How To Cut Carbon Arrows Even For The First Time?

Bows and arrows make up the sport of archery, right? So it’s important to know everything you can about them. This enables you to improve your level of performance during both practice sessions and hunting expeditions.

And when it comes to arrows, just buying the best carbon arrows is not it. You need to know how to cut carbon arrows with your hands to better suit your needs and requirements for the game.

You can also get it done at any archery shop. But why pay for something that you can do yourself without spending any money! All you need are a few appropriate tools to carry out the simple procedure.

So let’s find out more, shall we?

How to cut carbon arrows

What you should know about carbon arrows

For that perfect arrow flight, a proper arrow spine or shaft is necessary. When it comes to archery or bow hunting, the preferred choice is compound bows, right? And factors like arrow length, draw length and weight, and cam play a significant role in determining the performance of the bow. They are also responsible for the arrow’s flight.

Carbon arrows, as opposed to the wood and aluminum ones, are light in weight and durable at the same time. They do an excellent job at delivering more speed and greater flight track. This gives you better accuracy even with longer distances.

And you should also know that the modern versions of carbon arrows are comparatively less prone to splitting than their older counterparts. They also offer more resilience in terms of design and functionality.

Why you need to learn how to cut carbon arrows yourself

The most obvious reason is to save both money and time. You can always opt for arrows that are already trimmed, right? But if that’s something you don’t want, then it’s better to get the job done with your hands.

Getting the arrows cut at any archery shop is not a bad idea, but the outcome tends to turn out to be unsatisfactory. So the choice is all yours.

Learning to perform the procedure yourself allows you to make customizations. These include making personal amendments to the draw length, nock style, and fletching. You have no idea how much effort, time, and money you’ll be saving by doing all the cutting with your hands.

Safety measures

It’s not only important but also necessary to follow a few safety precautions while performing the procedure. When working with carbon arrows, the use of an abrasive wheel-equipped high-speed saw is crucial. This thing should be able to revolve at a speed of 5,000 RPM.

Cutting carbon arrows with a hacksaw or cutting carbon arrows with tubing cutter can prove to be disastrous. And why is that? It’s because these tools tend to weaken the quality and design of arrow shafts. The hacksaw or tubing cutter’s toothed blades mess with the arrows’ fiber composite. And more often than not, this results in splintering the shaft.

The thing about carbon arrows is that they offer resistance to the lateral cutting and not crushing action. And the use of tubing cutter breaks the fibers of a carbon shaft. So the arrow’s left with longitudinal cracks, which splinter the shaft eventually. This is why many people opt for cutting carbon arrows with a Dremel.

Every arrow’s shaft comes with an epoxy or any other resin coating, right? Such a characteristic causes severe health hazards such as drowsiness, vomiting, nausea, eye irritation, etc. So please make sure that you don’t work under or around an electric fan or appliance.

How to cut carbon arrows?

How to cut carbon arrows

Credit: deerhuntingfield.com

What You will Need:

  • Tape
  • Markers
  • ​Sandpaper
  • ​Sliding clamps
  • ​Rulers
  • ​Wooden base or arrow vise
  • Worktable

The method

1.Determining Arrow Length

Secure a ruler using tape to the worktable. To move forward, you need to first determine the suitable arrow length. For this, draw the arrow completely. Tell someone to mark the spot where the riser comes in contact with the shaft.

Measure the distance all the way to the trimming point from the holding end. This will give you the correct arrow length for all types of arrows.

Once you have this information, you can place your arrow on the arrow vise or wooden base before clamping it with the use of nocks. You can use the ruler that you secured earlier as your basis. Measure the correct length beginning from 0 cm till the suitable length. And don’t forget to double check this measurement.

2.Cutting the Arrow

Trimming the arrow doesn’t require you to chop it in a single direction with one swooping motion. The shaft of the arrow should be spun or rotated against the saw to prevent fragmentation. This gives you a more precise and straighter cut.

Use one hand to guide the shaft to the rotating motion while the other to the revolving blade. Your goal should be to create a square-shaped cut. This makes the process of fitting the inserts easier. Just ensure that, throughout the spinning motion, the same point remains in contact.

3.Finishing

The final step is to use sandpaper to smoothen out the trimmed portion of the shaft. And this is when you can bring broadheads into the picture.

After clearing out the workspace, please make it a point to eliminate the carbon fiber particles with the help of your vacuum cleaner.

Cutting carbon arrows with a pipe cutter:

Cutting Carbon Arrows & Installing Inserts (On the Cheap)

That’s about it!

Now, do you know how to cut carbon arrows? Of course, you do. The procedure is quick and easy to perform. Please go through the safety measures once again to avoid accidents or any other mishaps from taking place.

You should know that learning to cut carbon arrows at first might be slightly challenging. But once you get used to carrying out the process, it will not seem like such a difficult task at all. So keep at it till you get better. And isn’t that what archery or bow hunting is all about? Don’t give up on something that you know you can get better at with sufficient practice.

Have you ever tried to cut carbon arrows on your own? If yes, then what method did you opt for?

If there’s anything that you would like to add to the article, please don’t hesitate to do so. You can leave your feedback in the comments section below.

We hope the content was informative and the instructions elaborate. Our goal is to make the whole process easy and comfortable for you to perform at home without too many failed attempts.

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