Hello all,

Just wondering if you could recommend arrow makers, as I may need some custom cedar arrows.

Thanks,

Two Flints

D and M arrows Gary Hall,makes great arrows..

Sorry, got a little trigger happy.

Suzanne St. Charles makes fabulous arrows...

http://www.nwarchery.com

Well, you do know we also have a resident arrow maker, who goes by.......aromakr, Bob Burton of Whispering Wind Arrows.

Give Paul Jalon at Elite Arrows a call. He’s at the top of the list!!

I hate to put in a plug for myself, but I make good ones. M B Custom Arrows.

Those do look good Matt.

Lost Nation Archery has made my arrows lately and they shoot and look great!

Raptor Archery

Guys,

Thanks for the suggestions . . . is Stu Miller still making arrows?

Have a question for those of you who know more than me in the area of arrow making . . . Is it better to order an arrow based upon the pull weight of the bow, or by the weight of the arrow for a particular bow? - so if my new bow requires an arrow with a certain weight for optimal shooting, how would I find which arrows have the correct weight my bow needs? Is this information, weight of the arrow, usually available or is actually the same criteria in making an arrow for a particular bow?

Thanks,

Two Flints

Lost Nation and NW Archery (St.Charles).

Two Flints, I'd say 'both'. Talk to the arrow maker, tell him what you're looking for re. both spine and arrow weight.

I have my own set of wood test arrows, with a variety of points in various weights. I can bare shaft wood as easily as carbon or aluminum to find the exact weight for a particular bow. Yes it takes some time but I like the results.

A good starting point.

You may not be able to get the exact total arrow weight you want. Most cedar for arrows comes from fallen trees of various may have fallen decades or centuries ago. Density and resilience varies from log to log. So your arrow smith may not have the wood on hand to match the weight you got years before. They can match spines and weights to each other from current production but they may not weigh the same as those from your previous batch.

I usually order shafts three dozen or more at a time so they match their mates. But they may not closely match the weight of my previous batch. They are usually pretty close but Mother Nature makes trees of differing weights and there is no arguing with her. - lbg

Matching weight on wooden arrows is actually pretty easy and has been done for centuries.

You match weight by removing material from the ends of the shaft, tapering them. For some shafts you will need to remove material from both ends creating a "barrel" type taper and for others you will only need to remove material from the nock end.

And, the arrows will all shoot into a tight little group out as far as we as mortals are capable of shooting them.

If I were you and I were looking to have someone make me some custom Cedar arrows I would talk to a couple of different arrowsmith's. Let them know what you are looking for, the type of bow you are shooting, and then get their input.

Ideally, a test kit is the way to go just like Juspassin indicated.

When it comes to arrows keep in mind that the order of importance of characteristics of arrow shafts is matched spine, matched weight, and lastly straightness.

Contact 'Aromakr' on this site.

I think Bob retired.

Never hurts to ask Frank. I'm 'officially retired' but I still do side work dependent on what it is and who's doing the asking. That's pretty common amongst the guys I know that are retired.

Haven't seen Stu Miller in a very long time. Did He drop out of archery? Hope that HE is OK! GOOD HUNTING & BLESSED BE!

Guy's I am retired and sold the business. All of my equipment went with the sale. It is now in Mesa, Arizona. I only have one fletching jig.

Bob

Wood shafts are my favorite. Especially cedar or Sitka Spruce. But even the best makers cannot measure moisture density or how to provide you with a perfect dozen. Go by the charts which show you all factors. However, the best dozen you can buy may have a flyer or two, those that match the weight and spine you want but may have one or two that simply wont fly right.

Thumper:

Dana is the person that bought my business and does make a fine arrow.

Bob

Stus been gone so long I forgot his name, and had to start referring to his calculator as the '3riversarchery' calculator. ha

I get mine from David Morley in NY. He's on Facebook. Let me know if you need help connecting.

From what I've seen wood arrow prices have gone through the roof! It's rediculas! Glad I have a huge stash of shafts and materials. They must be trying to make 20.00 an hour to assemble a dozen arrows!

From what I have seen the cost of all arrow components have gone through the roof including feathers and good shafts. A arrow smith has to buy all those materials at currant prices so the arrow price will reflect that. If a guy can make $15 a hour starting at Taco Bell maybe a skilled arrow smith deserves more then the guy making your fast food. If a arrow smith is building arrows for less then a minimum wage employee it’s not a business it’s a hobby. Just trying to put things in perspective and support our small businesses in the archery community.

150.00 for a dozen wood arrows? ... get real!

What A-tag said! Buy all the materials and see how much time and money you have in them. So if your doing it to make a little bit of money as a job or even part time job it will add up. I make my own and if you go with something fairly fancy the time adds up.

Oh and price a crester machine and paints and stains as ya need that besides the arrow components.

$150.00 for a dozen custom wood arrows is a bargain. I have arrows that I have purchased back in the early 1990's that have been shot thousand of times that are still going. I have no problem paying someone a living wage for work well done.

I've made my own arrows since I was 8 yrs. old. And that was 63 yrs. ago.I know whats involved...even with my fanciest arrows theres more waiting between steps than actually doing. I made all my own equipment, other than fletching jigs and tapering tools. Nocks are cheap,field points are cheap....feathers have gone up considerably,but I only fletch with wild grey barreds...free every spring. It's a niche market...you ain't gonna get rich regardless WHAT you charge! ...Don't quit your day job!

Do I hear 200.00 ?

250.00?

3 missing out of last box...3 dead bucks...

I was still working when I made most of these...6 days a week! Didn't sleep a lot though!

Lost Nation builds fine matched sets for 110.00 and 130.00. I quit building arrows for customers around 3 or 4 years ago mainly because there are no archers left around here and the few that are left want Walmart prices. If I started again I could not make minimum wage at 130.00.

Just as a side SB, I don’t think I’d build a dozen for you at 200.00. Because I’m positive you would never be satisfied.

I never thought I’d see hamburger sell for 5.50 a pound either but guess what.

I suppose it helps when you have a huge stash of shafts and components bought when prices were "normal" . I havn't bought anything since the 90's other than maybe a can of clearcoat...and I get that at the paint store!

Actually I have LESS free time than when I was working! ;)

I had Stu Miller make some for me and they are great. However, buy the materials and have fun making them yourself, it's not difficult and is fun. I do it in the off season.

I had Stu Miller make some for me and they are great. However, buy the materials and have fun making them yourself, it's not difficult and is fun. I do it in the off season.

And even more awesome when you take a critter with your own handiwork!

I am happy with the arrows I get from Wapiti.

X2 on Dave Morley

Stringmaker on here makes custom arrows, message him.

There are lots of good makers.. Some big and well known and other small time and all word of mouth. Whoever you choose make sure to look at lots of their work and have critically high standards. I cant bear to see 80% of the arrows put out by "makers" these days with poor nock fit/tapering, uneven cresting (blatantly showing poor straightness of shafts), awful feather burning, or excess glue dripping and dried all over the place.

Top-notch buys should be able to consistently produce perfect arrows across a whole dozen with perfect straightness, cresting, nock fit, and super clean fletching.

OK, so one more time for those of us who were not paying attention…

If I want to use the spray can for capping, do I put down a layer of wipe on poly first, or does that go OVER the rustoleum?

I spray the cap first then crest, then dip or spray poly

Riverwolf, I'm sure there are stains that may come close, but I'd recommend aniline dyes. I bought a pack of different powder colors (mix with water/or alcohol) to use on different wood projects including my son's osage bow I dyed green by mixing blue and yellow. Almost endless color combos, just gotta get creative. Haven't tried it on wood shafts yet, but I'm sure it'd work fine. I'll post a pic of what I used a little later.

Here's an example of how well they work. I plan on trying them out on some cane and Doug fir shafts over the winter. Store in a container after mixing and they should last for years.

You bet.

Riverwolf, I am like Damon, I use aniline dyes on my arrows also. I use the water base ones, in which they have the most variety of colors. Here are a couple of examples of arrows using the aniline water base dyes . . . only the cresting is paint . . .

I forgot, the set with the white cap is a white wash stain I make.

Another batch . . .

If you have questions, shoot me a PM.

Michael

Without a doubt, D & M custom Arrows, Gary Hall!

David Morley, you can contact him on Facebook .

His work is second to none that i have seen. However theres a lot of talent ppl making arrows.

I personally suggest you make your own. Its not that hard to make a half decent looking arrow.

I use acrylic paint from hobby lobby, brush it on or wipe it like a colored stain. For crowns. Paint pens or a brush and same acrylic paint thinned with water for crestng.

ended up buying a spin rite crester because i never could get my home made jobs to act right.

Dip arrows in polycrylic/water mix at 50/50 ratio in a home made dipper

I like the surewood shafts.

Do they look as good as the professionals , no Do they look good yes at least imo Are they more cost effective yes by at least $50 a dozen, maybe even $75 ( if you don't count your labor )

I broke a lot of professionally made beautiful and costly cedar arrows when i first started shooting them. That will make even a grown man cry

Nothing like a well-made cedar arrow. Especially if you build your own. I like making my own wood arrows. Cedar is my favorite.

Three Rivers alcohol stain, has a golden yellow, that really looks cool on cedar

I learned my lesson. I bought 2 doz from a place everyone said was one of the best. And they did look perfect but didn't fly like old arrow of same spine. I broke out the old Adams spine tester. Neither doz were the spines I had ordered. Since I had shot them and they were light I retuned my bows by adding to the side plate. After about a month 1 broke for no apparent reason. Under the cap dip every grain except 2 ran out at just about the same spot. Since then when I break one stumpin I scape the cap paint to check the. Most have had more grain runout than is exeptable to me. The lesson I learned? No mire cap dips and spine test em before shooting them. I make most of my plain janes myself anyhow since I sold my crester and dipping stuff years ago.

I’ve been using Lost Nation’s Osage Orange aniline dye. It really has that Osage look.

works of art! is there a huge coffee table book with just arrow art in it?

Last time I was in Bass Pro I saw carbon arrows $75 for 6. That's $150.00/dz by my math. 150 for good wood arrows is reasonable.

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