dscott

Kip,

No need to buy a jig for tapers. Simply take a 1X2X5", (approximate- nearly any size will do), piece of oak or some other wood. Get a long drill bit, and drill a hole at 90º the long way through the wood. Mark a line at that same 90º. Then using a protractor mark a new
line 5º from the first. Band saw that 5º line, leaving the line. Use your disc sander to sand smooth to the 5º line. Clamp the board to your sander table and put the arrow in the hole. Do another at 11½º. Mark them 5º for the point taper and 11½º for the nock.

missedagain

I only make a couple dozen arrows a year. I pay an extra few bucks to have the shafts cut to length and tapered on both ends. One place charges $3 for this service. The woodchuck tool is probably about $140 until you pay the shipping. At that cost I would have to do 46 dozen or 552 arrows just to break even based on the $3 I presently pay per dozen. And with maintenance and who knows what else [it is a machine]the woodchuck cost could be higher. And besides, I am 55 yrs old and probably don't have another 46 dozen in me.

I do have a Tru center tool and use that if I break a point off and can still use the arrow. Other than that I think it's a pain.

My last dozen cost me $2 for cut and tapers. And they do a nice job with THEIR machine. If it breaks, THEY fix it.

Seems like the way to go for me.

K_N

I have done 4 or 5 dozen arrows with my wiffen tool thingy so far with no problems. What kind of wood are you putting through it? Mine were all PO cedar arrows.

Kip

KN, I am tapering POC shafts. No reason that the thing should have gone bad after a few arrows. I even went nice and slow.

Dscott, good idea, I think I can handle that easy enough. Thanks.

Coop

I have one of those whiffen tools. I've done a few dozen cedar and the last dozen I did were laminated birch and it still works. I'm in the process of building a jig for my sander though. That birch made it hard on the hands using that tool.

Lilhunter

Kip,

I know a guy chucking up some woodies in a drill, using the true center tapering jig. He was saying they cut MUCH cleaner this way then by hand, plus it doesn tear your hand to pieces when doing a dozen or three. I do believe he has the tapering jig caught up in a vise. I'll have to ask next time we talk....usually about every 3 months or so. Looks like I'll have to call sooner lol.