I would like to build my own arrows. I have some knowledge a crossbow bolt construction but I understand compound arrows are a whole different ball game. Is there a book/guide or equipment list I could find somewhere? I would like to start buying components (jig, scale, etc).
My suggestion is that you learn about arrow spine an what works with your setup after deciding that buy your arrows cut them on a arrow saw wipe them down with alcohol around the areas where stuff gets glued in. Install your insert (hot melt glue) then your nock (no glue required on most carbon arrows) then fletch your vanes to your arrow with fletch glue using jig. If your unsure about any step go to YouTube an search for videos on the topic sometimes watching is a faster way to learn
The spine is the most important thing about an arrow without the proper stiffness the arrow will not fly good. Spine is determined by how much pressure the string is applying to the arrow when being released from the bow. With the new bows out today most require a stiffer spine especially dual cam bows. The cams are what to look at the more oval they are usually let's you know that it's going to rotate at a harsher speed than a cam that is more round. I would say that over 75% of today's bows require a 340 spine no matter the draw length but if your bow is over 5 years old then I would say that you might get by with shooting a 400 spine. Spine is measured the same by all bow companies but each has there own way of labeling it. So be careful when ordering just because a shaft is labeled 350 doesn't always mean that is the actual spine. Nor is it the weight of the arrow
Just remember, it's better to over spine than under spine. I have tried tuning an under spine arrow and did everything from rest adjustment to replacing strings and cables and nothing worked. Finally changed arrow spine and bam! Fixed it all. Well until the Hoyt started some crazy nock travel crap we never did figure out. Got tired of it and traded it. Jeff covered most pretty well though. You can take extra steps like I do on a fresh batch and float the shafts. Basically it's like balancing a tire. The heavy part of the shaft ends up down on all the arrows. This forces every arrow to come out of the bow the same. It works and works well. I have tightened groups noticeably by doing this. That was back when I was using NAP QuickFletch. Now that I am fletching my own, I'll be going back to floating my shafts.
The first place to start is with a plan. Figure out what specs of arrows you need... Spine, weight, length, fetching, fetching twist, FOC, tip weight... After that you can plan on what you need to build that setup. If you need help with the specs just post up your setup. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people on here.
thanks for the answers. ill be shooting hoyt element or sypder at 60-70lbs, dialed down to 65lb @ 28" draw. Im looking at the easton lineup, are 400s suitable?
