Today I made my way down to Spanish Beach. The tide is out around lunchtime and you can walk far out into an area that’s covered in water later in the day. There’s a fellow who from time to time will construct a Labyrinth in the sand. Only there for a short time before the water comes back in to wash it clean. Beautiful warm sunny day. A good time and place for a bit of walking meditation. Shoes off and feet in the damp sand.
I’ve managed to finish my first arrow! Fletchings glued on and wrapped with some very nice silk thread. There are some rough edges here and there but for the first time through the process I’m very proud of it. Hoping I can get out this weekend to see how it flies.
This is the first fletching being glued on. The arrow is mounted in a special jig that allows for the alignment of things in a consistent fashion. The next is with the second and third added. Lastly are two photos of with the wrappings in place. The last thing to do it to seal the thread with a light coat of thinned glue. That will keep it from coming unraveling over time. Not bad for my first try don’t you think?
Some of you have listened to me rattle on for some time now on this subject. After a long period of hurry up and wait things are falling into place for me. I’ve moved into my new place in Vancouver. I have all my tools at hand and I have space to work now. Over the last few weeks I’ve been collecting a few more odds and ends. Now I have everything I need. I’d started reading up on making wooden arrows months ago. After a certain amount of study the only thing left is to give it a try. I have these arrow heads from a weekend of work with Hector Cole over in England last year. They have been quietly tucked away and waiting on me. Now I have everything else needed to turn them into something that I hope will be rather special. Some shafts of douglas fir with wonderfully straight grain. Turkey feathers for the fletchings. Natural silk thread for wrapping and of course the nocks. I’ve just sanded and lacquered the shafts after cutting them to length and shaping the ends to test fit the nocks and arrow heads. Looking forward to bonding them on after the lacquer has dried. Baby steps. I’ll post a few photos of the process as it moves along.
