problem with breaking arrows

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alanesq

New member
I have always had problems with my arrows breaking (usually just behind the pile) - usually if it hits something hard or there is a side wind but sometimes for no obvious reason
not having any other longbow archers in my target club I don't know how normal this is ?
The club I shoot at uses a rugby field so leaving bits of arrow behind is not an option but finding a missing pile can be pretty much impossible :-(

I was just wondering if other people have this problem / what the best way of stopping it is
I guess footing the arrows would help? but I think this is beyond my skill/patience levels but is there any easier way of doing it (e.g. special tool?)

or is there something can be wrapped around the wood to hold it together when the arrow snaps etc. ?

or failing that anyone know a supplier of very long piles (which would be easier to find)
 

robtattoo

New member
What're you gluing your piles on with?

I find, personally, that if I use araldite I tend to snap more arrows, whereas if I use hot-melt I'll lose the occasional pile but keep the shaft intact.
 

RichardH

New member
Have you looked at those Top Hat points - the ones that screw on to the shaft? They do some extra long ones. Pricey, though!
 

Greenman

New member
Fonz Awardee
I found mod bods caused a lot of breakages, whereas fieldpoints survived a lot better, but look ugly. Preferred the aesthetics of the mod bod so have stuck with them.
 

gino

New member
It's a silly question Alan but I have to ask, how are you pulling your arrows out of the ground/target?

I know when a few people in my club get lazy they "lift" the arrows out of the ground instead of pulling them which doesn't break them but weakens the shaft near the point, doing this a few times would easily cause a few breakages, it already has for our arrows....
 

Raedwald

New member
It sounds about right - almost without fail (well, ok, the one that split into three IN the target) breakages have been, or have started at, the pile (I use field points).

I always wondered if it was down to stresses on hitting things if the hit isn't straight (so the shaft flexes and the pile doesnt).

Interesting about hot melt vs areldite - I use areldite......
 

joelondon

Member
Fonz Awardee
Thanks to Robs reccomendation I have never broken an arrow at the point end, have broken arrows all down the rest of the shaft but not on the point join, I taper then use hotmelt, i then heat the point to seat it pushing into a wood block as it cools. for me it seems to work as a suspension of sorts, fine I will leave a point in a tree every now n then, but pick the arrow up intact with a cone of glue at the point end, and generally retrieve the point intact to put back on.

i heard that some people with the Robodear at liberty will have an arrow with the point barely attached so on impact the shaft will pop out under the pressure and save the shaft, I guess the hot melt has a similar theory behind.

cheers

Joe
 

Mad Archer

New member
The type of pile can make a difference. I believe that the piles that require a conical fit will produce an inherent weak spot (where you create a shoulder just behind the pile). Does anyone have direct experience of this?

I use taper fit brass piles and glue them on with Araldite. They do break behind the pile, but only after a lot of use which wears away the varnish and lets moisture in (especially shooting into wet ground).

In answer to your question about whether other people found the same problem, I did meet an archer who deliberately made his arrows a bit long so that when the piles all broke off he could make a slightly shorter set.
 
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Kae

The American
American Shoot
I think one of the problems with wooden arrows is the fact that the shaft is cut or compressed to fit into the pile leaving an inflexible area that is thinner than the shaft (where the soft wood goes into the metal pile). This is where they tend to break.
I think, for that reason, that footing the arrows with a hard wood should reduce this problem.

I use tapered points and hot melt glue.


Kae.
 

laminatekid

New member
I guess footing the arrows would help? but I think this is beyond my skill/patience levels but is there any easier way of doing it (e.g. special tool?)
footing arrows is really not that hard to do all you need is a sharp block plane, I can plane a shaft down to accept the foot in about 5 mins and when the glues set to turn it all into a footed shaft takes about 10 mins. They really do stop breakages, try either hilary greenland's "traditional archrey" or pip bickerstaffes "heritage of the longbow" book for details of how to do it and steve stratton supplies pre cut foots.
 

alanesq

New member
Thanks for all the replies

Sounds like I may have to have a try at footing my arrows?
I did have a half hearted attempt a while back but apart from anything else I don't think the glue I was using was any good (standard diy type exterior wood glue) ?

I have made myself an extended pile (i.e. length of thin brass tube) and fitted this to an arrow, I have not tried shooting it yet though ???
The idea being it will be much easier to find if it does break off

I have also tried wrapping some tape round an arrow in the hope it holds it together if it breaks - seems ok in my foam boss but I suspect it wont last long on the clubs harder boss?
 

steve58

New member
In my limited experience breakages outdoors have involved hitting something hard, number board, target stand, peg. Occasionally in a very strong crosswind I have had an arrow hit the boss and the shaft snap. I think this is due to hitting at an angle?

Indoors I have had only had problems with one set of arrows (broke three in exactly the same way in one season). They all broke just on the join of the pile and the shaft. That set was 11/32" POC shafts, parallel fit "bullet" points, araldited on. It may be relevant that they had 5" helical fletchings? I wondered whether the spinning shaft hitting a hard boss at close range caused the problem? I thought an arrow might be quite strong hitting something going in a straight line, but the fibres in the wood might not cope so well with being twisted?
 

robtattoo

New member
Indoors I have had only had problems with one set of arrows (broke three in exactly the same way in one season). They all broke just on the join of the pile and the shaft. That set was 11/32" POC shafts, parallel fit "bullet" points, araldited on. It may be relevant that they had 5" helical fletchings? I wondered whether the spinning shaft hitting a hard boss at close range caused the problem? I thought an arrow might be quite strong hitting something going in a straight line, but the fibres in the wood might not cope so well with being twisted?

It's down, mainly, to the glue. Araldite will soak into the wood & leech itself above the pile. This makes the wood brittle(r) and more prone to snapping behind the point. If you use hot melt (Impact adhesive works well too) the glue coats the wood without any impregnation. Yes, admittedly, you'll lose a few piles here & there, but you can soon replace them without altering the length & therefore the spine of your arrows. Having a good helical or offset fletch pattern won't affect the arrow in any way, other than to improve stability. It certainly wouldn't cause breakage.
 

Macbow

New member
In my limited experience breakages outdoors have involved hitting something hard, number board, target stand, peg. Occasionally in a very strong crosswind I have had an arrow hit the boss and the shaft snap. I think this is due to hitting at an angle?

Indoors I have had only had problems with one set of arrows (broke three in exactly the same way in one season). They all broke just on the join of the pile and the shaft. That set was 11/32" POC shafts, parallel fit "bullet" points, araldited on. It may be relevant that they had 5" helical fletchings? I wondered whether the spinning shaft hitting a hard boss at close range caused the problem? I thought an arrow might be quite strong hitting something going in a straight line, but the fibres in the wood might not cope so well with being twisted?
Steve - if you bareshaft test you will quickly discover whether a shaft is spined too stiff or too soft as it will enter the butt at an angle and in many cases will snap, especially a long shaft. Big fletchings, helically mounted will go a long way to stabilising the flight of an imperfect arrow but shooting at short ranges will highlight a shaft that is still bending through paradox or not as the case may be. Bareshaft testing does not always work on some bows I have found in which case I will fletch them with tiny 2" x 1/4" feathers. Once I get them flying sweetly to 40 yards I'll put on the big boys, the idea being that any extra stabilisation is a bonus and if the feathers get wet in the rain the arrows will still fly good out to 40 yards. That's the theory anyway - when rain is running down your neck, down your face and down your bow and you can barely see the butt cos your specs are all steamed up I usually find my perfectly spined shafts are still flying all over the place!
As far as breakages go I get far less using the Bearpoint 3D field points that do not require the shaft to be tapered.
 

Insanity-Rocks

New member
I've had a few of my arrows snapping off just behind the pile, apparently when you hit something hard (like a tree, or a wall) the wood inside the pile is preasured together, and makes it go all wobbly. Usually you can cut them down a bit and they are still safe to shoot.
 

alanesq

New member
I am having some extra long piles made (around 8cm)
I have found that this makes a big difference and has solved my breaking arrow problems :)
 

hawkeye

New member
On reading all the posts I'm intrigued and puzzled. I use paralell screw on points and have never had a shaft snap off right next to the pile. I use bostic to glue them on and they have never pulled off - and I shoot bows form 65lb up to 120lb. My 110lb Hungarian recurve certainly drives the arrow in a little too far at times so maybe its just they don't snap off at the pile as my arrows are too deep in the boss!! Who knows!

I use pine for my target arrows and have not broken one yet - I have had them for 6months and shoot them every weekend .My target bow is 65lb and only the pile drives into the boss but no part of the shaft so if they were to snap I would expect these to be the ones.

Your choice of 8cm piles does sound a little extreme - but if it works and you are successful then go for it!

I wouldn't recommend araldite as it does make the shaft brittle.
 

Dante

New member
Interesting thread I have been using Araldite for quite a while and not seen this specific problem. When I have broken a shaft it is usually a good way up. indeed have had one Sunday shoot where I left the majority of my piles in the Butt I tend to pin them as well.
 

hawkeye

New member
Interesting thread I have been using Araldite for quite a while and not seen this specific problem.
I guess the shafts you use are stiff enough to cope with your 85lb bow so they probably won't snap like the arrows of a 50lb'er even with aralditing your piles on
 
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