Do it yourself - How do I build my own arrow?
Building your own and individual arrows is super fun - just like the motto: Do it yourself! BEARPAW would like to show you what equipment you need and how you can start building arrows.
What equipment do you need to build arrows?
To get your arrows ready to shoot, you will need a few utensils. We provide you with a checklist here:
Equipment for building carbon arrows:
- Shafts: For beginners we recommend carbon shafts. For example, our Pentahlon Bandit, Penthalon Traditional Black or Pentahlon Slim Line Black from BEARPAW are suitable here.
- Feathers: Here we recommend you to choose two different colors to distinguish, so that the leading feathers stands out from the other feathers. You can find feathers from BEARPAW here.
Excurs: The Cock Feather is the feather which is attached to the arrow at a right-angle to the nock and normally is a different color or pattern than the other two feathers. The Cock Feather is your indication that you have nocked the arrow correctly on your string. The Cock Feather must be attached to the arrow in such a way that when the arrow is nocked, the Cock Feather is on the opposite side of the sight window. There is also a “indicator” on the nock which is a small notch that runs parallel with the Cock Feather which allows you to “feel” that the arrow has been nocked correctly. The Cock Feather positioning ensures that your arrow has as little contact as possible with the bow during your shot, thus the arrow is influenced as little as possible.
- Nocks, to nock the arrow into the string later on.
- Inserts, to insert the tip
- Points, so that the arrow hits your target
- Fletching tool with clips, for attaching your feathers
- Fletching tape or our Archery Glue to glue the feathers in place
- Wire brush
- Sandpaper
- Cotton swab
- Alcohol for cleaning
The utensils Inserts, wire brush, sandpaper, cotton swabs and alcohol for cleaning you need only because you work with the material carbon. But if you want to build wooden arrows, the list looks a little different. Here you need:
Equipment for building wooden arrows:
- Schafts (for example spruce or cedar)
- Feathers
- Nocks
- Points
- Fletching tool with clips
- Fletching tape and Glue for the nocks
- Sharpener (Tapertool Plastik oder Tapertool Deluxe)
- BEARPAW Tip: To make your shaft more durable and resistant, you can treat the shaft with varnish or oil.
How to do it:
The video tutorial from BEARPAW In our YouTube tutorial, Tim and Phil from the BEARPAW team show you how to build a carbon arrow. You can watch the video here. In one of our upcoming blogposts we will also explain how to build a wooden arrow.
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