I'm building my first set of wood arrows and it's definitely been a learning process. I'm down to the final stages and tonight I tried installing a couple of points. I'm using the Ferr-L-Tite amber hot melt.

But my question is really about the taper, I guess. I got a taper tool from 3Rivers, their Tru-Center V2 taper tool, and it seemed very easy to use -- I just kept sharpening until no more shavings were coming off. But when I try to fit the points on the shaft, I get this gap (see photo). No matter how much I push the point, it won't go any further. I'm worried about this gap because it's basically unprotected wood and moisture could get in.

What am I missing? I have two different point weights: 125 and 100 grain. The picture you see is 125gn. The 100gn points have even more of a gap.

There are a lot of arrow makers on this site that will be able to address your dilemma better than I probably but I have found that when using that type of sharpening tool you tend to sharpen it too much. The taper would be good for a broadhead but too long for a field point. Cut off a bit of the end and you should be good to go. Next time don't go quite as far w/ the taper.

Yep just cut a little off the end.

Try heating up the tip for a little extra time the push the point down onto a concrete slab or piece of wood If you've heated it up enough the excess glue should ooz out the back and the tip will cover your cut. If you don't have enough heat the glue will cool to fast not allowing the tip to seat properly. Make sure to keep the tip from slipping off as you point it down it should work great I have the same tool.

Check your tool, some are adjustable for length of taper. 3Rivers field points have a shallow hole, so it is necessary to either cut a small portion off the taper or adjust the tool. However in any case that little bit of bare wood exposure will not hurt anything, there is not a finish made that completely seals wood from moisture. Bob

I clip the tip off the taper with side cutters. That allows the metal point can get buried snug in the socket.

Not all taper tools are created equal so a little trimming of very point end is necessary. I have the older Tru Center tool and it has an adjustment to shorten the tip end. I was able to adjust the blade to under cut the rear of the taper as well. This made a smooth transition between shaft and point. Easier to pull arrows from targets.

Also, if you are putting 11/32 points on a 23/64 shaft this situation will come up.

Yep just like WillScarlet said, point too small or shaft too large.

There is another option; Top Hat points. In stainless or blued or even brass. No tapering, no glue. They simply screw over the end of the parallel shaft. An untapered wood shaft is inherently stronger too. I like the stainless ones the best. They're very tough.

Also, they're 125 grns and self-centering.

What aromakr said and you can touch it up with a little bit of the same color stain you used on the shaft.

Thanks for all the input. These are definitely 5/16 points going onto a 5/16 shaft so there is not a size differential. I looked at the Top Hat screw on points; they look pretty nifty. I'll give all of your advice a try on my next arrows (I only put points on two arrows so far).

Just for fun, here's a picture of the rest of the arrows (unfletched). :D

I have recently been using parallel sided Chinese points that require a shouldered chamfer.You can get a special tool that compresses the shaft to accomodate the point or cut a shouldered chamfer.Years ago most target points were done like that and from memory they were crimped on the shaft.I occasionally centre punch the parallel points as well as glue them.For tapered points I find to grind the taper is the most accurate as opposed to the pencil sharpener type of taper tool.As a rule it can pay to do test taper and fit the point on a scrap shaft.Pre fit your point dry to see all is in order.As mentioned above it would appear that the taper is too long for your piont.You can remove the points and trim the taper length.Epoxy can be used to fill that gap you currently have and will save you having to remove the points and refit them.It can look a bit messy and may require a bit of touch up shaft finish.Just a tip to keep moisture at bay is to use a wax polish on your shafts after each shooting session. OSR

I taper all my wood arrows to fit my glue on broadheads, mostly Ziewicky. I then cut off enough of the end to fit field points, if used in that batch of arrows.I usually don't switch points. Broadheads stay on and the only other changing that is done is if a field point is replaced with a judo. Works for me.

sprinke, those look really nice. Shows a lot of effort went into them.

Very handsome looking shafts. I like that red candy color.

When will we see them FLETCHED! Hope SOON???? STAY SAFE / WELL / COOL / COMFORTABLE & BLESSED BE! Batman

Very nice job! Jawge

Nice paint job.

Nice looking arrows. Lately when I'm building arrows for myself and I know exactly what spine and length I need I do my tapering before I finish the arrows. Works well for me and gluing points and nocks to the finished arrow has never been a problem.

Some pencil sharpener type taper tools sharpen too much if you don't stop at the length you want. Cut about an eighth inch or slightly more off and it'll work fine.

What I do is try the fit without any glue, if it is snug with no wobble, then it is ready for glue. Mostly I use 5 minute epoxy which is thin enough to allow almost the same fit as the raw shaft had. I smear the glue over any gap in the paint, and wipe off the excess. I just make up users these days. If you want to reuse the points should a shaft break, get a machinist's reamer, though you would need to be doing a lot of reaming to pay that off.

I use the hot melt on aluminums, but normally find I prefer the epoxy on wood.

If you look at your arrow, it is plain to see that you sharpened your point after finishing the arrow. That bulge of paint pushed up is a tell tell sign of what you did. It is common for people to do that but, I don't like it either. Often times if the shaft has a good finish on it, it also dulls your sharpener too. So, my best advice is to cut and sharpen your nock and point tapers before finishing g your arrows. And, a broad head ferrule will likely cover all the exposed wood anyways. Field points and blunts don't seat as far up the taper as their taper must not be as deep as broasheads. Try it, you'll see for yourself. God Bless

By the way, I mostly solved my problem by making sure that I was applying pressure against the blade while using the taper tool to make sure it shaved off as much wood as possible. And I used a red Sharpie on the exposed wood to hide it. After I got more experience with the hot melt, they started looking much nicer. Thanks for all your suggestions.

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