Broken arrow !

[alanesq]

re - my attempts to learn to use the longbow (www.alanesq.com/longbow.htm)

I have made some arrows and had some success with them :-)
I made a spine tester and matched all my shafts (POC) to the same and made the arrows as best I could - it turns out the weights are nowhere near (up to 50 grain difference) but I am managing to get a reasonable group at 20 yards
Is it just a matter of trying to match the shafts with a balance between spine and weight before making the arrows ?
Which is most important?

Yesterday I managed to break three arrows :-(
There was a strong side wind and the arrows were actually sticking in the target at an angle so I guess this is the cause but is there anything can be done to strengthen them?
They are breaking at the pile (field tip) and I wondered if wrapping some thread round the wood may be a good idea?

BTW - the shafts are 11/32" - spine of 41lb (0.63" deflection with 2lb weight 26" apart) - 30" arrow length - 120 grain piles and my bow is 40lb (I have measured this with a spring balance at 28")

Any advice would be gratefully accepted as a lot of what I am doing is just guess work

[English Bowman]

Your arrows are probably too stiff, and not straightening out before they hit the target. This may be what is causing them to break. You can foot the arrows with hardwood which will straighten them, I don't. If you want to know how I make my arrows look here

Daniel

[alanesq]

had a look cheers - some interesting tips/pointers
I did not know the shaft could be upside down but interestingly all my arrows seem to be the right way up ?????

My arrows are going to the left of where I point them so I guess this would indicate they are too stiff
I have some aluminium arrows with a spine of 66 which seem to be exactly the same when I shoot them (which confused me) so I assumed this was normal?
I take it the arrow should go exactly what I point it at (left and right) and I just need to compensate for height when aiming when the arrows are correct ?

Cheers
Alan

[JohnK]

66 is not a spine rating; well, not according to any spine rating chart I've seen.

Also, assuming you're talking about an English longbow, you really shouldn't be shooting aluminiums from it. Most allys are too light to be shot from a longbow, and you may end up breaking it.

[alanesq]

I measured it on my spine measuring gizmo as if it were a wooden arrow and it comes out as 66lbs
They were made to be used with my flat bow (56lb draw weight) so they are pretty hefty arrows (by aluminium standards anyway)

They dont have a heavy pile so I expected them to be far to stiff for my bow and fly far left but as I say they seem exactly the same as my wooden arrows?
Maybe metal arrows behave very differently to wooden and its not a fair comparison? I may make a much stiffer arrow from wood and try it just so I get to see what difference it makes and take it from there?

[robtattoo]

You will find, that if you're using plastic fletches with any bow shot without a pressure button, your arrows will deflect off the bow & fly nock-left (if you're right handed) You will have to use feathers with either an AFB or longbow to prevent this. Incedently pheasant feathers, like most, are way too soft to use as fletchings. They'll just collapse during flight & therefore be of no use. You really need either Turkey or Goose quills.

It's not the spine of the ally arrows that make them unsuitable for a traditional bow (ELB, AFB, selfbow) it's their weight. They are simply too light to absorb the shock of the bow & this can lead, very quickly, to limb failure.

What's your drawlength with the Longbow? If it's 28" I'd suggest trying 29 1/2", 30/35 spine POC or Boyton Pine with a 125g pile & 4" fletch. This should fly just fine. For an ELB you should knock 10# of spine off the weight of the bow to give you a good starting point (ie 40# bow 30-35# arrow)

[Windknot]

Don't confuse dynamic and static spine- a 1916 XX75 spines 53#, but if I wanted to shoot a 53# recurve I'd have to go up to 2016. Which spines way more than 53#.

Things get even weirder with carbon.

But, yes- it sounds like your woodies are too stiff for your bow. And if you're shooting plasic vanes off the shelf or your knuckles you'll have the devil's own time to get good arrow flight.

Rob, I've got a handful of pheasant primaries on the way- I'll let you know how they do- might be able to get a 3" or 3 1/2" fletch out of each of them. Should be fun, and it'll keep me off the streets for a few hours :-)

[alanesq]

Thanks for the help

I have now run out of shafts now anyway, replacing the broken ones from sunday so I will order some lower spine shafts and let you know how I get on

Cheers
Alan.....

[alanesq]

adnl info:

I found a spare shaft of the same spine and made an arrow 2.5" longer than my others (I believe this will reduce the dynamic spine by around 15lb?)
It still seemed to go left around the same amount
Also, thinking about it my Flat bow was supplied with matching aluminium arrows and they go to the left the same amount with my flat bow

So I guess this is down to the plastic fletches ?

I have managed to find someone who will supply me with some swan feathers (from a sanctuary) so I will have a try at making some arrows with these when they arrive - see what difference that makes

Any advice on preparing the feathers would be appreciated as I cant find much on this ?

Alan....

[robtattoo]

Definately down to the vanes mate. To prep the feathers, you'll need to split the quill with a sharp knife & peel it in half (you'll find that one half of the feather is much stronger than the other, this is the half you'll need) Hold the feather upto a bright light & you should see an oil line in the feather, this is the portion you'll need to use (the fresher the feather, the stronger this line'll be) Cut it down to your desired length & sand the quill almost flat by rubbing it on some very fine sandpaper, then simply glue the fletch in the normal way. Be aware, you'll probably only get 2 useable 4" or 1 5" fletch from each feather, so stock up mate!