Replies

1. 
   UncleDunc | Feb 17, 2003 07:36am | #1

   Welcome to Knots! You've posed a fascinating problem.

   The first thing I thought of was a CNC lathe with a follower rest, but my guess is you don't want to spend that much. :) The next idea was a fixture with a long V groove for the arrow and a quick clamping arrangement so you could use a little spokeshave or a block plane to take off most of the waste and then finish up with sandpaper while spinning the arrow with a drill or a lathe.

   PS - We encourage people to post answers here instead of e-mailing them. For one thing, other people besides you will be interested in the answers. For another, solutions often grow out of people bouncing ideas off each other, and we can't do that if we don't see other people's responses.

2. 
   SawdustSteve | Feb 17, 2003 08:26pm | #2

   Let's see... you want to remove a grand total of 3/64" from the diameter.  You need it both round and even for a length of 10 inches.  Two possibilities come to mind.  First, mount the arrow shaft in a lathe and use sandpaper in a nutcracker shaped (hollowed) sanding block to remove the 3/128" from the surface.  Second, how about some sort of 'dowel making plate' to force the wood through to scrape off the small amount.  What is the draw length??  will you need the very ends 23/64" to receive the nock and the point?  Will your fletching jig take the smaller diameter or will you have to modify it too??   Before you try to re-invent the wheel, have you checked with some professional archers or archery suppliers to see if this has already been tried??  

   SawdustSteve     in cold, snow covered New York 

1. 
   ionian | Feb 17, 2003 09:35pm | #3

   Steve barrel taper shafts have been around for a very long time. Problem is they are expensive. The center of the shaft remains the full diameter and both ends taper to the smaller size. There are jigs available to do the job on a disc sander, or table saw with disc sander attachment, but they too are expensive, and me being a carpenter I would like to make my own. I have an idea on how to make the jig, I was hopeing someone had a better one.   Again Thanks.

3. 
   jako17 | Feb 18, 2003 04:03am | #4

   The old fashioned solution is use a stail engine or trapping plane, use a slow speed on the lathe to rotate the wood and taper by hand.These tools were used to make greenheart fishing rods and rakes

4. 
   CoastalCarver | Feb 18, 2003 09:21pm | #5

   The good news is that you don't need a jig, or any fancy equipment for that matter. All you need is a block plane and some sandpaper.

   Put your shaft on the workbench. With your block plane take a shaving starting 3 inches in from the end of the shaft and go to the end. Do this all around the arrow shaft. Then take another series of shavings from 6 inches to the end, then from 9 inches to the end. Sand out all the facets and you have a "barreled" shaft. A "tapered"  shaft is where you just do the knock end. This is a better solution because it leaves the weight and the strength near the point where you need it.

   When I was shooting a lot (and making a lot of arrows) I tapered almost all of the arrow shafts using the technique I described. It is surprisingly accurate: the shafts came out within a few grains of each other and the spine was virtually the same as when I started.

   Good luck and good shooting.

   Brandon Ford, Lincoln City, Ore.

1. 
   ionian | Feb 18, 2003 11:25pm | #6

   Sir I hope that you still shoot the stick and string often. I know how to manually make barelled shafts, and I thank you for the info. I was just playing with the idea of doing it with a jig just for the fun of it. You know, the lazy way. I will always use wooden bows and shoot wooden arrows. Just as I fish only with a fly rod. Old fashioned carpenter I guess.                                                                                                 Thanks