How are arrows made?

Answer 1

Bows even today are listed in # different sections, the top limb, bottom limb, riser (handle area), and string. In a medieval bow, the only difference in that respect is that the entire bow stave is made from a single piece of wood. This is called a "self bow" these days.

The core idea of a bow is that its elastic power stores energy and then transfers it to the string and into the arrow, making someone of the same strength able to deliver much more lethality and range than, say, throwing a spear.

The tools used to make a bow would include files, wood chisels, saws and most importantly, the drawknife. The bow is shaped more crudely and basically at first with plenty of wood left to shave off, then in the more fine-tuning stages there is room to shave off more wood and make the bow perfect. This process is called "tillering".

As the bowyer (person who makes bows) shapes the bow, they often use the sapwood (softer elastic section in the outer wood) to make the half of the bow facing away from the archer, as it can be stretched more without snapping. The heartwood (tougher, inner wood) is used for the part of the bow facing towards the archer, as it resists compression and doesn't cause that bumpy, wrinkly effect from soft woods when bending in.

A bowyer will choose the wood for how fast-grown it is and the type, as slower-grown denser trees like northern Yew make stronger war bows, whereas faster grown softer trees like ash make for bows that are still very deadly and quite powerful, but not too unwieldy for someone who is less skilled or is after a less overkill approach (such as hunting small game). Of course cost can factor in too.

Overall, a bow was historically not made to a general strength and sold en-masse. Bows were actually specifically tailored to the end user, matching their strength and the intended usage of the bow. For example, a slow-grown powerful Yew English Longbow would not be sold to someone just after a bit of Sunday practice.

Answer 2

Step 1: Acquire an arrow stave of the right spine, meaning it isn't too flimsy or stiff for your bow's strength.

Acquire some back feathers ("fletchings").

Obtain an arrowhead ("pile").

Purchase some fletching glue or substitute with superglue.

Step 2: Use fletching glue to attach three fletchings to the arrow stave towards the back, making sure they are the same wing, meaning they curve in the same clockwise or anticlockwise direction so the arrow has a "rifled" effect when shot.

Step 3: Secure the pile/head onto the front of the arrowstave, usually with glue.

Step 4: Attach a plastic nock to the back of the arrow or saw a notch into the arrow's back, making sure that two fletchings are alongside the notch and one is facing away. This called having "hen feathers" and a "cock feather".

Step 5: Wait for the glue to set and enjoy your shooting.

...I would recommend taking a proper fletching course to get a proper idea of how to do this.

Answer 3

Modern arrow shafts are primarily made of aluminium or carbon fiber.

Answer 4

Initially, arrows were made of wood.

Then they advanced to composite materials such as carbon, aluminum, or carbon-reinforced plastic.

Answer 5

arrows are made from wood