Thought I'd post this to inspire anyone who wanted to build a set of custom arrows. This season I wanted to run feathers on my arrows. Lightweight (helps FOC), great for broadhead stabilization, nostalgic... So I embarked on a DIY arrow build. I bought a dozen Beman Hunter Classic arrows from Lancaster Archery. Wanted to hit 450gr. I bought TopHat 60gr stainless inserts, and am using a 125gr fixed broadhead. Arrows came in at 440gr with a 19.5% FOC (27.0" shaft). I'm happy with that.
First on the list was getting feathers. A buddy of mine shot a turkey in April and I asked to keep the right wing.
I stripped, cut, sanded, and trimmed the primary feathers for fletching. I made a jig out of two pieces of 1/16th aluminum. Sandwhich the feather between the plates and cut/trim/sand to shape. You can dye feathers with RIT dye or even KoolAid! (sorry, no pics)
Meanwhile I cut my shafts to length on a jig I built with scraps and my Dremel tool.
I built a jig to measure and identify the spine of the shafts. I wanted to have all the weak/strong side spines aligned for consistency. You can see the dot I put at the nock end to show me where to attach the feathers.
The bearing blocks were 3D printed on my DaVinci Jr printer. (everyone needs one of these!)
With my spine sorted, it was time to crest the shafts. I wanted a white background to help identify blood type. So I had sprayed the tops of the shafts with white laquer. I built a simple cresting jig using an old DC motor, a rubber band drive belt, bearings and a frame that I also 3D printed. I used oil paint pens that I bought at Michaels Crafts.
to be continued....
First on the list was getting feathers. A buddy of mine shot a turkey in April and I asked to keep the right wing.
I stripped, cut, sanded, and trimmed the primary feathers for fletching. I made a jig out of two pieces of 1/16th aluminum. Sandwhich the feather between the plates and cut/trim/sand to shape. You can dye feathers with RIT dye or even KoolAid! (sorry, no pics)
Meanwhile I cut my shafts to length on a jig I built with scraps and my Dremel tool.
I built a jig to measure and identify the spine of the shafts. I wanted to have all the weak/strong side spines aligned for consistency. You can see the dot I put at the nock end to show me where to attach the feathers.
The bearing blocks were 3D printed on my DaVinci Jr printer. (everyone needs one of these!)
With my spine sorted, it was time to crest the shafts. I wanted a white background to help identify blood type. So I had sprayed the tops of the shafts with white laquer. I built a simple cresting jig using an old DC motor, a rubber band drive belt, bearings and a frame that I also 3D printed. I used oil paint pens that I bought at Michaels Crafts.
to be continued....
Last edited:
