[Ansteorra-archery] Question on UHMW length for bolt/arrow heads

[Eadric Anstapa]

The UHMW stiop in a combat head shold be AT LEAST 1" thick.  The socket/hole
to accomodate the shaft should be drilled 0.5" inch deep and there should be
at least a half-inch of solid UHMW in front of the shaft. You can cut the
UHMW thicker if you want but 1" is the minimum. (people might cut it thicker
just make sure that it will pass inspection or while playing with balance).

There is no difference in the blunts on bolts than the ones on arrows.

Fellwalker bolts do require 2" but they are a completely different breed of
bolt designed to be shot from 1000 Inch-Pound crossbows with very
specific/strict construction requirements. They largely used only in CAID.

Almost any closed cell doam will do for padding as long as there is a minimum
of 1" of passing and that it has enough progressive give to it.  It should
not be too hard or too soft.  It should nopt be so soft than you can apply
pressure and easily compress the foam and feel the hard UHMW underneath.  It
should likewise no be so hard ot taped so tight that it wont give at all.
The foam must not be as hard as Baldar Blunts because these modified Markland
type of blunts are allowed on the Rapier field as well as the armored field.

I was asked previously about the practice foam Golf Balls and said very
simply that I would not give an answer regarding their use without first
inspecting the design.  Someone was supposed to have shipped me a sample but
it never arrived and I have never been approached at any events about it.

personally it seems liek the Golf-Balls would be more expensive and hardly
easier than the various other sheet foams like camp pads.  You can buy a
peice of brass sink tailpeice, sharpen the edges to make a punch, and can
crank out foam disks for padding pretty quickly.

You are correct 1" peices of doweling do not make suitable stops for modified
markland blunts.  All of the grain runs lengthwise in the dowel and when you
cut out a 1" peice it slits too easily.  For fiberglass use shafts UHMW.  For
wooden shafts use UHMW or plywood.

Regards,

--
Lord Eadric Anstapa
Kingdom Archery Marshal, Ansteorra
eadric at scabrewer.com


Dwherplvr2 at aol.com said:

> --
> [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
>
>
> After researching several sites, including the Ansteorra-Archery site, I'm
> extremely confused as to what size the UHMW part of the blunt needs to be.
I
> understand that it needs to be a diameter of 1.25" but the length seems to
be
> different depending on which website you look at.  On the Ansteorra-Archery
> site, the article on "UHMW Heads on Fiberglass Combat Arrows" by Wilim
> Penbras states to cut them at 1" increments.  While the Fellwalker.com site
> shows them at 2" increments.  This is where I'm getting confused.  I have
> ordered the UHMW rods (which have arrived but scared to cut) and have
ordered
> fiberglass 14" crossbow bolts from NorthStar Archery.  There is another
> dilemma that I'm having also, the padding on the UHMW rod.  I've read on
> several postings that the blue camping mat sold at Walmart is an acceptable
> choice for the closed-cell padding on the arrow head. (In which this has
> already been discussed recently and understood.)  What about the foam
> practice golf balls?  With about 1/4 inch cut from one side, there is over
an
> inch of foam left. These aren't squishy nor are they so hard that they
> wouldn't compress when hitting an object or person.  A friend of mine who's
> helping me get bolts ready said these couldn't be any worse than being hit
by
> a Balder Blunt.
>
> Originally, we had made about a dozen bolts with wooden dowles and the golf
> balls cut in half but we've since found that there wasn't enough padding at
> the end and that wooden dowles do not make for good arrow heads (Lord
Eadric)
> and have scrapped that method.  I just want to do it right, which I hope I'm
> on the right track now but I can't figure out the correct length to cut the
> UHMW.  Can someone help me?  Also, is there any difference in the heads
> ofcombat bolts vs. combat arrows?  Maybe that's what is confusing me.
>
> Thank you in advance for your help and advice,
>
> Jorunn Gunnarsdottir
> newbie to combat archery
>