# making arrows out od dowel rods?



## rprieto1981 (Nov 27, 2011)

hey guys just got my new 60# long bow but i want to make my own arrows, will dowel rods work?? i was looking at the 3/8 rod and its seems it will hold up?? any experience with these?? some pointers?? some advise will help. oh yeah i don't have a spine tester so, im tryn to make my own gear.


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## Gary in Ohio (Jun 29, 2009)

I made arrows for my medieval crossbow out of dowels. I used dowels because the historically correct diameter was 1/2" or more. I used oak. The generic hardwood dowels didn't seem strong enough.

There are a number of problems with using dowels. One issue is weight. The weight from two dowels can vary by over 10%. Also you need to find ones where the growth rings run from one end to the other. If they cut diagonally across the arrow could break. You need to find straight rods. Only about 1 of 4 was straight enough for me to use for 14" arrows.

When you put this all together you'll have trouble getting more than one or two usable rods from your average Lowes or Home Depot. If this was a good idea everyone would do it.


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

rprieto1981 said:


> hey guys just got my new 60# long bow but i want to make my own arrows, will dowel rods work?? i was looking at the 3/8 rod and its se# ems it will hold up?? any experience with these?? some pointers?? some advise will help. oh yeah i don't have a spine tester so, im tryn to make my own gear.


 Well Hickory 3/8" dowels can be as high as 125# Spine and 1000 grains. I've tapered and reduced the diameter with sanding with 50 grit paper... (a little too much actually... but) and can knock off 50#.

Aloha... :beer:


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

Yes and no. You can make great arrows from dowels, but you have to put a lot more time into it than buying cedar and making arrows from that.

Start with the wood. Oak, ramin, birch, ash, HICKORY (being the strongest and stiffest), maple, and walnut in 3/8" will all work for bows over 60# to start. For lighter bows pine, spruce, and fir dowels in 3/8" can be used. Once you know the wood, only use the straightest grained ones possible. No knots. I'd always bought bulk bundles from a hardware supplier, usually birch or maple, in bundles of 100 and sorted through them.

Once you have some straight grained dowels of the right wood, you'll need a spine tester. Sort them, spining them parallel with the grain (so the nock will be perpendicular to the grain) and bundle them. Go through and cull out any that are grossly different weights, and set the rest aside to be cut, sanded, and straightenned.

Once you have a good sized bundle I like to use a candle and straighten them by hand, slowly passing the arrow over the flame until it's pliable and holding it jsut past straight until it cools some. Start at one end and go to the other, and you should have a pretty straight stick by the end. 

At this point the easiest method is jsut to chuck them in a power drill (preferably not a cordless) and sand them with 100 or 220. Then you finish them and get them ready for shooting. A spray finish like polyurethane or spar urethane will work fine. Two coats are usually best.

After that you can decorate, fletch, and shoot them any other arrow. Depending on the wood you choose they might last quite a will and can make a top notch arrow if you put the time in to really sort them and get them straight.


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

kegan said:


> Yes and no. You can make great arrows from dowels, but you have to put a lot more time into it than buying cedar and making arrows from that.
> 
> Start with the wood. Oak, ramin, birch, ash, HICKORY (being the strongest and stiffest), maple, and walnut in 3/8" will all work for bows over 60# to start. For lighter bows pine, spruce, and fir dowels in 3/8" can be used. Once you know the wood, only use the straightest grained ones possible. No knots. I'd always bought bulk bundles from a hardware supplier, usually birch or maple, in bundles of 100 and sorted through them.
> 
> ...


I bought a paint stripper to heat the wood.. a hair dryer would probably also work as well.... 

Aloha... :beer:


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

Or a hot plate. We just have candles hanging around, and I broke both of our heat guns tempering and bending selfbows:zipped:


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

kegan said:


> Or a hot plate. We just have candles hanging around, and I broke both of our heat guns tempering and bending selfbows:zip:


 I broke my first attempt I believe from too much heat.... low heat certainly gets it done proper... but you know... if a little is good.... :rock:

:grin: :beer:


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

Breaking bows with too much heat is one thing, but when I started breaking the heat guns THEMSELVES I knew I was pushing a little too hard:lol:


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## BowmanJay (Jan 1, 2007)

Be very careful to assure you dont have severly underspined shafts for that 60#'s, not worth a trip to the hospital....


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

kegan said:


> Breaking bows with too much heat is one thing, but when I started breaking the heat guns THEMSELVES I knew I was pushing a little too hard:lol:


That's right... I learned that the hard way as well... but with a hair dryer... type of heatgun... get it too close or smother it and it overheats rapidly... if your fuse or diode or whatever measures heat and shuts it off is ... well.... like me... incinerated.... :grin:


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

BowmanJay said:


> Be very careful to assure you dont have severly underspined shafts for that 60#'s, not worth a trip to the hospital....


Only fractures I had like that were with arrows that had knots or (usually) grain that ran off the dowel rather than the length of it. Underspined hardwood arrows won't break so much as completely miss the target. Soft woods though...


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## galyien (Dec 1, 2012)

Probally because some one else in your town is doing the same thing i know i have been though every board at lowes and home depot in my town and several neighbhoring towns. My neighbhor asked if id make him a bow if he got the wood. I said sure but good luck finding a board. And i also know im not the only one in my town who makes bows and their own arrows. I know of several people who do. So this leads me to start making my own dowels heh. I think mighf be better of buying a red oak flat board with straigh grain and rip and cut that then run it though a dowel tool. Any thoghts on that?


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

Poplar might be easier to work, but no reason it wouldn't make a great arrow!


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## Gweed (Dec 18, 2013)

I'm new to the site, but have been shooting recurves for about 30+ years. I am no expert by any means. I have been making arrows for about 10 years now. I used to buy Port Oxford Cedar, but got tired of paying that much. I started making arrows from dowels about a year ago. I have made them from the red oak and poplar dowels ate Home Depot and the smaller hardware stores. I use 3/8" as I shoot a 65# kodiak magnum and a 55# Damon Howatt Black Mamba. I have found that the 3/8" oak dowels are extremely heavy. Even after chucking and sanding a dowel that weighed around 800 grains I am still getting finished arrows around 700+/- grain weight. I like the poplar dowels better as they are lighter. I chucked and sanded a 3/8" pine this evening. I'll probably shoot it bare tomorrow with the 55# bow and then try it in the 65# if it works out ok. Has anyone used pine dowels out of a heavier poundage bow?
Shawn


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