The Fitz-Rauf Combat Arrow experimental mark II

by Sir Jon Fitz-Rauf

O.L., O.P., R.C.A., R.C.Y., O.G.G.S.

The Fitz-Rauf combat arrow is an attempt to improve the safety, accuracy and durability of the SCA combat arrow while reducing its cost.

The tapered shape of the blunt reduces turbulence and drag which slow down an arrow in flight. The light weight of the UHMW and the weight relief holes which further reduce the weight of the blunt allow a greater initial velocity. This increase allows a flatter trajectory making aiming easier and increases the maximum range. A side benefit of the long taper is that you can pull the arrows easily from your quiver without them hanging up on other blunts.

 The UHMW and fiberglass improve safety by eliminating the chance of injury due to a splintered shaft or the shaft punching through the blunt. The use of an HDPE (high density polyethylene) tube APD (anti-penetration device) reduces the chance of an arrow nock entering the visor slot or bars of a helm and greatly reduces the chance of injury due to a bounce back.

The initial low cost and durability of the materials lower the repair and replacement costs.

When tested for maximum range this design went approximately 23% further than the same shaft with an old style Baldar blunt, shot from the same bow, for a average distance of 79 yards.

The arrow: blunt, shaft and tube HDPE APD are virtually indestructible. Some of the arrows in my quiver have been in use for over four years and many wars with no breakage.

This combat arrow consists of a 1/4 inch fiberglass shaft, a 2 &1/2 inch tapered UHMW blunt, half to one inch of padding, and an tube HDPE APD. The blunts cost about 40 cents depending upon where you buy your UHMW, padding material, tape and glue. The shafts cost can cost about 80 cents to a dollar, again depending on your source. The HDPE tube 5 to 10 cents, The nock about 25 cents. This, with the tape for the shaft, adds up to about $1.80 for the complete combat arrow.

CONSTRUCTION

SHAFT CONSTRUCTION:

1) CUTTING

You should first determine the length you need for the shaft, allowing for both nock and blunt, this will be about 29 & 1/2 inches. An indelible marker is best for marking the fiberglass. The maximum draw length of the arrow is twenty eight inches from the bottom of the nock slot to the bottom of the blunt, but your shaft will be longer than that by the length of the shaft that is inside the blunt and as well as the length of shaft in the nock.

In cutting the fiberglass, you need to take care to avoid breathing the dust or getting it in your eyes. It is not toxic, but can cause a sore throat and itchy eyes. Cutting should be done outside to avoid build up of dust in the air inside. If you wear a dust mask and goggles, you can reduce the chance for irritation. You should also wear gloves to help avoid skin irritation.

2) SANDING

After you have cut the rod to length, you will need to sand the full length of it with some fine grit sandpaper. The rod has a very slick surface that needs to be roughened to make a better surface for both gluing on the head and applying the tape. Remember, avoid the dust while you are sanding. You can also remove the slick surface by wiping the surface with an acetone dampened rag.

 3) TAPING

You can tape the shaft with whatever tape is required in your kingdom. However I have found that a good quality electric tape such as Scotch 3M +33 works best. It sticks well and goes on smoothly. Since the arrow will not break, heavy tape is not needed. Some of my combat shafts are almost four years old and still have their original tape. If you carefully run the tape parallel to the shaft it produces a smoother covering than using a spiral pattern. There are less leading edges to peel up and create drag. You should run the tape from the front of the APD to at least one inch up onto the blunt. You will need to run two strips of 3/4 wide tape, one is not wide enough to cover the full circumference of the shaft.

4) TUBE HDPE APD

I will be writing an article on the construction of a basic HDPE tube APD by the end of 2003 when the requirements for their construction are settled.

TAPERED BLUNT CONSTRUCTION:

To make the tapered blunts you will need more tools and a somewhat higher skill level than for the simple cylindrical UHMW blunts. The finished shape of the UHMW section of the blunt is that of an ice cream cone without the ice cream. A 1/4 inch thick 1 & 1/4 inch wide disk set on top of a 1 & 1/4 inch wide by 2 & 1/4 inch long truncated cone, a total length of 2 and 1/2 inches, with a 1/4 inch wide tip. The padding becomes the ice cream scoop on top.

To make the tapered blunt you will need a means of grinding or shaping the taper. An open mesh grinding/cut off disk works well. This should be backed with one of the solid disks that come in the same package to make it more rigid. I mounted it on my small bench grinder. But it could also be mounted on a heavy duty drill motor mounted in a vice, etc. Or it can be mounted in a table saw. If you plan to use a jig for guiding the rod at the correct angle for the taper, the table saw is an easier way to go. The blunt is then mounted on a drill motor which rotates it against the turning grinding surface and shapes the taper. If you have access to a turning lathe, it also works well.

1) Cutting to length.

The fastest way to cut your 1 1/4 inch diameter UHMW to the 2 and 1/2 inch length is to use a table saw with a guide and stop for the rod. You must first make sure that the blade is vertical at 90 degrees and that your guide is holding the rod 90 degrees to the saw blade. If your cuts are not square and true, you will have problems later in grinding, drilling and in the flight of the arrow. You should run a few test samples and check them with a square to be sure they are cut correctly.

2) Marking the center.

In order to keep your blunt from wobbling when grinding or in flight, the shaft hole must be centered and straight. To do this you can use a center finder to mark the center of the blunt. A center finder is a tool used for marking the center of rods and other round items. It looks like a 'V' with a small bar dividing it exactly in half at the junction. You place the rod in the 'V' and using the bar as a guide, take a fine point indelible marker pen and draw a line all the way across the face of the blunt. You then turn the blunt 90 degrees and draw a second line intersecting the first at 90 degrees. This intersection is the center of the blunt where the shaft hole will be drilled. You should now take a punch or awl and make a dimple at the center. Then repeat the process on the other end, the four radius lines are the guides for locating the weight reduction holes. When you have marked the center, then measure down a 1/4 inch from the face on the sides and mark a line around the blunt, this will be the top guide for the grinding.

3) Drilling. Jig construction.

For the drilling operation you will need a drill press, a jig for holding the sections of rod perpendicular to the drill bit and sharp drill bits. This is important for the grinding of the blunt as well as final accuracy. I used a simple jig made of a six inch length of 1 by 4 with two pieces extending 2 inches above the top of the base board at a corner. The side pieces were glued and screwed to one side and the end of the board. You need to make sure that these side pieces hold the rod at 90 degrees to the top of the base board on which they are mounted. This jig will be secured to the base of your drill press with bolts, clamps, etc., so that when it is positioned it will not move accidentally, but will still be able to be adjusted when needed.

4) Drilling - jig alignment.

Before you secure your drilling jig, you need to place a blunt, with the center marked, in the jig and line up the 15/64th drill bit over the center mark. When you have the bit centered, then you may secure the jig. Now if your drill press has a depth stop, set it for one inch or mark the bit with tape, etc. You can hold the rod in place with a clamp if you wish. But, I held mine in place with my gloved hand.

5) Drilling - shaft and weight reduction holes

You may now start drilling the shaft hole, making sure that the rod remains unmoved in the jig. Now remove the rod and easure to be sure the shaft hole is centered and is perpendicular. If it is, then drill all your shaft holes, checking every so often to be sure they remain centered.

You now replace the 15/64th bit with a 3/8th bit and loosen the jig. You will need to place a center drilled rod, undrilled face up, in the jig and center one of the radius lines for the reduction holes under the bit. The reduction holes should all be centered about half an inch from the outer edge of the rod on the radius lines. You then secure the jig, set your depth gauge to 1 inch and drill the four reduction holes.

You do not need to move the jig for drilling the four reduction holes. Just rotate the blunt 90 degrees to the next line. Drill all your holes, checking to make sure they remain properly located.

6) Grinding the taper.

First set up your grinder, table saw or drill motor with the grinding disk. If you are using a drill motor then set it up so that there is a surface to rest and steady your arms upon when grinding. If possible, the drill motor you use for rotating the rod should be a variable speed motor.

Now take a 3 inch long 1/4 -20 bolt and cut off its head. You then secure it firmly in the drill chuck. Take the drill motor in one hand and the rod in the other and place the bolt into the 15/64ths shaft hole and start the drill... slowly. The rod will be screwed onto the bolt. Be sure the bolt goes in the full one inch. If you have done the proceeding steps correctly, there will be little wobble to the blunt as it rotates at full speed.

Before you start grinding, make sure you are wearing glasses or goggles and if you wish a dust mask. The particles that fly off are not sharp or toxic (UHMW is a from of paraffin, similar to that used in candles). But, there is a great deal of residue from grinding for you are reducing the rod by almost half its volume. This can make a mess of your work space, clothing and hair. It brushes off, but is a real nuisance.

You now turn on your grinder and drill motor to full speed and place the bottom edge of the blunt against the disk at the angle that would be formed by a line going from 1/4 inch below the face of the rod to the edge of the bolt where it enters the blunt. You press the rod firmly against the grinding disk until all the excess material is removed. Then using the disk, slightly round off the leading edge of the blunt to about a 3/16 th radius. You can now unscrew the blunt from the bolt. Take care for the blunt will be hot from the friction of grinding.

You may drill a glue relief hole using an aprox 1/16th drill bit in the blunt intersecting the bottom of the shaft hole. This allows the excess glue to leave the hole when you insert the shaft.

7) Seating the blunt.

You can now take a indelible marker and make a mark one inch back from the end of the shaft, this is a depth mark for inserting the shaft into the blunt. Then put a few drops of glue into the shaft hole. Flexible type glues seem to work well. Do not use crazy Glue it will not hold up to repeated impacts.

The shaft should have its leading edges slightly rounded off with a file for ease in insertion. Now grasp the blunt and shaft in either hand and force the blunt onto the shaft as far as you can, this will not be very far.

There are two ways of seating the blunt.

1) Place the shaft in a vice with a grooved adapter for holding a dowel and clamp it in firmly. Do not clamp it too tightly or you may crush the shaft. Clamp it about an inch below the blunt. You can now use a hammer to seat the blunt onto the shaft. Make sure it is completely seated onto the shaft.

2) Nock the arrow to your bow and point it at the floor from about a foot away. You should be sure that the shaft is perpendicular to the floor when you release. Come to about a quarter draw and then release and repeat until the blunt is seated all the way onto the shaft. The one inch mark on the shaft will help determine when it is fully seated. The UHMW has a little give to it which allows a tight force fit.

8) Taping and Padding the Blunt.

You may now cut your foam. The minimum thickness is one half inch, there is no maximum. I have had good results with some soft Neoprene rubber. It has not packed down under impact and the bounce back seems to be less. Do not use a foam that does not spring back after impact. You should test a piece of the foam by placing it on a hard surface and striking it several times with a hammer., it should rise back up. If it stays flat do not use it. If you have an 1-1/4 inch hole punch, use it to cut out your foam. If not, use scissors to cut a 1-1/4 inch square. You should glue the foam to the blunt using contact cement, 3M adhesive or similar cement and let it dry. When the glue has set you can trim the square of foam into a circle with scissors.

At this point if you want a flat face you are ready to tape the head on. But, if you wish a 3/4 thick or thicker rounded face blunt, you need to trim it round. A rounded face has less drag and better range. (Note: The striking face of a blunt may be rounded to no less than the radius of the blunt. e.g. A 1-1/4 inch blunt may be rounded to a radius of no less than 5/8's of an inch. This rounding rule is at the choice of each kingdom.)

To cut this radius you can make a template, with the correct radius cut out, to use as a guide. You turn the shaft with one hand, while you trim the foam with the scissors and check the final shape with the template.

At last you are now ready to tape the blunt onto the shaft. I used four strips of Scotch 3M +33 electrical tape about 9 inches long. You center your first strip of tape over the face of the blunt and then, while stretching it slightly, run it down the sides of the blunt and onto the shaft for about an inch. Repeat this with the second strip laying it at ninety degrees to the first. The third and fourth strips fill in the spaces between the first two. Then take an approximately four inch long strip and wrap it around thebase of the blunt and onto the shaft covering the four strips of tape on the shaft. You should try to make all the taping as smooth as possible. Non-smooth surfaces cause drag and drag slows down the arrow. The last step is to identify your arrow using an indelible marker. This serves three purposes. 1) It identifies the maker of the arrow, if the arrow is incorrectly made. 2) It aids the return of lost arrows. 3) And when you make that long shot kill at 80 yards, your victim can learn who hit them. Covering your name with a strong clear tape will help to keep from wearing off. Some archers have been using the return address stickers you can with your name and address. Just have them made up with your society name and area. Your arrows must be clearly marked with your SCA name and local area just in front of the APD. If you attend inter kingdom wars, you should include your kingdom as well. In addition to your name, you can also use colored tape to crestyour shafts for easy identification at a distance or when sorting arrows.

Revised 8/02

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If you should make any of the arrows and test them and then find

any way to improve the design or make the construction easier, please let me

know so that the improvements may be put in the final article.

Sir Jon Fitz-Rauf

c/o John R. Edgerton

7662 Wells Ave.

Newark, CA 94560-3530