What do you guys do. I know tapering the shaft is popular but is it really needed? I've heard that it lightens the shaft and increases FOC. Not real sure how much weight you remove in an 8-10" taper when going from 11/32 to 5/16. Cannot be enough to ever tell.

Also hear that it improves arrow flight. That one I may/may not go for. Being as wood shafts are large compared to carbon and most all alum. I can possible see it helping with fletching clearance. But really will will less than 1/32 of an inch really help. If your that far out of tune you need to do more work. Random thoughts.

Tell me why I should taper shafts.

Thanks

I can't tell you why you should bother. Here's why I do it. I use it to spine match closer. I like the appearance. When I order from Surewood I let them go it. It's a fine stroke and isn't a must do. I just like doing it.

First, you don't taper 11/32" shafts to 5/16" to get the proper affect. You taper them to 9/32". You tpaer 23/64" shafts to 5/16".

The rear taper does indeed allow the arrow to clear the bow more cleanly.

When you breast taper, you do both ends. Front or point end to 5/18 nock end to 9/32.

Breasted arrows were proved beyond doubt to have better ballistic coefficints then parallel arrows nearly 100 years ago.

Some guys named Klopsteg, Elmer, and others alreadt been there, done that.

Why shoud YOU taper shafts? I haven't the first clue. But I know why I do.

Although back tapering for fletch does add some minimal additional fletch clearance that is not where the real gains are made.

Cameron Root is on the right track.

Back taper does 2 things. The artificially imposed shape helps force each of teh shafts in a batch behave all more nearly identically. Fewer flyers.

The back taper also assists in reducing arrow flex/oscillation recovery time.

For those interested here is access to some research I did on the subject:

https://ohlonearchery.com/understanding-dynamic-arrow-spine- characteristics/

Appears "primitive" but the sensor used was more than sensitive enough and oscilloscope used was accurate to greater than milliseconds.

Given that I have seen one else test or publish ANY research on this subject I stand by findings until such time as somebody else comes along and does a better job of it.

Personally, I like a smaller diameter nock because like a longer bow, it seems to lessen finger pinch.

I also think they look better.

And if they fly/penetrate better, that’s the Real Value as well as the icing on the cake.. Dr. Pope was a fan, too....

What’s not to like??

I have gobs of both parallel and tapered arrows and shafts all over. Its all the same to me. I'm no more accurate, no better arrow flight and as far as I can tell they both stick in my Block the same depth. They look cool, that's all I have ever noticed different between them.

i shoot alot of bamboo, they are naturally tapered , don't know how much the taper has to do with things but they preform better than alot of wood arrows , alot less sensitive to spine variations and seem to straighten out in flight faster

I have tapered hundreds of shafts. Tapering your hand made shafting adds to your skill level, and that's always a good thing in and of itself. Tapering adds a nice custom touch. I haven't noticed any significant improvement other than aesthetics though. Suposedly a taper damps flex but I sure can't see that.

I'm sure there are some advantages to the tapered shaft, as well as transferring some weight FOC, but for me, if the shaft is good and tuned well, a parallel shaft shoots just fine.

I have shot both taper and parallel and found no difference, I'll 2nd ny yankee's statement.

I think there are advantages to the archer good enough to enjoy them. In other words, if I were intending to compete with them at a higher level, then I would likely opt for tapered, or barrel tapered for better ballistics and better match from shaft to shaft. For guys like me who are more of a 12 handicap, parallel is usually what I use. I am of the belief though that tapered arrows can be a better choice for better consistency in both weight and spine.....if done by someone in the know.

I agree with George. Few folks can shoot the difference between tapered and parallel shafts.

That being said, I do taper most of my wood shafts. Whether to taper 11/32 to 5/16 or 9/32 is a personal choice. I have some old forgewoods that are tapered from1/4-inch to 7/16. Regardless, tapering the shaft removes anywhere from 15-20 grains from the rear of the shaft, depending on the wood type and shaft diameter, which adds about 1% FOC.

I taper more for the weight reduction (and quicker recovery) than for the FOC advantage.

The extra clearance from the riser that tapering provides is so small as to be negligible. If you taper a 11/32 shaft to 9/32, you've removed 2/32 of its diameter, 1/32 if you taper to 5/16, about 1/32 or 1/64 on a "side" of the arrow. The height of many feathers varies that much, and could negate any clearance advantaged gained.

To the extent that tapering helps an arrow fly straighter sooner/recover more quickly, it's primarily (not entirely) due to a change in how the arrow flexes around/clears the riser rather than any additional clearance/distance from the riser it provides.

Really splitting hairs on most of this stuff. Mostly, I taper my arrows just because I like the way they look.

Ok, someone already mentioned Dr. Elmer. He proved in the 1930's that tapering a shaft caused it to overcome paradox more rapidly. That causes the arrow to have a flatter trajectory over a given distance, meaning the arrow will begin to spin on its axis faster, thus reducing friction. In really it has nothing to do with FOC. I've shot breast tapered arrows for thirty years and personally would not shoot parallel, as I like the quick recovery. I'm sure its a personal thing.

Bob

I've always prefer the taper but its not a requirement to shoot an arrow well. The taper shafts all seemed to just fly better when I used them several years exclusively when Kustom Kings were being made their exotic shafts.

Bob, the ballistic advantage is what everybody misses when they start talking about tapered arrows. And I guess that's because of the popularity of EFOC and UEFOC arrows. Even though it does create a change in the FOC.

I've made tapered, barreled, and parallel shafts. I must be insensitive, because the only thing I noticed at the distances I shoot, is that I break less parallel shafts. Tapering or barreling = more grain runout on the shaft.

unhinged: The answer to your problem is quit using shafts with runout, I know that's hard to do today. If the spine is correct for your setup and bow tuned, then your arrows should spin on there axis faster resulting in less broken arrows.

Bob

My thought was that when you remove wood to taper or barrel, you create runout. It would be hard to avoid unless you compressed the wood into shape, which might be interesting to try.

Compressing the wood, in theory, would only change the shape not the weight or the spine. Reading above what guys who know a whole lot more than I do, my understanding is that any advantages of tapering have more to do with creating a shaft that recovers in paradox faster. Maybe that's why carbons are so popular?

I also seem to see the experts agreeing on the fact that 99% of us can't shoot well enough to notice a difference.

I do agree with you on compression. It would be an interesting study. I heard about a guy who used to make arrows that were compressed but I don't think tapered. Guys seemed to love. Them.

Lots of good info and thoughts here.

If tapering only the rear what do you guys prefer 8-10 or more inches. I built a taper jig and shooting for 10". Broke first few shafts I tried. Made some adjustments and tapered last two shafts I have and they look good. Need a touch of adjusting but until I get some more shaft I won't do anything. Thanks guys

Shooter, can you post a pic of your jig?... thank you

My two hunting bows shoot with 55 - 57 spine parallel woodies but having a set of 70# 23/64" shafts I tapered them for 15" to 5/16" and they shoot fine from the same bows.

That may not mean anything in the context of the topic.

Tapering is not worth the extra cost for the majority of archers.

Cost. Value. Subjective factors and to each his/her own.

I like the feel and flight of tapered but won't pay for it. I can taper and sand a dozen shafts in 30 minutes by hand. There were times in my life when I didn't have 30 minutes to spare for that process so it was parallel shafts out of my bows. But these days I can afford to do things in the least time efficient ways and can't afford to pay others to do things for me.

Shooter, let the length of your taper be determined by how much weight you want to remove as much as anything else. On some arrows you may have to taper a little more than you did on the one before, but it doesn't hurt anything at all.

I prefer minimum of 12" taper, 15" a lot better.

Guess Howard Hill would full length taper them. I'd like to try that some day but haven't built a jig for that length yet.

fdp So if I tapered one shaft 8" and another 10" to get the weight within reason that should not affect how they shoot compared to leaving them both 8" Im sure there are limits

Thanks

Spin sand in a drill with a rubber chuck hose. Once you have done your initial. To fine tune.

That's correct Shooter. Not unless you are a lot better shot than I am.

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