# All my DIY accessories (mostly Carbon Fiber)



## jcooper (Jun 4, 2011)

New here. I just recently re-entered the archery world. I love the DIY forum and have built a few accessories I thought I would share. 
I am a perpetual tinkerer, and am the product designer for a sporting goods composites company ( Not archery related). 

First I made a CF stabilizer. The weight is a stainless piece that I turned on a lathe until it was the appropriate weight then blasted it for a matt finish. It is filled with not quite rubber and not quite gel balls that snugly fit and have a bit of space between them (it’s pretty dead).









Next I made the cable guide rod out of carbon.








Then I made a carbon string stop rod to replace the aluminum one. It was a bit of a pain because of the bend in it but I think it turned out pretty good. 








Then I put a bunch of carbon scraps in a press and made flat panels to make a set of grip panels. I cut them out ,ground and sanded them into shape. I’m very happy with the way they feel/look. I may make a knife handle with the scrap I have left. 








I got an extreme dovetail sight but did not like the 1 ¾” dia as it did not fill my peep like the 2” flashpoint did. So I made a CF shroud. I find it makes centering my sight in my peep easier. Im already running a pretty small peep. 








The sight was pretty dim so I bought 3’ of each color fiber optics and routed them to my film container that has been cut down and mounts in the light screw hole. It is very bright now. I am running 2 .019” and 3 .010” pins. Everything on the sight has been rubber mounted to cut down on vibration. 








Lastly I have made my own carbon fiber arrows not just putting the fixins on them, I made the shafts. They have been shooting great. They are quite a bit stiffer than the Easton nano axis 300 shafts I was shooting and just a bit lighter. Diameters are very close and I use x nocks and HIT inserts with blazer vanes. 








I am very happy with the way the Turbo Hawk is shooting. The bling is just for fun but quite functional. The only thing I have left that I might do is build a carbon fiber hood to replace the current one on my quiver.


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## whack&stack (Oct 15, 2007)

WOW you do good work man


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## Pure_Archery (Apr 16, 2011)

very nice equipment


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## lilfredy_12 (Jun 17, 2011)

you sell these im looking for a new grip for my diamond bow and the one you got on yours is awsome


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## rntmvp (Jun 30, 2011)

That is awesome man! Good work.


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## Bownut400 (May 29, 2007)

I'll take one of each.... You are one lucky and talented guy, I don't care who you are that stuff is cool.. Thanks for sharing.


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## HogHunterInFl (Aug 27, 2003)

I can see some money being made in your future. Awesome job.


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## mathews xt 600 (Jan 5, 2007)

Yea you got talent!!


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## oldschoolcj5 (Jun 8, 2009)

excellent work!


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

You do great work!!

How did you bend the carbon fiber for the string stopper rod?

Is it solid or a tube?

For the arrows, did you start with a tube or roll your own?

Same for the scope, did you start with a tube or fabric?

I hope you don't mind the questions, but you've inspired a few ideas.

Thanks,
Allen


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## boweng (Aug 7, 2006)

Dude!

You've got testicles the size of my head to shoot a homemade carbon fiber arrow. I'd be scared to death it would explode. 

Great job on all the projects.


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## huntnfishnut (Jan 12, 2011)

Very impressive to say the least


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## XMAN (Jul 2, 2003)

Very impressive!!! How about the straight tolerence on the arrow?


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## jcooper (Jun 4, 2011)

aread said:


> You do great work!!
> 
> How did you bend the carbon fiber for the string stopper rod?
> 
> ...


Thanks guys I have enjoyed this project.
We have done a bunch of the same mods on one of my buddys bows. Although he did most of the work on his.
He is also shooting the same arrows now. 

For the string stop I rolled it on a super small aluminum tube 1/16". Then before baking it I bent it to shape. the aluminum was just there to keep the carbon in shape while curing. Normally I would make a straight part on a steel mandrel then pull the part off the mandrel. But I used such a tiny aluminum tube I could just leave it in without it bothering anything.

It is a tube but very thick walled carbon the ID would be .0625.

Same for the sight shroud. Just like the other pieces I started with raw materials, rolled them on a mandrel, cured them, pulled them off the mandrel, then cut and shaped them in my lathe and mill. I use prepreg graphite that uses heat activated resin so the parts have to go in the oven. 

For the arrows I am also rolling them from a prepreg cloth. I do not think wet lay-up would work for arrows as it would be too hard to control the resin content. I am getting +/- .006 or better on most of them although I have quite a few “Grouse” or “Rabbit” arrows also. Because of the stiffness of the arrow I have not found a difference in the way they shoot until they are about .015 out from straight (I found this strange). They shoot as good or better than my Axis set. Even though my tests did show more strength than my AXIS arrows I was still a bit nervous to shoot the first few shots (But no guts no glory).


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## Gov'na (Mar 25, 2011)

Your work is amazing. Wish that I had the ability to do that. Nice job


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## madarchery (May 28, 2003)

So in the spirit of DIY.

Where can the rest of us get the fiber and adhesive? Just in case say we want to make a mandrel and layup a stabilizer or grip. :wink:

:darkbeer:


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## boweng (Aug 7, 2006)

what kind of oven are you doing this in? I presume its not your standard kitchen oven.


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## jcooper (Jun 4, 2011)

I use perpreg so it has to be cured in an oven. For a stabilizer you could use wet lay-up. I do not do much wet lay-up as it is pretty messy and the stiffness to weight ratio is not as good. But wet lay-up is the easiest to fine supplies for. Prepreg is a bit harder to find in small quantities but it is available online. On small dia. things you can also get away with using a core material like really thin aluminum, Small carbon rod from a hobby shop, Foam or even wood. I do not usually use any of these but they will all work for many applications. You just kinda have to think out of the box. 
Another way to think if you want to make something out of carbon is to shape the mold out of something you can brake up and take out (if you are only making one). When I make my quiver I will shape a piece of florist foam wrap it with carbon then break the foam out and sand the inside to the finish I want. 
I once needed an odd sized tube so I used what was basically a thick paper towel roll then formed the carbon over it. Once it was cured I peeled the paper roll out a layer at a time until all I had left was a 4” Dia. carbon tube for an exhaust for my dirt bike. Which quickly burned up about 45 minutes into a ride. No guts no glory sometimes bites me (I did finally figure out how to make the exhaust work). Sorry I get off the subject easy. 


Here are a few suppliers that sale in small quantities. I have not used any of them as I buy mine from my work.
http://www.cstsales.com/carbon_prepreg.html
http://www.avtcomposites.com/products.php3

Wet layup
http://www.carbon-fiber.us/
Lots of it on ebay
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=carbon+fiber+twill


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## jcooper (Jun 4, 2011)

boweng said:


> what kind of oven are you doing this in? I presume its not your standard kitchen oven.


I have done it in my kitchen oven. Although I in no way condone that sort of thing. It only has to get up to 250F. I normaly use a larger walk in oven. But if it fits in my oven at home.......


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## jlnel (Dec 22, 2009)

nice stuff!


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## PSE#1 (Jun 28, 2010)

Awesome work man!!!


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## JPR79 (May 18, 2010)

Very nice good looking products. Seriously, you should sell some small stuff to friends!


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## jrdrees (Jun 12, 2010)

Sweet stuff there!


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## John0341 (May 25, 2009)

thought id bring this back up to the top hey coop the cable slide works great. it looks awesome also now all i need is a sts rod


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## codykrr (Feb 6, 2011)

I think those grips are amazing!!!!


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## Buster of Xs (Nov 28, 2008)

Very, very nice. Impressive work, man.


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## DocMort (Sep 24, 2009)

Very impressive indeed


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## rancilio (Jan 24, 2011)

Wow! Sign me up for a Turbohawk grip. Great stuff!


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## PSEXS (Apr 30, 2010)

Hella nice work bud!


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## skynight (Nov 5, 2003)

Very nice. What is a film canister?:wink:


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## daltongang (Jul 29, 2009)

skynight said:


> Very nice. What is a film canister?:wink:


Is it the thingy the memory card comes in?


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## We Heart Junk (Jul 20, 2011)

That is awesome. I wish I had that kind of know-how!


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## bb11 (Dec 16, 2009)

great job!!!!


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## MightyElkHntr (Dec 13, 2006)

sweet. Thanks for sharing.


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## omergic (Dec 28, 2010)

nice!


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## 737flyer (Dec 8, 2009)

Absolutely amazing! Glad to see there are still tinkerers in the world today!


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## amcardon (Mar 17, 2009)

So, how much for a dozen custom Cooper shafts?  Great work, brother! Looking forward to seeing what you post next!


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## z7 xtreme fmj (Aug 26, 2011)

i bet your bow is a little lighter than most .


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## Zonker (Dec 2, 2010)

Hey Cooper, for those arrows what percentage of the fibres do you have running along the length of the arrow?


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## Alpha Burnt (Sep 12, 2005)

Been a while, those arrows holding up pretty good?


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## iwantone2.4 (Sep 12, 2010)

Thats pretty cool. Nice work!!


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## turkeybuster (May 5, 2010)

you are good brother!!!!


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## Ricky 2feathers (Jan 12, 2012)

WOW!! Great work!! Got to love that Carbon Fiber look!:thumbs_up


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## Alpha Burnt (Sep 12, 2005)

Top;


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## b0w_bender (Apr 30, 2006)

Really cool lookin stuff!
I would love to see a video on how that process works! do you have a youtube account?


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## beachbuggy (Mar 15, 2011)

WOW....you got some impressive skills!


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## Alpha Burnt (Sep 12, 2005)

How cost effective would this be for a guy just into DIY for friends and family?


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## buckman2591 (Feb 6, 2011)

jcooper said:


> Thanks guys I have enjoyed this project.
> We have done a bunch of the same mods on one of my buddys bows. Although he did most of the work on his.
> He is also shooting the same arrows now.
> 
> ...


how much for a dozen arrows? please pm me!


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## excalibur1200 (Feb 6, 2007)

You're my kinda guy, wish we were neighbors, those cable rods would fit many bows, you should sell em on ebay


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## Scojen7 (Feb 15, 2013)

"How cost effective would this be for a guy just into DIY for friends and family?" While not taking anything away from the superb work the OP has done be advised on a DIY basis this can get pretty expensive not to mention the research that goes into getting the right materials for the project. 
Just as a side note a one sq. yard of say 2 oz. cloth will run you 30 to 50 bucks the correct epoxy resin usually sold in 5 gal qtys start at 150 then add another 50 to 100 for a qt. of catalyst. Just say'n yes it is fun but it ain't cheap.


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## hunter1969 (Nov 10, 2012)

very impressive work


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