Ethan's Atladl Challenge Discussion Thread

the weather stinks right now, and there's little chance of my finding anything but green wood to work with, so i'll see what i can do :) i'm not going to waste my good sinew on this though, i'll tell you that much ;)

afaik, there's no river cane, don't has bamboo, and that TALL marsh grass won't work. i'm screwed!

maybe i can go urban and take parts off trucks :)
 
You want green wood! After you get the basic shape and the shaft portion flexes a little so it will "load up" during the throw you can "season" the wood down to ambient relative humidity in just two or three days in an average 50%RH environment. It works because of the thin section of the atlatl.
As far as darts... You should have Phragmites (grows plentifully in almost every state) and can be fitted with a thin foreshaft in about ten minutes. That will make a very good dart with a weight forward balance and superior penetration.
 
Md 25v said:
You want green wood! After you get the basic shape and the shaft portion flexes a little so it will "load up" during the throw you can "season" the wood down to ambient relative humidity in just two or three days in an average 50%RH environment. It works because of the thin section of the atlatl.
As far as darts... You should have Phragmites (grows plentifully in almost every state) and can be fitted with a thin foreshaft in about ten minutes. That will make a very good dart with a weight forward balance and superior penetration.
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i meant green for the darts too...

yeah, we have Phragmites all over. there's a large patch not 100 yds from me. maybe 200 yds :) it of course went through major hard freeze, and a harsh Winter with a lot of snow. it's been pretty savaged and is REALLY soggy and/or brittle now. mulch. no good. already checked :>

been hiking further and further afield... but this is just the wrong time of year for my area for these materials. now, had i known in the Fall... yeah, i coulda gotten creeping dogbane for fibers too, or thistle, or a number of other things. whine whine whine. may have to visit a lumber yard :P

might as well start learning how to tiller a bow too :)
 
I was given an atlatl and darts a few years ago that had wooden darts, ash I think. They were durable and flew well. That might be an option for you if you want to take a 6-7ft shooter/sapling (short work for the bk9) and shaving down the thick end till you have the profile you want.

Yes, you absolutely need to learn tillering! With Kabar's version of the machax coming soon there should be a lot of first time bowyers in the beckerheads.
 
Md 25v said:
I was given an atlatl and darts a few years ago that had wooden darts, ash I think. They were durable and flew well. That might be an option for you if you want to take a 6-7ft shooter/sapling (short work for the bk9) and shaving down the thick end till you have the profile you want.

Yes, you absolutely need to learn tillering! With Kabar's version of the machax coming soon there should be a lot of first time bowyers in the beckerheads.
Click to expand...

oh, you people and your fancy ash :)

oak, maple, and even green maple aplenty. poplar, and such. have randomly spotted tulip poplar and sycamore, never osage. various nut trees though. kinda weird how many of those i find (they're obvious too :>) white and black birch as well. one of these years, i'll find a lightning blasted yew :)

yeah, i'm sure there's some ash around, everyone needs a piece of ash now and then...

tillering... i've got me 1-4 of the boyer's bible, a very worn copy of "the traditional bowhunter" that came with my long bow. am checking it out again, as the recurve i got recently has a slight bend. i'm assured that can be dealt with by a local traditional bow shop.

also have two or the "primitive technology", which has lots of atlatl/etc info. good stuff
 
I'm sure that all the woods you named would make fine dart shafts as well. The Birch is the only one listed thats not able to make a nice hunting weight bow without real skill. If they can make a bow then they should be able to make darts, especially the maple and sycamore

The TBB series is awesome, that and "The Bent Stick" by Jim Hamm are the finest selfbow resources around. All you need is a Machax and a tweener or Esky and you have everything you need to go from tree to bow.
 
Md 25v said:
I'm sure that all the woods you named would make fine dart shafts as well. The Birch is the only one listed thats not able to make a nice hunting weight bow without real skill. If they can make a bow then they should be able to make darts, especially the maple and sycamore

The TBB series is awesome, that and "The Bent Stick" by Jim Hamm are the finest selfbow resources around. All you need is a Machax and a tweener or Esky and you have everything you need to go from tree to bow.
Click to expand...


yup, those woods should be fine. just need to fine the time to harvest and such. contest is half done by now ;)

as far as Machax goes, yeah, i have a few ;) patrol machetes too :> also a draw knife, specifically purchased for tillering a couple years ago. can't be using that on this project :>
 
Bladite, where the hell do you live? It would help with the dart recommendations.

Some of the best flying darts I've seen were made out of Wild Rose (not sure of the species), and they were unfletched!!!! :eek:

Another really good dart material is Pagoda Dogwood (AKA Alternate-leaved -Dogwood ---Cornus alternifolia)

Doc
 
MyWifeThinksImCrazy said:
Damn!!! My Wife would flip out if I went gold. I've been thinking about the lower one (basic I think), but I'm afraid of what she'd do to me. I might try this still and post it in here.
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Maybe we are brother in laws, because it sounds like my wife and your wife are sisters.
 
Widerstand said:
Even though myself and Mingo can not enter the contest since we don't have enough disposable income to buy gold memberships. We are going to participate anyways and post them up here.
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i like that attitude :thumbup: you seem to be using your beckers a lot (judging by the pics you posted in my 1-yr anniversary contest)...give me tonight/tomorrow and i'll upgrade you to gold.
 
JV3 said:
i like that attitude :thumbup: you seem to be using your beckers a lot (judging by the pics you posted in my 1-yr anniversary contest)...give me tonight/tomorrow and i'll upgrade you to gold.
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Thank you so much!

Super kind of you!
 
Haven't had a chance to throw it yet.


Just a teaser...



atlatl006.jpg

atlatl003.jpg

atlatl005.jpg

atlatl007.jpg
 
What did you do for the tip of the arrow? That looks like one nice set up you've got going on there.
 
MyWifeThinksImCrazy said:
What did you do for the tip of the arrow? That looks like one nice set up you've got going on there.
Click to expand...

The shaft is hollow so I just took a small enough peice of hardwood and shaved it roundish and to a point, then I dried it in my grill to harden it, then charred the outside over a small fire to make it black. Then I stuck it into the Phragmites shaft about four inches. Done. Target point finished.
 
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