First attempt at wood arrows

[piggy]

For some time I have wanted to be able to shoot wood arrows from my bow and despite all my efforts to find a suitable arrow I was unable to do so.

Thanks to Mr Kidner he crafted me a lovely set of woods which shoot perfectly from my bow but are too nice to shoot at rabbits or foxes I just save his for the deer.
This inspired me to have yet another go at wood shafts, so I ordered a few tapered hickory shafts and had a go.
I have only done 6 to this stage so far


I pinched Al's design a bit but I'm getting there.
I had totally underestimated the amount of work required to make a crested arrow and cut and splice your own feathers, my hat off to those who do it regularly.

[Gringa Bows]

looking very good so far.................Rod

[Mick Smith]

They're looking pretty good mate.

I much prefer to shoot wooden arrows. There's something very earthy and natural about them that I like.

I hope they shoot well for you piggy.

Mick

[Stickbow Hunter]

Yep they are lookin' good so far. Keep us up to date with your progress.

Jeff

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Good stuff!

[stringnstik]

Go piggy, they be looking excellent mate and I know what ya mean about not wanting to shoot them..get a couple kids :lol once they inject their apathy and loose/break them willy nilly you tend to become accustomed to ploughing in hours of work and then still happily use them.

[Bill]

Nice job, well done, looking forward to seeing the next progressive stage of production..Bill

[ole_silver]

good on ya Piggy, ya doing well mate.................

cheers,

Steve..

[piggy]

Well here is my first finished attempt at some woods.
I made 6 in this batch and learnt a few lessons.
Having received a copy of Bowhunter Australia I read Al's article on arrow making and have now started a second batch (wish I had of read it first)

I have used some existing bared feathers I had as I didn't want to use the feathers I had spliced and chopped as I was not really happy with some of my cresting so I will use these for rabbits, foxes, target and stump shooting.

I modified a Ribteck 190grn to a single bevel which ended up weighing 160grn so I have an FOC of 36% and total arrow weight of 860grns. They fly like darts and the arrow / bow combination is whisper quiet.

Hopefully the next 6 will be a lot better

[Gringa Bows]

very nice mate,i think the ribbies set them off,so does the yellow and black .......Rod

[jindydiver]

You need to stick one in a deer in April

[Mick Smith]

There's nothing wrong with them mate. They look very professional indeed. I like the colour combo. I'm always a sucker for barred fletches, especially the 'trad' colour.

Very nice piggy!!

Mick

[piggy]

The picture hides the poor cresting, a result of poor technique, a not so steady hand and being a little impatient.

Lessons learnt

cheers

[Stickbow Hunter]

They look great mate!

Jeff

[Bill]

If they fit, form and function then everything is ok, they also look great and as the old adage goes "if looks could, then these surely will, all the best...........Bill

[piggy]

You need to stick one in a deer in April

That's the Plan Mate, I think it's about time I nailed one and what a bonus it would be to do it with a wooden arrow constructed by myself.

Thank you all for your replies.

Cheers

Paul

[otis.drum]

The picture hides the poor cresting, a result of poor technique, a not so steady hand and being a little impatient.

certainly better than any i've done. great job, and the colours really set it off.

love the spliced feathers there too.

[piggy]

The colors are copied from some arrows Al made for me some time back, as it was my first set I thought it easier to use his arrows as a guide.

[piggy]

OK finally finished another 6 shafts for my next hunt.
This is my second attempt at cresting and have learnt a lot, reading Al's article in the mag has also helped me improve.
This time I cut and spliced the feathers, My biggest mistake was using the silver paint for the bands but when I changed to model paint it made a huge difference.


Hopefully I will be able to secure my first game taken with wood shafts soon.

[Gringa Bows]

Looking good,good luck with the hunt ...................Rod

[Stickbow Hunter]

They look excellent Paul, congrats!

I meant to ask, how did you get a FOC of 36% on that first set; it just seems very high for a wood arra even when they are tapered?

Jeff

[piggy]

Your right Jeff it was my mistake I have forgotten what it was but will work it out again.

Cheers Mate

[Stickbow Hunter]

Ok thanks mate.

I also meant to say those arras will look real nice in a photo with some downed game taken with one of them.

Jeff

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Darn, darn good!

[ole_silver]

hey Piggy,

con'gates mate you have some very fine looking shaft there,,,,,,,,,,,,

all the best sinkin' 'em deep........

regards,
Steve..............

[Jager]

Awesome looking arrows piggy.

[UPTHETOP]

Piggy well done mate. The splicing looks great and colours match well, It will be a memory to have when they are used for game.

Cheers Wayno