after seeing quite a few atlatls i felt confident enough to try my hand with making one

now there's just one questiong- how long do the darts and thrower need to be?

like, is there some rule where the atlatl is the length of your arm, and the darts 3 times larger the the thrower? or what

Those rules are okay for getting started but certainly not set in stone.

I use atlatls 20 to 24 inches long, but there are longer and shorter ones in the archaeological record. As long as the spur holds the dart securely when horizontal and releases it cleanly when vertical, and the handle is comfortable in your hand, then its a winner.

The dart is the bit that needs to be right. If you can get it, use six feet of 12mm (or six and half feet by half an inch) pine dowel from a hardware store. Duct tape makes perfectly good beginner fletching. Some kind of point is a good idea, again for beginning you could just wrap several turns of duct tape at the point, overlapping the end by half an inch or so. This will make a safe tip that wont do much damage and will protect the dart shaft from breaking too.

The thing that needs to be right for the dart is the flexibility. It has to have enough flex to be accurate, but too weak and it will snap. Bamboo canes from garden stores can be used, you can test the flex by waggling it from the thinner end. The other end should sweep about 12" to 24" through the air in response to a couple of inches of up-and-down waggle. There should be a little bit of droop due to gravity but not much.

Start the throw flat and straight, let go of the dart with your fingers then put in plenty of power as you snap forwards with the atlatl at the end of the throw.

ok, and another question, can i make a special "nock" to hold the dart rather then holding it by hand and needing to release at the right time?

i thinking on making a paper dart, by arrow length it is very stiff and has just enough flex to not snap in mid-flight or when striking something (on a blow dart some people like flex so that if the dart doesn't penetrate, it can flex and spring back, others like a stiff dart that will not break if it hits a un-penetrable target) but on a larger model it has a limited amount of flex, maybe not a lot, but enough to start i think

Yes, you can put a dart rest at the front of your atlatl but I think they are cheating  ;)

I'm not convinced about the paper dart shaft idea, but if it works, let us know !

don't worry, if the shaft doesn't the thrower out of paper will ;D

Kid, I was taught "Thompson's Rule of Thumb" by Ray Thompson, who introduced me to atlatls. He said to hold your arm straight out in front of you with your thumb up. 80% of the distance between your thumb and your chest is the optimal length for an atlatl. The dart is that distance x 3.14. In my case, the atlatl is about 18 inches and the dart is about 5 feet.

As for the dart rest, they can be used, but like Morningstar, I think they are cheating. This is a Wyalusang-style atlatl made by Thunderbird Atlatl (www.thunderbirdatlatl.com)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/69/182194663_c727c8d5db.jpg

You can see how the whole thing is set up. I prefer to hold my dart so I have a little more control over it.

K'Jev
8-)

Kjev wrote on Aug 8^th, 2009 at 8:31am:

Kid, I was taught "Thompson's Rule of Thumb" by Ray Thompson, who introduced me to atlatls. He said to hold your arm straight out in front of you with your thumb up. 80% of the distance between your thumb and your chest is the optimal length for an atlatl. The dart is that distance x 3.14. In my case, the atlatl is about 18 inches and the dart is about 5 feet. As for the dart rest, they can be used, but like Morningstar, I think they are cheating. This is a Wyalusang-style atlatl made by Thunderbird Atlatl ([url=www.thunderbirdatlatl.com[/url]]www.thunderbirdatlatl.com[/url]) http://farm1.static.flickr.com/69/182194663_c727c8d5db.jpg You can see how the whole thing is set up. I prefer to hold my dart so I have a little more control over it. K'Jev 8-)

hey that's funny, the point where i grip it to the end is also 18 inches (i discluded the extra few inches at the bottom where it isn't part of the extended throwing arm)

i'm also thinking of making  next one with tea stained paper and leather sewn over the chopstick reinforcements to make it look like wood and whipping over the handle

You know, there are quite a few paper models out there of everything from guns to cars to spaceships to armor . . .

Don't recall ever finding one of an atlatl, though. It ought to be pretty cool when it's done! And funcitonal too!

K'Jev
8-)

Kjev wrote on Aug 9^th, 2009 at 8:51am:

You know, there are quite a few paper models out there of everything from guns to cars to spaceships to armor . . . Don't recall ever finding one of an atlatl, though. It ought to be pretty cool when it's done! And funcitonal too! K'Jev 8-)

the thrower is, i'm nearly done brainstorming the paper darts as well