Traditional Wooden Arrow

Hello there,

In this instructable i will show how to make a Survival Wooden Arrow at home.

An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight 'Shaft' (which is made with a long Wooden bead), with a weighty 'Arrowhead' (made with Aluminium) attached to the front end, multiple fin like stabilizers called 'Fletchings' (made with real Bird feathers) mounted near the rear end, and a slot at the rear end called 'Nock' for engaging the bowstring.

I took reference from the wikipedia page for making this gear, you can also learn more about arrows from the wiki page.

No Power tools have been used to make this project, its purely Handmade. All the materials and tools are easily available for anyone anywhere. See the video for reference.

The goal is to learn the mechanism of custom made weapons that had been used many many years ago and how human survived at that time with these kind of weapons.

Its a huge survival tool for us. So, i decided to make every part of it. I have also made one 'Custom Longbow' and a 'Bow String', You can also check the Playlist from my YouTube Channel.

1. Wooden bead

2. Aluminium sheet

3. Color thread

4. Bird feather

Tools & Materials :

1. Dagger

2. Hammer

3. Sand paper

4. Knife

5. Wood glue ( fevicol )

6. Super glue ( feviquick )

7. Mini Hacksaw

So, let's see every steps of making an arrow at home :

The shaft is the primary structural element of the arrow, to which the other components are attached. Most modern arrows are 74 cm to 95 cm in length. I will recommend you to do some research and choose the length that suits you best.

So, for making the shaft the process is really simple. We will need a long round wooden bead, that i didn't found in market. So, i bought a rectangular bead and then made it round, by cutting the excess out with the help of a dagger.

Then i did a lot of sanding to make the whole bead more round and smooth.

The front end of the arrow will be a bit narrower so that it can easily get penetrate to the surface. Then mark the front-most part and make a space by cutting with a hacksaw for inserting the Arrowhead.

Arrows need to be finished or coated so that they are not softened by water, fog or condensation. In traditional ways finishes are applied with varnishes or other lacquers. The paints we use should be compatible with glues used to attach the fletchings, arrowheads and nocks. Here we used varnish to give a coating to our shaft.

Then cresting is a process done to make the arrows easier to be visible. In our case we will use bright red color threads to bind the objects.

The arrowhead is a primary functional part of the arrow, and it plays a significant role in determining its purpose. Arrowheads are usually made from metal, horn, or some other hard materials. There are lots of variety of arrowheads available by their functions, such as Bodkin point arrows, Blunt arrows, Judo point arrows, Broadhead arrows, Field tip arrows, Target point arrows, Safety arrows and so on. Every arrow tip serves a variety of purposes. In the old history arrowheads were made from animal bones.

In our case, i made a broadhead arrow, which has been made from a aluminium sheet. As shown in pictures you can see how i folded the sheet and made a three folded arrow tip.

It is pointed and hard enough to get penetrate into an object. I made this tip for a demo purpose only. But if you want to make a real hard hunting arrow tip i would recommend you to made it from a solid aluminium piece.

After making the tip, sand it and make it shine. Also sand the edges and the tip and make it sharp enough so that it can easily cut whatever it touches.

So, our arrow tip is now ready, insert it in the shaft's front end gap that we made earlier. Use some super glue or fix it by hardening glue material.

Then tightly bind the arrowhead with the red thread as shown.Make multiple winding across the tip and harden with glue. After binding it will give a vibrant color to see from far enough.

So, now we have our arrowhead ready.

A nock is a notch in the rearmost end of an arrow. It helps keep the arrow correctly rotated, keeps the arrow from slipping sideways during the draw or after the release and helps maximize the arrow's energy.

So, we made a nock at the rare most end of the shaft by cutting a notch and sanding and smoothing it.

For holding the nock to the string we need to add a grip. Here i bind my red color thread with glue like a spiral coil, which will provide a better grip for tightly holding the arrow.

Fletchings are an essential part of the arrow and act as airfoils to provide a small amount of force used to stabilize the flight of the arrow. They are designed to keep the arrow pointed in the direction of travel.

I made the Fletchings like traditional way with real bird feathers. Uses of glue and thread are the traditional methods of attaching fletchings, so as i did.

I found three black color feathers from the forest and bring them to home. Then i cut them in middle, this way i got three individual fletching from three feathers. Now again cut the excess feather from front and rare part and give it a fletching shape. Keep some extra feather ends for gluing and binding threads.

Now we have three full individual feathers for making our fletchings. Glue each one of them using some super glue to the shaft's rare end. Make sure to place them in equal gaps (or at 120 degree). Fix the feathers straight and perpendicular to the shaft's length.

Lastly i tie up the ends of the feathers with glue and red color thread that i had. So, now our fletching is ready and it will act as a stabilizer for my arrow.

Now we have made all the necessary parts that will be needed for making our arrow. Like, the arrowhead,the fletchings and the rare nock and then we attached them to our shaft.

Also we coated our shaft to protect it from various factors. So our traditional arrow is now finished and ready to be use. now go outdoor and try some shots. Don't forget about safety.

I really enjoy making this gear and also recommend you to try it for once. Also don't forget to check out my Homemade custom Longbow I am also thinking to make a different kind of arrow in future. Comment below which one is your favourite type of arrow and i will try to build it next.

So, thank you so much.

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