Stickbow Target Archery Forums

one of the trad gang sponsors came out with a neat internal wood arrow 'footing' jig - http://www.braveheartarchery.us/new_page_26.htm - that allows both point and nock weight to be added. i've been using iron nails that once trimmed weigh 65 grains each. adding smaller amounts of nock weight increases the shaft spine. if only footing strength and not weight was required, aluminium nails or even 1/8" hardwood dowel would do the job. i used either epoxy or thin cya super glue to affix the nails, and both worked perfectly.

rear end woodie tapering will change the shaft/arrow's spine weaker, but the addition of a 1" to 1-1/2" nail or dowel at the nock end stiffens the shaft/arrow up quite nicely.

the footing really beefs up the front end to virtually eliminate the typical arrow break right behind the point when it smacks something really hard. it also adds to the arrow weight, but more importantly it will bump the foc up by 50 to almost 100 grains. really neat!

the jig comes in 11/32" and 23/64" shaft sizes, but a single layer of blue 3m masking tape allows 5/16" shafts to be drilled and loaded, too (i did the testing, it works fine!). so now i'm having fun with those dang inferior woodies again.

That's a good idea.
I've switched to woodies for my season of IBO shooting, but am worried about the durability for stump shooting/Muzzy.
I'll probably switch to carbons for the rough stuff, but this gives me something to consider.

Ok, I ordered one.

try it out yet, todd?

Should be arriving in the next day or two...they were out of stock when I ordered.

Well I tried it....with not very good results. The first shot I made into a pile of dirt to test it....and it broke around the nail....almost as if drilling out the shaft weakened it. It didn't even hit anything hard. Maybe it was just an unlucky shot.

did the nail fit all the way into the hole?

did you use epoxy to glue in the nail?

No epoxy, but I did a second test with better results. I think my mistake on the first one was drilling deeper after removing the guide so that the whole nail would fit. It's too hard to drill a straight hole by hand even with the existing hole as a guide.

The second arrow I only drilled as far as the tool would let me, then hack sawed the nail to fit. I also snipped off the end of the shaft a little so I could really seat it tightly into the judo point. It held up to a couple of hard hits before it was too dark to shoot more.

More testing/refining required.

the nail (or whatever is used as a footing) must be firmly seated in the shaft hole. a thick glue should be used so as to leave no air pockets (epoxy is really best, but titebond or thick viscosity cya works well too). i don't know if this helps, but i've also been wicking in thin cya to the point taper, to harden it. i've used both hot melt and epoxy to install the points (field and judo), but seem to work equally as well.

i'm sure it'll happen eventually, but so far i've yet to bust off a nail footed woodie and i've been shooting them for the last few weeks with both field and judo points, roving the woods and "killing" tree stumps (and a few accidental rocks).

aside ... todd, after reading about your hill i got the bug to once again get me one - i picked up a like-new used hill longbow a few weeks back - cougar model, 'boo cores and locust veneers, 66", 48# @ 29" - a real fun bow! i'm shooting woodies out of it almost exclusively, what a gas! not a speed demon but extremely stable. i've been experimenting with strings and my current is a 10 strand "skinny" dacron endless with padded loops - definitely faster, quieter and more stable than the 14 strand flemish string that the bow came with. i love the aesthetics of a classic straight longbow, but it was my td mohawk that made the meat last week ...

Mmmmm....pork sausages!

That's cool you got a Hill. I don't know how you can shoot such a skinny string though. I use 16 strand dacron on all my bows regardless of weight. Nice thick string comes off the fingers easy, is very quiet, and most importantly, makes my nocks fit