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materials for atlatl darts (Read 7551 times)
LKH9
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materials for atlatl darts
Oct 10th, 2005 at 8:39am
 
Any other cheap alternative materials for making the darts besides natural plants? ???Any ideas?

I can't get bamboos,rivercanes,and hardwood dowels.
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #1 - Oct 10th, 2005 at 9:31pm
 
I am working on right now on making atlatl darts out of alumium arrows from a bow. What i did is take two arrows and put two inserts on both sides of one arrow. the i took some all thread of the inserts size and screwed them together. You can make the darts as long as you want. The only proablem is with the screw in the middle of the the 2 arrows. Will it let it flex enough to get the right amount of power for the dart since the darts have to flex to have power. I  haven't made the thrower yet to see if it works yet, but if someone wants to use the idea and see if it works you are welcome to it.
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #2 - Oct 10th, 2005 at 9:45pm
 
I do not know all the technical stuff about atlatl dart but could you use small diameter PVC pipe and insert a foreshaft?
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #3 - Oct 10th, 2005 at 9:47pm
 
from what i have read, the dart has to be able to flex alot. The pvc i would think would have enought flew to work but since i have never used it for a dart i couldn't say.
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #4 - Oct 11th, 2005 at 6:04am
 
i got some fiberglass poles out of the fiberglass some workers use to drive wire trough subterranean  conducts (telephone, electric  etc) it has a core of fiberglass and externally a layer of plastic abrassion resistant.
i think they sell it on hardware stores for profesional plumbers, electricians and so. they are  very long (30 or 40 yards) but you can cut it to a suitable lenght  with a saw..
it's about  1 cm diametre, and may be too flexible in lenghts of 6 feet, so you may cut it shorter for a desirable spine, and then add a foreshaft to complete the total lenght of the dart.
they are nearly indestructible.  Grin
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LKH9
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #5 - Oct 11th, 2005 at 6:59am
 
There are no fiberglass tubes in my area.How small is the pvc pipe?

I want some really cheap materials so that I can make darts in big bulk.

Anyway,thank alot for the ideas. Smiley
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LKH9
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #6 - Oct 14th, 2005 at 12:09pm
 
Can I get garden stakes in hardware shops??
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #7 - Oct 14th, 2005 at 12:49pm
 
Fibre glass poles can be bought quite cheaply from most campig supply stores (they are replacements for the tent poles) they come in various sizes and are very flexible.

Hope that helps


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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #8 - Oct 14th, 2005 at 7:08pm
 
I make my darts out of 4 ft wooden dowels. I take 1 dowel for the mainshaft, and cut another in half, producing 2, 24" long foreshafts. I take a length of PVC about the same diametre of the dowels I am using (1/2" dowels, then take 1/2" PVC pipe)and cut it to about 7-8" long, and use a penknife to widen the ends slightly, so they form a cone at each end slightly wider than the central inner diametre. Taper one end of the mainshaft slightly, just enough for it to slip into the PVC pipe about halfway along its length, and do the same for one end of the foreshaft. Put the PVC pipe segment on the end of the mainshaft, and jam it on there pretty tightly. Then, take the foreshaft, and if you want blunt wooden points, sharpen it in a pencil sharpener or on a rock, like I do. If you want to insert a stone or metal tip, you can do that, too. Slip the tapered end of the foreshaft in the pipe segment, and fletch the end of the mainshaft with feathers, carve the dimple in the butt of the dart and you've got an atlatl dart! I made mine like this initially because there is no usable cane in the area, and I wanted to simulate the utility of a removable foreshaft you might get with a cane dart with the dependibilty and availability of wooden dart.
The one disadvantage this system has that I can see is that the wooden dowels may not be perfectly straight, and after repeated usage, the PVC pipe segments tend to bend and may require restraigthening after each throw. The proper adjoining of the fore and main shaft in the middle of the segments minimises, but does not omit it. However, I have thrown with these darts for some time now, and I've hit everything from the target, to the ground some distance away, the street, and even my own house, and the only damage I could see to the dart was a point that needed resharpening, and silverfish have gotten to the feathers I use for fletching, so they look a little ratty, but the dart as a whole is still potentially lethal and very cheap!
In the end, what you should end up with, as pictured in this "clever"ascii drawing is

                                                             / //////
------------#####--------------------------------------
                                                             \\\\\\\\
where --- is the dowel
### is the PVC pipe segment
and \\\ and/// are obviously, the fletching.
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #9 - Oct 28th, 2005 at 11:26pm
 
I have decided to use pvc pipes.But,what can I use for the nock? ???
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #10 - Nov 3rd, 2005 at 6:22pm
 
Since PVC is hollow you can just leave it how it is.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #11 - Nov 3rd, 2005 at 7:15pm
 
PVC pipe, I've found, tends to be too flexible to be usefull, and too heavy in longer lengths, such as those required to use as atlatl darts. I might be thinking of the wrong material, but isn't PVC white or grey? Because if it is, the first dart I ever tried to make was out of 1/2 inch diameterPVC, and it snapped the atlatl's spur off on the first shot. You'll need to make a seperate cavity in the back, as well, with PVC, because the dart needs something to contact the spur on the back of the atlatl in order to launch.
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #12 - Nov 3rd, 2005 at 7:52pm
 
I really can't get natural materials.I looked around my house,but none of the things are suitable.Wooden dowels sold in hardware shops are too thick to be useful.

Commercial arrows are expensive.
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #13 - Nov 3rd, 2005 at 7:53pm
 
saplings, and branches are still my preferd
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Re: materials for atlatl darts
Reply #14 - Nov 3rd, 2005 at 7:55pm
 
Really, wooden dowels are too thick? I use 3/8" and they seem to work great. Maybe a little on the light side, but not too bad. You could graduate up to 1/2" and they would work with a heavier atlatl.  In fact, I've made arrows from wooden dowels from Home Depot.  My biggest problem with the dowels is that they're not long enough, but the 4 foot dowels do allow me to attach a 2 foot long removable foreshaft, which I like.
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