OR LEATHER

a perfect fifty-four or take your archery

with a dash of small game hunting, you will find
keen enjoyment in this ancient sport. Making
the tackle is simple.
Size of tackle: The first thing to know is what
size of bow and length of arrow to use. This de-
pends entirely on your physique, and particularly
your reach. If your reach is 64 in., you can use a n
arrow 25 to 26 in. long, with a bow not less than
5 ft. 3 in. from tip to tip, Fig. 5. The weight of the
bow, that is, the number of pounds pull required
to draw it, depends on your muscular develop-
ment. Most men can draw a 50 to 60-lb. bow, but
a 35 to 40-lb. bow is the best weight for general
shooting, and good scores can be made with the
25 and 30-pounders.
The long bow: The long bow has a deep or
ELL. @ SIDE BACK "stacked" body, which is generally recognized as

438 POPULAR MECHANICS

the nocks 1 in. from each end, Fig. 3, using a round file, Fig. 2.
Make a bowstring from upholsterer's twine, as shown in Fig. 1,
and brace the bow as in Fig. 6. When the bow is braced the
height of the string from the center of the bow should be about
equal to the width of the hand and thumb with the latter stuck
out as in Fig. 28. You can now "tiller" it to check the bend of
both limbs, a t the same time measuring the weight with a spring
scale, as shown in Fig. 10. Bend the bow gradually. Take off a
,
shaving here and there to equalize the bend. Take your time.
You can always take off more wood, but you can't put it back
on again. The bow should be quite stiff for a distance of about
6 in. a t the center, and should then curve evenly to the tips. The
beginner's most common fault is to make the bow "whip ended,"
Fig. 9. Besides checking the curvature, sight down the bow as
you work and note if the string cuts the center of the belly, as
in Fig. 7. If it throws off to the side, your bow has a turn in it.
This can be corrected by taking off wood opposite the turn.
If desired, you can back your bow with red or black fiber
attached with waterproof glue before the shaping is started. In-
stead of cutting plain nocks, you may decide to purchase and fit
a set of cow-horn tips, or, you may want to turn them from col-
orful plastic. It will be noted, Fig. 3, that plain nocks are not
cut across the back of the bow as this would weaken the wood.
The groove in horn or plastic tips, however, is let into the back.
The flat bow: The flat bow is easier to make than the long one
MARCH, 1941 439
and can be 3 or 4 in. shorter for the same Fig. 12. First put on the head. A number
length arrow. The same general method of of different ones can be purchased, but for
bandsawing is used, Fig. 8, but the belly average target work the brass parallel pile
side is only lightly rounded off. Typical head is most satisfactory. Cut the tenon on
sections of a 40-lb. flat bow are given in the end of the shaft by turning on a lathe,
Fig. 11. The handle riser can be the same Fig. 14. If you are careful, the head will be
or of a contrasting wood to the bow itself. a drive fit and will hold securely. If the
The narrow plate, which prevents wear, is head is a bit loose, anchor it with a few
inlaid, using a .%-in. disk of %-in. plastic. punch taps as shown in Fig. 16. Cut the
Self arrows: A "self" arrow is one made arrows to the required length and then cut
from a single piece of wood. The simplest the noclrs. Plain nocks can be cut easily
way t o make self arrows is to buy a con- by running the shafts over a circular saw,
struction kit, which includes the Kc-in. as in Fig. 13. The nock should be across
dowel sticks, feathers and heads. Birch is the grain. If you want more strength a t the
the best wood to use. The various parts nock, insert a thin slip of fiber or plastic.
and dimensions of the arrow are shown in Aluminum or molded-plastic nocks are
POPULAR MECHANICS
very attractive and are
fitted by t e n o n i n g the
end of the shaft the same
as in fitting the head.
Fletching is the hard
part of arrow m a k i n g .
However, if you use one
of t h e jigs s h o w n i n
Figs. 17 and 19, you will
be able to turn out good
work a t a fair rate of
speed. Turkey feathers
can be p u r c h a s e d al-
r e a d y c u t , or you can
strip your own feathers by grasping the the top and bottom members. The upper
vane a t the tip and pulling outward, as ring is removable, being a press fit over
shown inFig. 15,afterwardcutting the vane the three spacing dowels.
to the required shape. The one-feather Footed arrows: Footed arrows are more
fletching jig shown in Figs. 17 and 18 is decorative and more durable than self ar-
built around a paper clip. A disk of ply- rows. The footing is made from any tough
wood, which slips over the shaft, is drilled hardwood, and is slotted for a distance of
with three small holes to supply an index- 5% in., Fig. 20. Shafts are usually Port
ing head, and is prevented from slipping by Orford cedar o r Norway pine, and are ta-
means of a piece of spring wire. One feath- pered to fit the slot in the footing. Perfect
er at a time is clamped by the paper clip tapering of the shafts can be done by the
and pressed into position. Any type of ad- circular-saw method shown in Figs. 21 and
hesive can be used. Celluloid cement has 24. The taper should be made with the flat
the advantage of quick drying and the of the grain. The shaft is assembled to the
ability to anchor on lacquer, thus allowing footing with waterproof glue and the as-
the shafts to be painted previous to fletch- sembly is then clamped or wrapped with
ing. Waterproof glue on bare wood is the twine o r rubber strips as in Fig. 22. Other
most 'durable. In the three-feather jig, than a special tenoning jig, the best method
the feathers are held between metal plates, of rounding the footing to match the rest
one plate of each set fitting into grooves in of the shaft is by turning, Fig. 23. Nocks
MARCH, 1941 441
POI
WII
Dl Ff