new arrows, making myself

[LobbyMuncher]

The ends of wooden shafts can be a bit rough, almost as if the shaft has been pulled off a longer piece rather than cut. You will often find that one end is better than the other because of small splits etc in the wood. If you are cutting self nocks, then choose the best end of the shaft for the job. It's safer for you to lose a point in the boss than have a nock split at full draw. To make sure, put a piece of medium sandpaper on a surface and sand the chosen end - hold the arrow totally upright. Sand down until the end is completely flat and there are no pits left. Not only will this ensure that the end is sound enough for cutting a self-nock, it also shows the grain perfectly.

[woodsplitter]

The nock should indeed be cut across the grain, so that the grain is horizontal when the arrow is on the string, but unless the grain is perfectly straight along the entire length of the shaft, it forms a "V" when you look at the top and bottom of the shaft. The V should point forwards on the top of the arrow, and backwards on the underside. This is so that should the arrow break on being loosed, it will breaks upwards, away from your arm and hand.
Have fun!

[jaselpool]

Hi all

Colour tips on the shafts are for retailers to tell what spine they are picking up. Colours will be different depending on retailers coding system. I don't mark mine as I find some of my customers like a full 32" shaft and sometimes the ink can bleed into the wood.

On which end should the point fit to you need to sight down the shaft and look for the grain 'rift'

<<<<<<< if it looks like this use the other end so it looks like this

>>>>>>> The point of the grain should point to your nock

Reason for this is if the shaft snaps mid flight it won't bury itself into your hand

Have a look at this site for some good basics and PM me if you need any help!:

Stickbow.com - Traditional Archery and Traditional Bowhunting

Jase

[yoda]

cheers m8, interesting site that.