Arrow Design [Discusison]

Tabs seem interesting, but I don't think I'll ever PD a core o.0 unless its like a glaive or something I expect to last a long time. Thanks for the links! I'll read through them when I get off work.

Cheap ....as in money.

I make nothing that doesn't last. If you swords are only lasting a few months..there's something wrong.

K-

Yeah I agree on the cheap side of foamsmithing. Cheap for me is getting the most bang for my buck out of my foam.


As far as swords only lasting a few months, if they were getting used and abused daily, then yeah I could see it, but for us and our weekly practices of barely 6 hours a weekend, I can see them lasting up to 6 months.

Okay so I started on some arrows last night, I got 2.5" of computer packing foam for the tip, which isn't very thick so I want to put about .5" of some softer open cell on top of that so its a good 3" tip, some fun noodle for the plug, and I am trying to figure out:

1) Should I put a closed cell foam cap between the fun noodle (circular base) and the open cell computer packing foam? I saw a guide on the dag site that doesn't have one? o___0

2) Should I make the tip a 3x3 square then tape and cover it so it rounds out or start with a circular tip?

3) Double Sided tape... good thing or bad thing for keeping the tip to the base and what not? Or should I dap\hot glue o___0.

4) Modular.. or not to modular? I have PVC that I could use, but is it really worth having? Or is it just going to weigh down my arrow and give me one more thing that can fall apart on my arrow in the long run?

Phoxly wrote:

Okay so I started on some arrows last night, I got 2.5" of computer packing foam for the tip, which isn't very thick so I want to put about .5" of some softer open cell on top of that so its a good 3" tip, some fun noodle for the plug, and I am trying to figure out:

1) Should I put a closed cell foam cap between the fun noodle (circular base) and the open cell computer packing foam? I saw a guide on the dag site that doesn't have one? o___0

2) Should I make the tip a 3x3 square then tape and cover it so it rounds out or start with a circular tip?

3) Double Sided tape... good thing or bad thing for keeping the tip to the base and what not? Or should I dap\hot glue o___0.

4) Modular.. or not to modular? I have PVC that I could use, but is it really worth having? Or is it just going to weigh down my arrow and give me one more thing that can fall apart on my arrow in the long run?

First off, here is the exact method I used to make my arrows. http://edhellen.com/arrow_construction.htm I would follow it cause it works great.

1. Definately

2. I started with the square tip and dapped it down to the closed cell, then taped it down to round out the bottom and cut of the corners of the top. When you add the cloth to the top, that will finish out the rounding.

3. If you are using a fun noodle, hot glue will melt it without a doubt. As said before I used dap.

4. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my next set. Smithy has had problems with his modular arrow heads which speaks against it however when your arrows get stepped on and you lose a perfectly good head it is frusterating. I have found that within our realm people are pretty conscious of where arrows are and try not to step on them. I do have fletchings fall off a lot however. That can be fixed but as far as I know, nobody in the realm has the equipment to fix it. (I might look into it in the next week or two if I get time.)

My most important tip for you when making arrows it to make sure they are balanced. You have to check them continuously through out the building process and it is a huge pain in the ass but is completely worth it in the long run. To do that you need to stand the arrow on end after each step and verify that it does not fall over. When applying the tape to the open cell, tape on one side then the opposite side, then test for balance. This is probably going to add about 2 hours to your build time per arrow but like I said before, it's worth it. What happens is when you are taping, you will put tape on one side then pull the tape a little tighter on the other side which will make the head lopsided.


- Kil

Thank's Kil you're the best! I was planning on using that build too, so we'll see how it goes, I may only make 5 or so arrows to start so I can have you guys check them at practice. I'll make them up to the base/cap but wait to do the rest til I know I did it right.


Thanks!

-Phoxly (Aka, you just lost the game.)

Could I use blue camp foam for the cap between the stabby part and the plug?

Wrapped my first arrow! (White Athletic/Sports Tape instead of Black?) I feel so accomplished... but I am now in the process of unwrapping it cause I used too much tape to evenly pull the foam down so its lopsided. I'll just do it tomorrow after I get cloth to put over it. Thanks for the help Kilanos, Nightmare, and Templar who gave me tips on it.

First arrow... FINISHED! and... 5 more to go D=

ack oh noes i hate archers

sasquatch wrote:

ack oh noes i hate archers

i'll kill em 4 u squatch

sweet less leg work