Arrow Splicing & Footing Jig

If you shoot wooden arrows you need one of these!

Posted by Lewis Wood on 1st May 2012

I have the dubious honour of being the equipment officer for our club, and regular as clockwork, I watched as our longbow shooters, broke shafts which simply got relegated to the bottom of the case, or worse, the skip. The piles are easily recovered but along with the broken shaft usually go three perfectly good fletchings. I expect you recognise the scenario.
This jig could be the answer but could it really do such a good job? This is far cheaper than others on the market. I need not have worried. The two sizes I ordered arrived this morning. Keen to try one, I grabbed the nearest thing to hand, a sharp Stanley knife and in no time at all I had two pieces of shaft cut and shaped. I did not even use a vice to hold the jig, although the rectangular piece of metal you can see in the photos is there for just such a purpose. I applied wood glue to both halves ensuring I got an even spread and placed the two halves together. After a couple of minor adjustments to get them in the correct position, which was easier than I had imagined, I had a perfect match. There may be better ways, but after wiping off the excess glue I just wrapped string around the join, starting and finishing a little way from each end. A couple of hours later I unwound the string and there was my repaired shaft which only need a light sanding to get the excess glue off.
The device is sized very accurately and even a coat of varnish is sufficient to stop the shaft going through the jig, so you may have to sand that off before you start.
This jig will pay for itself in no time, is simple to use and achieves a perfect join. I would highly recommend it.