Fletching jig
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TBH, unless you plan to do competition archery, a simple 'jig' will work fine. Superglue is your friend.
A bit like in Pattree's video - but make the leather bits an equilateral triangle, that way the feather you are gluing on is always vertical, and big enough so any already glued feathers aren't touching your worktop. You just need mark the position of the fletching from the nock, align the leather 'jig' parts (which don't have to be at any specific distance apart) then glue the feather in the vertical position. Turn the whole arrow over to the next flat of the jig and repeat. Once you've glued them on you can add binding if you want.
Don't make the mistake of making your fletching too big - it's all a balance between the weight of your point, the thickness and stiffness of the arrow, how far forward the centre of gravity is, and your fletching. It's surprising how effective arrows with simple wool stabilisers are for fun roving
A bit like in Pattree's video - but make the leather bits an equilateral triangle, that way the feather you are gluing on is always vertical, and big enough so any already glued feathers aren't touching your worktop. You just need mark the position of the fletching from the nock, align the leather 'jig' parts (which don't have to be at any specific distance apart) then glue the feather in the vertical position. Turn the whole arrow over to the next flat of the jig and repeat. Once you've glued them on you can add binding if you want.
Don't make the mistake of making your fletching too big - it's all a balance between the weight of your point, the thickness and stiffness of the arrow, how far forward the centre of gravity is, and your fletching. It's surprising how effective arrows with simple wool stabilisers are for fun roving
I gave up archery and sold everything except a Decut Nexus Fletching Jig.
It is not the highest quality bit of kit but it did the job well enough.
Happy to send it to you for if you make a small donation to charity
It is not the highest quality bit of kit but it did the job well enough.
Happy to send it to you for if you make a small donation to charity
If you can afford pre-prepared fletchings and shafts, use a jig and three fletchings per arrow. If you are happy to use plastic, use a plastic nock, having cut a taper with a suitable pencil sharpener - you may need to experiment to find a matching taper. Glue the nock on so that the string slot lies across the grain of the shaft. If you need to follow a more primitive look, cut self nocks in one end of the shaft, again across the grain. For low poundage bows it isn’t necessary to bind the nock end of an arrow with self nocks.
If you can’t afford that, go and cut some clean, straight Hazel shafts about 32-36” long with the thicker end around 3/8”. Peel them and tie into a tight bundle. Leave them around 4’ above your fire at home to dry and season. It will take a while - a month or two - but when they get no lighter and are dry you can continue. Cut the shafts more or less to your required length, and smooth them with sandpaper. Then, at the narrow end of your shaft, cut in some self nocks, and if you can get feathers, use them in an Eastern Two Fletch pattern - search on the web and/or in YouTube. It’s effective and easier than you think, just don’t use very large feathers.
Primitive points can be home made, but are very time intensive- flint knapped, or steel pieces (‘trade points’) and the like. I would suggest that you use ready made points/piles which can be bought online as your main expense in arrow making. I’d recommend parallel fit piles as they are easier to fit, and don’t need a taper tool. Note that nock and pile tapers are (almost) never the same, unfortunately. Use a good glue on the pile, but avoid superglue as it isn’t very good with impacts….
Sorry this is only a quick summary, but if you want to walk the primitive path check out Clay Hayes or Ryan Gill (huntprimitive) on YouTube for great detailed videos.
Cheers, Bob
If you can’t afford that, go and cut some clean, straight Hazel shafts about 32-36” long with the thicker end around 3/8”. Peel them and tie into a tight bundle. Leave them around 4’ above your fire at home to dry and season. It will take a while - a month or two - but when they get no lighter and are dry you can continue. Cut the shafts more or less to your required length, and smooth them with sandpaper. Then, at the narrow end of your shaft, cut in some self nocks, and if you can get feathers, use them in an Eastern Two Fletch pattern - search on the web and/or in YouTube. It’s effective and easier than you think, just don’t use very large feathers.
Primitive points can be home made, but are very time intensive- flint knapped, or steel pieces (‘trade points’) and the like. I would suggest that you use ready made points/piles which can be bought online as your main expense in arrow making. I’d recommend parallel fit piles as they are easier to fit, and don’t need a taper tool. Note that nock and pile tapers are (almost) never the same, unfortunately. Use a good glue on the pile, but avoid superglue as it isn’t very good with impacts….
Sorry this is only a quick summary, but if you want to walk the primitive path check out Clay Hayes or Ryan Gill (huntprimitive) on YouTube for great detailed videos.
Cheers, Bob
I use a spigarelli fletching jig, about £40. Cartel do a copy for around £25. I like a metal jig so it’s easy to scrape off excess glue.
Epoxy is good and tough, but be sure that air isn’t trapped between the pile and the shaft. Easiest way is to provide a groove in the shaft piece that fits into the pile so that air and excess glue can escape during assembly.
Fletchings on the same arrow need to be of the same ‘wing’, so their natural curve is the same. Ignoring this leads to very unstable/unpredictable flight of the arrow as it won’t spin properly. A video which includes this: here
Fletchings on the same arrow need to be of the same ‘wing’, so their natural curve is the same. Ignoring this leads to very unstable/unpredictable flight of the arrow as it won’t spin properly. A video which includes this: here
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If you're wanting primitive arrows I suggest you watch some of this guy's videos - he fletches without a jig at all and it's the way I make primitive arrows. OK, I wouldn't enter a competition with them, but, for period archery, they're great.
As far as glues go, most arrow makers that I know now use heat-glue for the piles/points. It doesn't set 'brittle' hard and so is good on impact, but it is also easy to replace points if you need to.
As far as glues go, most arrow makers that I know now use heat-glue for the piles/points. It doesn't set 'brittle' hard and so is good on impact, but it is also easy to replace points if you need to.
There is no preserved evidence of how pre-historic arrows were fletched in Britain, but it is likely that more modern indigenous society methods are similar. You'd be surprised how 'basic' some of them are - for example look at this two feather, no jig, fletching, only fastened front and back - I'll have a go at this some day.
The Ona were said to be great bowyers, though materially in many ways very primitive.
Once an arrow had made a kill, it was discarded.
So they must have been prepared for wastage over and above breaks and losses.
(And yes, they did have famed specialists...)
Once an arrow had made a kill, it was discarded.
So they must have been prepared for wastage over and above breaks and losses.
(And yes, they did have famed specialists...)
Interestingly, I am currently reading about the Ona/Selk’nam) and the Yahgan and comparing their 'dwellings' to possible structures in Mesolithic Britain
