The Archer's Tassel Revisited

I had some free time today to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.  I shot a video showing how to make an archer's tassel.  Enjoy!

Previous blog entry on making an archers tassel can be found here:http://warbowtrials.blogspot.com/2011/06/archers-tassel-not-just-for-decoration.html

How to make an Arrow Taper Jig for Warbow Arrows

This jig will help you taper your warbow arrows from 1/2" to 3/8" diameter.  The dimensions provided in this build along will taper the last 12 inches of your arrow from 1/2" diameter to 3/8" diameter.

Tapering the arrow serves several functions.

• Allows the arrow to pass by the bow more easily.
• Reduces wear on the fletching and fletch bindings.
• Reduces the overall weight of the arrow, and makes the arrow front-end heavy giving greater hitting power.

Let's build this!

Take two pieces of plywood, MDF or other board product and cut them to be approximately 12" x 3" x .5".  I had some scrap MDF board so I used that.  These will form the slot that actually tapers the arrows.

Apply sandpaper to the boards using glue or in my case I had sandpaper with an adhesive backing.  You want to cover all 12" of the board. Leave no gaps if you need to use more than one piece of paper per board.

Now prepare a base to glue the tapering boards to.  I used another, larger piece of MDF about 9" x 14".

To draw the lines to correctly orient the tapering boards you will need a tape measure or ruler.  Find the center of the base board and mark it at one end, then make another center mark 12" down the board.

At one center mark make two marks 1/2" apart and at the other center mark make two marks 3/8" apart. Now when we place our tapering boards on the base that will line up correctly.

Test fit the tapering boards to make sure they fit properly before you glue them!

 If the fit looks good then proceed to glue the pieces on with whatever glue you want. I suggest a good wood glue. I personally used Titebond III.

All glued up! You may want to find a way to apply some light pressure to the glued pieces.

Once the glue is completely cured you now have a warbow arrow taper jig!

So how does this taper your arrow shafts?  Place the end of the arrow that will have the head on it in a variable speed drill.  Put the nock end of the arrow into the taper jig and start the drill. Once the nock end of the arrow reaches the end of the jig you are done!

Thank you for reading!

Yew Trees: A look at the Pacific and European Yews

Here is a quick video I made this weekend highlighting two trees very important to English warbow archers. Enjoy!

American Warbow Society, Join Us!

It's a new year and many great things are happening!

Here in America there are archers from around the country coming together to form our very own warbow socitey, the American Warbow Society!  We have the support and guidance of other warbow societies from around the world including the English Warbow Society, Dutch Warbow Society and Australian Warbow Society.

The American Warbow Society, like our foreign brethren, will be a group dedicated the study, practice, and sharing of the great English warbow.  We seek to perpetuate and keep the heritage of the English warbow alive in this day an age where archery is becoming more mechanical and technological.

There are several places where you can learn more about this great Society of archers...

• Youtube: There are currently three American Warbow Society Youtube channels. Only two of these channels currently have videos but subscribing to all of them would be great!
• AmericanWarbow: http://www.youtube.com/user/Americanwarbow 
• AmericanWarbowNW: www.youtube.com/user/AmericanWarbowNW?feature=mhee
• AmericanWarbowSW: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericanWarbowSW

• Our general email list at americanwarbow@gmail.com will keep you informed on the Society's happenings. If you are interested at all please send a quick email to this address introducing yourself.

If you are even slightly interested please email us a brief introduction at americanwarbow@gmail.com and we will keep you informed all along the way as this great Society comes together!

Whoa! It's kinda been awhile!

Well, I feel I must apologize for not being a better steward of this blog! Life has dealt me some unfortunate cercumstances as of late which has kept me occupied from things such as making new blog post and archery.  However, in a week or two things will change for the better and I will be having some new material for all those interested in this blog.

Thank you for stickin' around and please stay tuned for more soon!

Archer's Tassel. "Not just for decoration!"

Hello everyone! So I am going shooting today for the first time in a few months, hooray! While preparing all of my tackle, I looked at my archer's tassel and thought what a good blog entry it would make.

The archer's tassel is simply a wad of yarn that is used to clean arrows, and in some cases to dignify rank.  The tassel is made up of  many strands of yarn about 14 inches in length, which are the folded in half, and tied to make a loop.

This can be hung on a belt loop, the belt itself or where you please I guess!  Many traditional English longbow and warbow archers today where a tassel such as this. 

It is a very inexpensive project that I put together for exactly $1.  All I purchased was a skein of yarn from the local dollar store, and everything else I had at home!  So, with that freedom you can choose any color(s), length, or make a bunch and sell 'em!

All in all, it is a nice addition to a medieval archery enthusiast's kit and looks very cool.  Be prepared to get many comment and compliments when you show up to your club with your new tassel!

Medieval Arrow Bag: FINISHED

Hello everyone, thank you for reading this :)  I kind of left my medieval arrow bag build-along about 3/4 of the way finished and I apologize for that.  So, here are some pictures of the completed arrow bag! Enjoy!  If you have questions about the construction of this bag, please comment below and I will answer as best as I can.