143 lines
7.4 KiB
Plaintext
143 lines
7.4 KiB
Plaintext
TO........Philip O'conall
|
|
FROM......Sionnaichan am Diolaimadh
|
|
SUBJECT...SCA Archery [How to make arrows] *LONG*
|
|
|
|
> M'Lord, if you described such arrows herein, I am sorry tosay I missed
|
|
> it.... Would you please relay design particulars?
|
|
|
|
I would appreciate input on the construction method found below. This is a
|
|
combination of what Lord Tempus taught the Barony of Darkwater last Thursday,
|
|
my personal experience, and the tearing apart of a broken Trimaris list-legal
|
|
arrow to see the construction style hidden by duct tape. I'll keep this on
|
|
file pending changes and improvements, and post it as significant changes are
|
|
tested in the field. Having no prejudices in this field, being a relative
|
|
newcomer, I have no difficulty in trying out new ideas within safety
|
|
tolerances, and would be happy to hear from others.
|
|
|
|
In service to the Dream,
|
|
S
|
|
|
|
*****
|
|
|
|
>>>-------------===) How to Construct SCA Arrows (===-------------<<<
|
|
|
|
By Sionnaichan am Diolaimadh, Barony of Darkwater, Kingdom of Trimaris
|
|
|
|
Revised and Assumed Accurate to 15 April, A.S. XXIV. However, please check
|
|
with an authority on SCA arrows in your Kingdom as the making of arrows and the
|
|
requirements for battle may differ between realms. The Author is always open
|
|
to changes or suggestions; netmail him at 363/69 or contact him via the Barony
|
|
of Darkwater, Box 1626, Orlando FL 32802
|
|
|
|
This Method is intended to give a working reference to individuals interested
|
|
in producing list-legal arrows for bridge battles, archers' battles, crevass
|
|
battles, or any confrontation where archers are called into play. The Arrows
|
|
produced by this Method have been found to be the most reliable and stable
|
|
Arrows, with nary a problem. Sionnaichan's first batch of thirty arrows showed
|
|
only one unusable arrow after an afternoon's play, which was much less than
|
|
other archers' differing styles.
|
|
|
|
Items and Tools needed: Standard practise target arrows; strapping tape (the
|
|
tape with the fibers in it); 1" wood dowel; duct tape (the more pliable type
|
|
with the visible lines is preferred); closed-cell foam, used for plumbing
|
|
insulation (size approximately 2" across); shears or a hacksaw; scissors that
|
|
can be trashed for cutting tape. Procedure: 1. Get an arrow, or multiple
|
|
arrows. This can be had at stores that sell archery equipment, stores that
|
|
specialise in sports equipment (Sports Unlimited stores are good ones in
|
|
Trimaris), et cetera. Make sure that the arrow is rated to the weight of your
|
|
bow or greater; current maximum poundage for bows in Trimaris is 30# at 28
|
|
inches pull.
|
|
|
|
2. Lop the tip off the arrow (tin shears work well, or a hacksaw). The tip is
|
|
unnecessary and potentially lethal; I would recommend disposing of it or (as
|
|
suggested by a McFrugal friend of mine) make it into jewelry.
|
|
|
|
2a. *Extremely useful tip* Get some colored electrical tape in your personal
|
|
colors or at random, and place two to four strips of tape evenly spaced near
|
|
the fletching end. This effectively marks your arrow as yours, as the colors
|
|
of the fletchings and the tapes are usually unique for your batch, and the tape
|
|
strips themselves are protected by the strapping tape below. This works much
|
|
better than magic marker or crayon.
|
|
|
|
3. Use strapping-tape to cover the shaft of the arrow from about 1/2" from the
|
|
fletching (the feathers on the end the notch is) to about 4" from the cut end.
|
|
It works best if you use a tape slightly wider than the arrow's circumference,
|
|
and run it down the length of the arrow. Carefully align the top and bottom of
|
|
the tape against the arrow, and wrap one side of the tape before the other.
|
|
This makes for less, possibly zero, ridges in the tape.
|
|
|
|
4. Drill a 1" wide dowel about 1 1/2" long with a hole the size of the arrow's
|
|
shaft, about 1" deep, and place this dowel on the cut end of the arrow. Take a
|
|
length of strapping tape and go from the point where you stopped wrapping the
|
|
shaft, around the dowel's "point" end, to the other side of the arrow where it
|
|
meets the lengthwise tape. You can optionally do another one 90 degrees from
|
|
that one, to secure it both ways. If the dowel doesn't line up with the arrow
|
|
exactly, don't worry; you can use the strapping tape to adjust it to some
|
|
degree.
|
|
|
|
5. Get some closed-cell foam as used to insulate plumbing, I believe the 1 7/8"
|
|
size, and use a facsimile of the pattern below [Fig 5A] sized to your foam to
|
|
cut the notches necessary to make it fit the best. Use strapping tape in an
|
|
"X" pattern (extended to about the first inch of the foam "bullet") to make
|
|
this bullet shaped on the side with the most notches, and leave the fletching
|
|
end open to fit over the dowel. Take about 2/3 of the chunks left over from the
|
|
notch-cutting and stuff them in the bullet-shaped end, for cushioning. I
|
|
believe you need 1 1/2" to 2" of "thrusting tip" at the arrow's "point" when
|
|
done.
|
|
|
|
[Fig 5A]
|
|
|
|
|\/~~~\/~~~\/~~~\/~~~\/| <-- "bullet" or "tip" end
|
|
| |
|
|
| | <-- this should be long enough to
|
|
| Pattern | cover your arrow to the point
|
|
| | where the strapping tape is.
|
|
| |
|
|
|/~~~\______/~~~\______| <-- end towards the fletching.
|
|
|
|
6. Place the packed foam "bullet" over the dowel, and fit it so that it is true
|
|
to the line of the arrow. The dowel, as pointed out before, needs to be as
|
|
well-aligned as possible. Use strapping tape to secure the foam "bullet" in
|
|
the same style as used to hold the dowel in place; however, the foam "bullet"
|
|
needs to be completely covered in strapping tape, to prevent broken parts from
|
|
protruding. Wrap one way, then one at 90 degrees to that one, and then a third
|
|
and fourth one at 45 degrees from those two to cover the tip completely. Make
|
|
sure that the seam of the foam is covered by the center of one of the strips of
|
|
strapping tape.
|
|
|
|
7. This step intentionally left blank.
|
|
|
|
8. Wrap a two-inch chunk of duct tape (the cheaper tape tends to be more
|
|
smoothable, which allows for better aerodynamics) over the strapping-taped
|
|
"bullet", in the same way that the dowel was covered.
|
|
|
|
*Important fitting tip* Cutting notches in the tip end of the unsmoothed piece
|
|
of duct tape allows you to form the duct tape to the arrow much more cleanly
|
|
than by "chunking" it into place; notches at the four places where the tape
|
|
bends 90 degrees are the best places.
|
|
|
|
8 cont. Wrap another piece of tape at 90 degrees to the above, using the same
|
|
tip to make it fit the best.
|
|
|
|
Your finished product should be an arrow covered with strapping tape from the
|
|
fletching to under where the duct tape meets the shaft, thereby preventing any
|
|
serious splintering from being exposed. There should be no serious wobbling of
|
|
the tip when grasped firmly and moved around. You should now have a list-legal
|
|
SCA arrow for your next war. If you find an arrow has been stepped on by an
|
|
irate stickjock, keep the parts as just about everything can be used again, if
|
|
you are careful in disassembling the broken arrow.
|
|
|
|
My thanks to Lord Tempus of Trimaris for extremely useful tips, and for
|
|
journeying to Darkwater to instruct the Barony on the finer points of combat
|
|
archery and the construction of arrow.
|
|
|
|
In service to the Dream (and to the purveyors of "feathered death" in all the
|
|
Kingdoms),
|
|
|
|
Sionnaichan am Diolaimadh
|
|
mka Matt Drury
|
|
Darkwater, Trimaris
|
|
|
|
--- ZMailQ 1.10 @1:363/69.0
|
|
* Origin: The System(tm) | 407.859.2243 | Many Nets, but for you, (1:363/69)
|