r/Bowyer

Making some English inspired arrows as props for the ren faire, that I hope to be able to turn into target arrows once I get home.

The glue is a pine rosin, bees wax, and rust powder mix, I’m not sure if the iron oxide or rust is historically accurate, but many fletchers use it and it also dyes the glue a red or brown which is accurate, and then of course goose feathers!

I'm making some expendable practice arrows for a 120 meter shoot. The goal is to hit a target 120 meters away, but the arrow may not fly more than 5 meters above the ground, or it hits the overhead bamboo poles.

These are Surewood douglas fir with hornbeam nocks, duck secondary feathers, and linen thread. The points have a hard bamboo insert and are filed to a bullet point.

The feathers are freehand cut with scissors, and are inspired by Korean traditional target arrows

They have negative FOC, much like some flight arrows.

So recently I got together with some longtime friends and began as a group the first introduction to bow making. I had last year acquired some Osage staves from the Midwest that are allegedly slow air dried (not kiln, fingers crossed ) and had the fellows pick out staves and backup staves. One of these fine fellows built the drawhorses for us, and we kicked things off after a little bit of layout and design. We by the end of the first day gotten close to shaving down to almost the desired grain layer and were discovering the joys of using scrapers. More to come in the following weeks! Thank you for taking the time to read this and watch my friends and I begin this undertaking.

I was shaping it to get it ready for tillering and as I bent it this huge hinge formed right on this small knot. Is it over for this bow, or is there a way I can fix it? I spent lots of time on this bow, so hopefully yall can help me out.

They seem mostly sap wood. 3" or so I'm diameter.

I had fun experimenting with the different fletchings and whippings, but they all should fly the same! Hopefully at least. After I get back from the Renaissance fair, I hope to turn them into target arrows for my English longbow!