on to next!

You don't need a router. A Linisher make life easier. Even a sanding disc is enough to make things easier. You taper the end of the shaft. Then fit it into a slot in the foot. Then plane it all round again?

Old style footing ... that they did back in the olde dayes. Footing is mentioned in Toxophilius. They are historically correct for some medieval arrows. All this stuff takes time and is much easier after you have done it once or twice....

Hi

I had a few arrows with broken tips - so I used this guide I found. The were goldtip cedar arrows - I used forest red gum for the footings.
My woodwork skill are mmm average at best - yet found this easy to do by hand.

http://lochac.sca.org/bacchus_wood/A&S/ ... otings.pdf

Rob

Out of sheer necessity at times I have footed broken ones too. All I did was make a 4'' cut in shaft centrally on bandsaw,and then having another shorter section to be joined,facing one end on my 12''disc sander on each side so it formed a wedge shape relevant to length of cut on shaft .Taping the shaft at end of cut to avoid splitting,the bevelled section is inserted and glued with simple white wood glue.When dry the ensuing protruding bits are sanded back to a feathered edge blending into diameter of shaft. simple ,effective and saves broken shafts which in my case is welcome cash wise and saves throwing out a shaft with perhaps new feathers and wraps.

Afternoon All

RobHunter wrote:Hi

I had a few arrows with broken tips - so I used this guide I found. The were goldtip cedar arrows - I used forest red gum for the footings.
My woodwork skill are mmm average at best - yet found this easy to do by hand.

http://lochac.sca.org/bacchus_wood/A&S/ ... otings.pdf

Rob

That is a blast from the past. I wrote that article on footed medieval arrows quite a few years ago. It started from a question that asked if footed shafts were 'period correct' fof use in SCA events. They are.

Roger Ascham was the archery master/tutor to Elizabeth I in her younger years .. her father was Henry VIII he of 'Mary Rose' fame.

Nice arrows, worth every minute mate

Cheers.... Rod

Thanks guys.

Very well aware of the process of footing shafts. I have done it before but used very mediocre timbers so didn't work very well. I will be trying some again soon after I finish a few other projects off.

Second thoughts, if footed shafts are period correct maybe I need to get one made up for display at the Abbey over the weekend...

I believe the trick is to make the taper of the tail shaft long enough so the foot doesn't split when you put the two together. That and pick a 'Plane-friendly' timber for the foot.

Colin

Evening.

hunterguy1991 wrote:... Second thoughts, if footed shafts are period correct maybe I need to get one made up for display at the Abbey over the weekend...

If you are going 'period correct' then the arrows should match the bow should match the 'time'.

As an example Steve Stratton had some footed arrows, they were different. 1/2" dia and tapered and designed for use from a matching Warbow. They were hefty arrows. All good if you were looking at an archer from the 1400-1500s. Not so certain in you are looking earlier. Note - There are no examples of Medival english arrows. The examples that exist are Tudor (ex Mary Rose) and the assumption is that they are the same as earlier examples. Not good science.

Equally using nice round commercially made shafts and medieval era bows is a bit of a clash as is using modern fletches .. as are modern dyes.

Having said that most of the public will not know the difference however you will.

After the Abbey consider making a bow and set of arrows for yourself. Pick a time and get everything fitting together. eg It is one thing to have a Warbow and matching arrows however, it you are a Medieval hunter/forester you will not be walking around with arrows with sharp points as you would not want to infringe 'Forest Law' so you need to have period correct blunts ... once again most of the public will not be even aware .. but you will.

I don't use modern shafts for my medieval arrows, I make them all by hand, as they would have been. Especially for use with warbows!! But it is quite surprising how round you can make a shaft using medieval techniques ie, a shooting board and plane.

We may not have any examples of medieval arrows but we do have medieval arrow heads, some finds from Crecy come to mind, this gives a small indication of arrow diameter at the socket at least.

Since there are no examples of medieval longbows existing its hard to make a replica medieval bow... one would assume they're smaller, lighter versions of the Mary Rose bows, probably not of Yew but of ash or elm or even hazel as these would have been far less expensive.

This conversation could go for days! haha so many assumptions or guesses or "what ifs"!!

Perhaps swing by Order of St Knud camp at the Abbey over the Weekend and we can talk things over in person Grahame
Colin

Morning.

hunterguy1991 wrote:... Since there are no examples of medieval longbows existing its hard to make a replica medieval bow... one would assume .

... Perhaps swing by Order of St Knud camp at the Abbey over the Weekend ...

The best you can do for medieval bows is a combination of an 'educated guess' and interpretating period images. Not going to the abbey

GrahameA wrote:Morning.

hunterguy1991 wrote:... Since there are no examples of medieval longbows existing its hard to make a replica medieval bow... one would assume .

... Perhaps swing by Order of St Knud camp at the Abbey over the Weekend ...

The best you can do for medieval bows is a combination of an 'educated guess' and interpretating period images. Not going to the abbey

South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology;

“The latest scientific dating on Otzi, the Ice Man, places this archer in the Stone Age about 5,000 years ago.

The bow, which is our main interest here, was broken during recovery.

Piecing it together again, we have a longbow 182 centimetres (71 inches) long, taller than its owner, who was only 160.5 centimetres (63 inches) tall (although that figure may well be less than his height in life).

The bow stave was made of yew, an absolutely suitable wood.

Otzi’s would-be bow had been carefully trimmed and the belly was evenly rounded. The stave was gracefully tapered to two trim ends.

There were no bow nocks, which led to the belief that the string was just tied on. But we do not know that for sure; Otzi may well have planned to make the limb nocks later.

The concluding fact is that the Ice Man’s bow was a well-thought-out instrument of good potential.”

This may have been a common style of bow in Europe and eventually found its way to England.

Daryl.

Re footed arrows;

South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology; The Arrows.

"Researchers were astonished when, upon opening the quiver, they found only two finished arrows along with a dozen rough arrow shafts.
The unfinished shafts are between 84 and 87 cm long and made of the shoots of viburnum sapwood.
The bark had been removed, but they had not yet been smoothed. All had notches cut into the ends.

Both finished arrows had flint arrowheads fixed to the shaft with birch tar and then bound with thread.
The other ends bear the remains of three-part radial fletching attached with birch tar and thin nettle thread. The fletching served to stabilize the arrow during flight.

It is the first time that fletching had ever been preserved on prehistoric arrows. One of the arrows had a two-part shaft with a short extension of dogwood inserted into the main shaft.
According to technical archaeologist Harm Paulsen, the two arrows could not have been fashioned by the same person. The fletching shows that one was wound by a left-hander and the other by a right-hander. Furthermore, the arrow with the extended tip was too long for the Iceman’s quiver."

Daryl.

hunterguy1991 wrote:
I believe the trick is to make the taper of the tail shaft long enough so the foot doesn't split when you put the two together.

If you clamp a small g-cramp or similar to the hardwood piece just past the centre cut, this will hold the grain from splitting when you put it on the arrow shaft.

Ranger