A new journey

[Todd Cook]

I've almost finished with a half dozen arrows. They're all about 45# and around 540 grains, poplar. I got one fletched up and shot it a while this evening and it flies and shoots better than anything I've tried yet. Im really liking these poplar shafts so far. The only thing is to get them under 50 pounds they end up 5/16". I guess that's fine, I'm just used to a thicker arrow.

 

[Todd Cook]

I made a new string too. I wanted to make it look plain; the best I could do with what I had was white. I reckon it will darken up some when it gets dirty. 14 strand B50 Dacron with .024 serving. I cut the self nocks on these new arrows with 2 hacksaw blades taped together and finished them with 120 sandpaper. It makes a good fit.

 

[Todd Cook]

Alright, I've got 6 matching ones made up. I didn't have enough of the same color, but these are practice arrows anyway. The real ones will be turkey feathers. I haven't decided what the hunting arrows will be; cane, shoots, or poplar. But I feel pretty good about being able to make some good flyers now.

 

[Todd Cook]

I field tested my new arrows this weekend. They seem to fly well in Tn. and Ga. All joking aside, I'm really happy with them. I hope I can make a set of cane fly that good.

Speaking of Tennesee, Ethan and I played hookey Friday and headed north. I had never been to the classic before, so we went inspecting. I never have really been a fan of big crowds, and at times the course was crowded, but that is one heck of an event. And the vendors, and flintknapping, bowmaking( now they get serious about bowmaking)and other stuff to see and do was really cool.

I saw several people I knew and many I didn't and then I ran into this rascal This is where Lumpy came from, my good frien Charlie Petrie. He was entered into the selfbow challenge they have up there, and he was making a bow out of the very same log that he gave me this stave from. Pretty cool I thought. Sister bows.

 

[Todd Cook]

While I was there I thought I would try to pick up some quiver material. I know I showed you a deerhide I was going to use, but apparently I don't yet know how to tan a hide. Seems salting and freezing may not be the best combo, or it could be something else. All I know for sure was I turned my pretty hide into deer jerky.

I'd been tossing around several ideas for what to use, and then I found this. 8 square feet of elk hide and soft as cotton! This I like! And some leather string to go with it.

 

[Todd Cook]

I started trying to turn it into a quiver this afternoon, but don't have enough to show yet. And I had some good company while working on it too. Someone else has decided they want to try making a bow too.

 

[Todd Cook]

Went a little further with it. I'm not much of a leather worker, so I'll just have to figure it out as I go.

 

[longbowdave1]

Alright, I've got 6 matching ones made up. I didn't have enough of the same color, but these are practice arrows anyway. The real ones will be turkey feathers. I haven't decided what the hunting arrows will be; cane, shoots, or poplar. But I feel pretty good about being able to make some good flyers now.

Good looking set of arrows Todd!

 

[Todd Cook]

I'm not much of a leatherworker but I like it. Plain and simple but effective.

 

[Todd Cook]

I started working on some fletching this evening. Longbow Dave sent me those beautiful turkey feathers and when I got to NGT Sunday, Tommy Roberts had sent me a some wings and a fan from one he killed recently. Thank you sir! I'll post soon how I'm turning them into fletching.

 

[Barry Duggan]

Todd, I've always liked that bouquet of death look you've got going on with the mixed up fletching hanging out of your quiver.

 

[dm/wolfskin]

Here's two quivers I did made out of a brain tan deer hide. The dark one was done back in the 80's before I shot traditional. The white one I did for David sometime in the last 10 years. It's hard to see the white one on the skin.

 

[Todd Cook]

Todd, I've always liked that bouquet of death look you've got going on with the mixed up fletching hanging out of your quiver.

Barry, I don't think I've ever made a dozen that match in my life. I get started and then think about something else I want to try. Or I run out of feathers.

 

[Todd Cook]

Here's two quivers I did made out of a brain tan deer hide. The dark one was done back in the 80's before I shot traditional. The white one I did for David sometime in the last 10 years. It's hard to see the white one on the skin.

I like those Mike. They look good to me. I like that coral snake looking arrow too.

 

[Todd Cook]

Like many other things, making fletching from raw feathers is something I wasn't exactly sure how to do, but thought I could figure it out. Doing stuff like this gives me time to think about how the Indians figured out how to make things. It's amazing to me what they accomplished with virtually no precise tools, or for a long time no metal or steel.

This is my way. So far...... I took a feather and split it down the middle with a razor. I'm sure you could do it with a piece of obsidian.

 

[Todd Cook]

I wanted a feather about 5 inches, but I'm tying them on so it needs to be 5&1/2. I picked a good section out and cut it.

 

[Todd Cook]

Then I used this handy dandy jig that Paul ReDavid made. You stick the feather in it and clamp it down. Then I used a sanding pad to thin down the quill.

 

[Todd Cook]

I messed up a couple of them but soon got the hang of it. It allows you to get the quill base even and thin. So I needed to trim them to size. I've seen people do it freehand with a pair of scissors, but lets just say I'm not coordinated enough for that. Mine came out like it had the mange.

I made a pattern out of my broadhead steel. I put it on top of the feather, on a board, and clamp it down. Then I scribe around it with a knife. Works pretty good.

 

[Barry Duggan]

Barry, I don't think I've ever made a dozen that match in my life. I get started and then think about something else I want to try. Or I run out of feathers.

I know I have never made a matching dozen. Unless I run into enough 5" rw real turkey feathers, I probably never will.

 

[Todd Cook]

Well, I couldn't stand it and had to stop and fletch one. That was a challenge. I didn't want to heat up hide glue for just one, so I put a drop of superglue at the front of each feather and stuck the front edge in place. Then I let the feather naturally curve around the shaft like it wanted to and put a drop at the back. I wrapped around both ends and glued down the wrap.

I went and shot it for a while and am very pleased. It shoots the same as all the other store bought ones. The only problem, and I'm going to have to think about this some before I hunt with it, is you cannot see it in flight. It just disappears.