How to make better arrows

• First step: Before you start making your own arrows you must understand the dynamics of an arrow.
  • When you are releasing the string, the arrow will start moving in the following order: first the nock will start to move, causing the shaft to bent. The shaft will allways try to return to its original form again. It does so by stretching again, i.e. the point will be the last part of the arrow that will start to move.
  • Every arrow has it own balance point. Keep this in mind when you think about the path that the arrow takes in flying to the target. This path is always an arc. So if you have two arrows with a different point of balance, the arrow with the balance point more towards the point will sooner start on its downward trajectory than the other one and thus hit lower on the target.
  • Fletching on the arrow makes it spin so it will fly straight. But fletching also has drag, which will slow the arrow down. Even the form of the fletching has its own influence on this.
  • Wood is a natural grown material. This means that wood is not identically the same. Wood from different parts of the tree will each have it own characteristics.

• Second step.
  Shooting a 30 lbs bow at a given drawlenght will need 30 lbs shafts. Here is your starting point. Ask yourself for what purpose you are making arrows:
  • Target, short range (up to 40 meter)
  • Target, also Yorkround or the prince his lengts, long range ( 40 up to 90 meter)
  • Clout, (ladys, 120 yards, give or take a 105 meters)
  • Fieldround, distance 5 to 50 meter (so short range target could by perfect, though put a steel fieldtip on it)
  • Animal round, distance 15 to 60 meters (long range target, but also with a steel tip.
  
  
  Let us take the short distance as our starting point, then you can affort some flaws. To find the perfect shafts the spine (the way the shaft bends), is measured in 4 directions, but that is something that you will do only on yor long range and clout arrows. So in this case just feel how they bend. All shafts that bend (on feel) in the same way are put together. They will have almost the same spine. The best way of testing it, on feeling, is looking at the wood and look for the flames. On one side these will point towards one end of the shaft, and on the other side they will point the other way. Bend them through this, because by experience I known that this will give the most consitancy.
  (>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>, and on the other side <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<)
  
  Those shafts are weight, putting again the shafts with the same weight together. The shorter the distance the more variation you can allow. For instance for short range my arrows may differ in weight almost 4 grams. My clout arrows only differ 0,2 grams in weight.
  
  Now for the last stage, you balance the shafts marking the balance point. All shafts with the same balance point are put together. Just make it easy on yourself and lay the shafts together comparing them and laying the odd one upside down. You will see that very often the balance points will come together.
  
  Out of some 30 shafts you should have by now say two or three sets that have the same characteristics. You must choose one set and start putting on the nocks. Keep in mind that you choose the right side of the shaft, so you will have a consitant balance point. The postitioning of the nock (the slit in which our string will go) also comes with a trick. Look at the shaft and see where the flame points toward the nock<<<<<<<<<<<<< That is the place where you will later glue the cockfeather. This is just a safety matter. When an arrow is damaged, without you noticing it, it can break during release. If that happens an arrow made in this way will sent the splinters in to the bow and not into your hand.
  
  The next step to do is shorten the shaft to your own drawlenght. Keep a spare inch extra, so if a point snaps of you can replace it and still have long enough arrowshaft to be able to shoot the repaired arrow afterwards. On short distance this will have no noticable effect on the flight of the arrow. After you have shortend the shaft it is time to put on the points.
  
  Now it is time to put on the feathers. Remember first glue the cockfeather on the <<<<< flame side.
  
  Take the finished arrows to the shooting range to test shoot them. Normaly they will just do exactly what you want them to do. But sometimes there is one odd shaft that will have a mind of it own. If you notice that, you can do something about this.
  
  "In that case call or email me, and ass you tell me what this bugger does, I can tell you what you can do about it top make it groop with the other arrows."
  
  I think by now you onderstand why I always make sets of 8 and no 30 from the same bunch
  
  By Henk Stek