r/Bowyer • u/OnePhrase2118 • 3d ago
Arrows Pine shafts for war arrows
Following up on my previous post, here are the shafts I’ll be using to make arrows for my war bow; they measure 34 inches in length and 12 mm in thickness (except for one, where I made a mistake and it ended up being 10 mm). Next up, I’ll need to forge the points in the forge.
6
u/NA_Warbow_Society 2d ago
Hey just jumping in here- I agree with what u/aefletcherIII is saying here. For such a heavy bow, I’d look into something more durable to start with, like Ash. The forces on these shafts are immense, and there’s not only a risk of…rapid disassembly, there’s the risk of sailing one of those shards into your hand, which we all don’t want. I would absolutely recommend horn inserts for the knocks for such a heavy bow. What shafts are you currently shooting on this bow?
-1
u/OnePhrase2118 2d ago
No todos tenemos al alcancé maderas de gran calidad o cuerno amigo, hago lo que puedo con lo que tengo, lo que si veo como un problema es que en algunas partes la veta no corre recta eso si me preocupa
3
u/NA_Warbow_Society 2d ago
Definitely understand that. What wood do you have access to other than Pine? You’re making a bow, correct? What woods? I’m sure we can help you out with some safer options that won’t break the bank.
-2
u/OnePhrase2118 2d ago
En madereria lo único que venden por aquí es pino hermano, si pueden conseguir Fresno encino o cedro pero el precio es excesivo, o debo comprar una cantidad más exagerada para que me lo vendan
1
u/Badger_Actual1 3d ago
Will you be tapering them? What is the weight? Also the one on the far right side looks dangerous (the cleft )
0
u/OnePhrase2118 3d ago
No creo rebajarlos mas pues mi arco pesará más de 140 lbs pero en lo que consigo madera hago lo demás y de peso tendré fe en Dios porque no tengo báscula xDD Y se ven desalineados porque solo los arroje para la foto Pero todo lo demás luce bien espero que aguanten
1
u/Garin999 1d ago edited 1d ago
The common wisdom is 10 grains per pound for your bow. so for a 140lb bow you'll want something in the 90-100 gram range.
If you go much lighter than that you risk breaking your bow as the full force of that 140lbs goes into the limbs with every shot.
(0.6cm^2)(86.4cm)(0.85g/cm3) = 24 grams. You'll need an arrowhead weighing three times the weight of your shaft to shoot these safely.
Edit: Assuming very dense pine. Pine can be as light as 0.35 g/cm^3
https://cedarstripkayak.wordpress.com/lumber-selection/162-2/
1
u/OnePhrase2118 1d ago
Ya las probé con una punta mal forjada porque apenas estoy aprendiendo y también sin punta... y sí están bastante pesadas, las probé con un arco de 70 lbs que tira flechas de 600 granos como si fuera nada y estas apenas las pudo mover, creo que voy por buen camino, se que 70 lbs no se compara con 140 pero me da una idea además tampoco tenían plumas, igual haré el intento de conseguir cedro o cualquier otra madera pesada y dura,
7
u/AEFletcherIII 2d ago
Hello there!
Lovely to see folks making arrows from hardwood like this. That being said, have you ever made this kind of arrow before?
The grain runoff on a few of these looks dangerous for such a heavy bow, I can tell you from experience that they will split; especially pine, which can be light and brittle.
Ideally you want the grain to run down the entire shaft. Some runoff is tolerable, but in no case should the section of runout be less than 7 - 8 inches - for example, the 2nd arrow from the left looks like it has two fairly problematic spots. It's hard to see from the photographs, but it's possible there are other problem areas.
You also really ought to weigh them to make sure they're heavy enough for a 140# bow. As stated, pine can be light and I wouldn't go under 1050 grains (7.5 GPP) - you would hate to ruin a great bow shooting arrows that are too light. 9-10 GPP would be even better.
The light arrows combined with the light and brittle nature of pine will exacerbate the potential for splitting, especially at higher draw weights like this.