HOME | DD
Goshawk β Red, Black, and Yellow Traditional Arrows
Published: 2012-10-04 19:14:51 +0000 UTC; Views: 589; Favourites: 8; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
Another arrow commission! As always, everything is done by hand.The shafts were stained with red india ink, then crowned and crested with acrylic paint. The self-nocks were cut with a handheld coping saw and shaped with sandpaper.
The feather fletches were cut from full-length fletching feathers, glued to the shafts, and wrapped with waxed silk thread. The wrap was then rubbed with even more beeswax.
The shafts and wrap were sealed with shellac. The tips are field points for SCA target archery.
Related content
Comments: 18
Real Purdy arrows. How do you paint your crests without them scratching off? I crest most of my arrows with acrylic and a few layers of finish to protect them, but they always scratch off after a few days shooting with a leather shelf.
π: 0 β©: 1
Hm, I don't know. I haven't had that problem with mine. I'll get some streaking after a few months of use, but it doesn't scratch off. What do you use to seal/finish them?
π: 0 β©: 1
I like to use a couple layers of Tru Oil gunstock finish on the crest onlyΒ and many layers ofΒ Danish oil on top of the whole thing.
π: 0 β©: 0
beautiful arrows, do you crest by hand or a cresting machine?
π: 0 β©: 1
By hand. I'd love to have a cresting machine because cresting by hand is a royal pain in the butt, but cresting machines are expensive and I am not mechanically inclined.
Thank you!
π: 0 β©: 1
yeah they are expensive, I would love one myself, but I think my next major purchase might be a chopper or burner or an arrow saw or bow press. but as far as hand cresting them, that is impressive, do you tape it off or do free hand?
π: 0 β©: 1
I mark off where they are going to be and then free hand. This is where my background in art comes in handy.
π: 0 β©: 1
nice, I'm not steady enough for that...
π: 0 β©: 1
I can't do it while I'm hungry and it involves a lot of breath-holding. XP
π: 0 β©: 1
I can't do anything while hungry, so I know what you mean... maybe next time get some painters tape and wrap it around the shaft to get the lines really nice and crisp, or have you tried it and it doesn't work?
π: 0 β©: 1
I've tried it. It pulls up wood fibers when you take it off and sometimes you'll get paint bleeding under the tape.
π: 0 β©: 1
ahhh yeah that is one thing that I thought might happen but wasn't sure...
π: 0 β©: 0
Wow, those are really bright and bold! Love the self-nocks, too. 
π: 0 β©: 1
Thank you! I was very pleased with how well the india ink worked. The only issue was that it tended to try to come off with the shellac, so I had to apply the shellac with very quick strokes.
Self-nocks are actually quite easy. Smooth down the tail end of the shaft so that you can see the grain. With a pencil, draw the width of the nock so that the cut will be perpendicular to the grain (crossgrain). On the side of the shaft, mark off the depth of the cut; I prefer a depth of either 1/4" or 5/16". Once you've cut the nock, smooth it out with sandpaper and/or a file. You can also cut the nocks with a rotary saw if you have one.
I recommend reinforcing the self nock with thread wrapping. That way, if there is damage to the nock, it is not likely to spread past the thread wrap.
π: 0 β©: 1
Huh, seems shellac likes to dissolve a lot of things... Didn't like my enamel paints either.
That sounds very do-able! I've also seen a metal guide thing floating around the range, too. I guess it's got a guide for putting in a hardwood insert, and a second one for actually carving out the nocks to a specific size. No one's actually used it though, so they didn't have a whole lot to say about it... Have you ever played with one?
π: 0 β©: 1
I like shellac because of how it looks... you just have to work quickly and confidently. I use cheap foam brushes even though they say they are not recommended for use with shellac.
I have seen a wooden guide for cutting hardwood inserts and nocks, but I have not used one. Hardwood inserts are pretty simple in concept, too. They are on my list of future projects.
π: 0 β©: 1
oh, all right, thanks!
They definitely look neat though, I wish you luck!
π: 0 β©: 1