Ironwood's Arrows....the making of.

[DOR]

Fletching

I decided to go through the tedious splicing process for this set of arrows. It honestly is a complete PITA, but hey, Mike went through the hoops, so I figured I better do this up nice for him. Its very important when splicing to measure exactly to size on the feathers and where you will need to place the feathers within the Bitzenburger. If done correctly the feather colors will align perfectly with the cresting stripes, making for a much nicer finished product.

after cut slide them together

Now its time to slide them into the Bitzenburger one splice at a time. I let each feather stay on the jig for 15 minutes, so at 45 minutes waiting per arrow it does take some time. I wish I had the 12 bitz/jig so I could do 12 at a time, but I cant justify purchasing 11 more bitz's.

 

[DOR]

Fletching complete...at FLU FLU stage now

Perfect for shooting Pheasants at this point.:grin:

Nocks have now been placed on too....I glue them on with DUCO cement as the final arrow is completed.

 

[DOR]

Burn time

First I bend a feather shape out of straight metal and attach and align the arrows into the YOUNG burner. Turn it on till it glows orange and start rotating. If you have never burned bird feathers before, your missing out on one of the best aromas of all time:moon:.

 

[Shovelbuck]

I'd given up hope and would of put real money on a bet that you'd never finish this post.

Looking good.:way: Splices are a bunch of work. Don't know if Mikey is worth it.

Just how long ago did you get them done?

 

[DOR]

Finished product!

I tipped these arrows with 4 blade Zwickey Delta's(6), 4 field points, and 2 judos. Forgot to take pics of that.

Nothing prettier than a dozen tapered cedar shafts sitting in a back quiver.
Thanks for taking my challenge on Mike. I bet it would be safe to say that you got a lot out of it. Thats what it was all about after all.

 

[deeraddict]

Very nice work. Thanks for sharing the process.

 

[DOR]

I'd given up hope and would of put real money on a bet that you'd never finish this post.

Looking good.:way: Splices are a bunch of work. Don't know if Mikey is worth it.

Just how long ago did you get them done?

Shovel-
Finished them up a couple weeks ago.....I ate at me to let this go unfinished. I am one of those guys that has to tie loose ends or it drives me nuts. I was taught to finish what you start. Better late than never I guess.

 

[Shovelbuck]

Awesome work, thanks for the tutorial.

 

[blake]

This has been a really good step-by-step educational experience for me.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to share with us Chris. :way:

 

[River1]

DOR,

I see you also use Busch Light in your fletching process. Key to success!:drink1:

Nice work:way:

 

[DOR]

Busch makes the process go down smoother!

 

[BW]

Very good looking batch of arrows!