From Spoon to Broadhead

Intro: From Spoon to Broadhead

This instructable will teach you to turn a normal spoon into the blade for a broadhead and subsequently affix it to a field tip.

Tools:

-anvil/hard surface

-vice

-hammer

-pliers

-dremel and various bits

-table top grinder

-soldering kit

-blade sharpener

Supplies:

-spoon

-field tip

STEP 1: Hammer It Flat

Hammer the spoon flat.

Draw your broadhead outline.

STEP 2: Cutting the Shape

Affix your spoon handle into the vice.

Place a cutting disc onto the dremel.

Cut the two sides off the spoon, giving you a nice triangle.

*Do not cut the handle off yet!

STEP 3: Grinding the Edge

Use the table top grinder to shape crude edges.

The spoon handle makes it a lot easier to grind the edges.

STEP 4: Field Tip Preparation

*You can use either a hollow field tip that is glued onto a shaft or a solid field tip that screws into an insert.

Here I use a solid field tip. The same steps applies to both solid and hollow field tips.

Clamp the field tip horizontally in the vice.

Cut the tip off using the dremel.

Clamp the field tip vertically in the vice.

Cut approximately half way through the field tip.

STEP 5: Lose the Handle

Time to get rid of the spoon handle.

Clamp the handle in the vice.

With the dremel cut the outline of a square into the broadhead.

Then cut the handle off.

*I cut a small square into the broadhead to facilitate the field tip as seen in the pictures.

Take the dremel with a grinding bit now and narrow on either side of the broadhead to make it easier to fit the field tip onto the broadhead.

STEP 6: Combine It All

This part can be a little tricky.

You may have to grind down either side of the broadhead till the field tip fits.

Vice the broadhead and lightly hammer the field tip into the space.

STEP 7: Solder It Together

For this step I used a mini butane torch since my soldering iron wasn't hot enough.

Fill the gaps with solder. Allow to cool.

With a dremal, a cutting tip and a grinding tip, get rid of the extra solder.

Clean up the broadhead with the grinding tip and a wire brush tip.

STEP 8: Finishing Touches

Use the sharpener to give the broadhead a razor sharp edge.

Comments

[Markstern]

Making this with manual tools only wouldn't be too difficult, spoons are thin enough to easily handle using sheet metal shears. Then use metal files to do the final shaping/sharpening.

The most difficult bit to do without electricity would be the soldering (unless you can find/own a butane powered iron) I'd wager.

This last part is simply my opinion but I wouldn't do any of this on a standard benchgrinder, no appreciable work saved and it's far too easy to grind off too much etc.

[weldor]

not knowing exactly what you used for solder, i would suggest using a silver bearing solder. With that use an acid based flux it will do a super job of cleanning tbe metal. There is a "putty" or a "clay" commonly referred to as "heat fence" that will prevent the heat from traveling any further than needed. Because you are using stainless steel i would suggest the silver solder be around 15% silver. It comes by the stick or on a roll. i try to stay with using a stainless brush on stainless work as a carbon steel brush leaves traces of carbon steel that will contaminate the joint. As for heat you can use the propane torch on it or you could go with MAPP gas. nice to see someone think out side of the box!!

[GwanTL]

I'm not exactly sure what kind of solder I used. I'm not exactly what one would call an experienced welder. This was my way of getting some practice in using as few purchases as possible. I'll go pick up some 15% silver solder like you suggested for my next project. Which is by the way a two-blade broadhead, meaning that the solder job is doubly important.
Thanks for the useful suggestions welder!

[weldor]

You can also silver brazing it but you will need an oxygen acetylene torch as it requires more heat.

[GwanTL]

I do have an oxy acetylene torch but I do not have a place to use the torch until the summer.

[weldor]

Sorry about the grammar mistakes. I am a horrible typist, especially on my phone. ?

[dewnorth]

Is this how Daryl Dixon never runs out of arrows? ;-)

[Dukanater]

this is a rly good idea but i think you should take it a step further do the whole project like you had to make arrows for some apocalyptic scenario so basically all hand tools no electricity and i challenge you to make the whole shaft not just the arrow head =p lets see you shine

[stierney2]

@Dukanater - these were "made" from 3/8" hardwood dowels. All done by hand, sanding and shaping, as well as the fletching, etc. The only thing that used "modern" technology was the adhering of the field tips...

[GwanTL]

That's a tall order. Ignoring the shaft of the arrow, the metal alone would take a long time and a lot of effort to grind an edge down without a table top grinder.

The shaft itself is a different kind of challenge. Because you could go simple and just throw a hollow field tip on the end of an appropriately sized tree branch. Or you could go fancy, age the wood properly, cut it down to size using hand saws and smooth out cylindrical shape using sand paper. But again, that would take a lot of time and effort.

I don't think I'm skilled enough yet to tackle such a challenge.

[j-vega]

Now, I need a crossbow, congratulations.

[MaryLenehan]

Dukanater, I'm with you. I worry there won't be any electricity left when I need to do this - come The Zombie Apocolypse...

[GwanTL]

Luckily in the event of an apocolypse of any kind there will likely be ample supplies sitting around.

So since your broadheads will run out (due to damage from use) long before your shafts and feathers knowing how to make broadheads from stuff that there will be an abundance of is a good idea. I'm looking into trying to use old tin cans and metal road signs. Both will be far easier to cut and form a sharp edge without power. They would literally be single use due to how weak the metal is but they should be sharp enough to hunt with.

[Carmelite]

A note on steel: spoons are soft stainless steel, so the edge will get destroyed pretty easily.

A better source of metal might be from old x-acto blades, broken hacksaw blades, or putty knifes.

[GwanTL]

Good point. Although the grand majority of commercial broadheads are single use anyway. If used for hunting, bones will be cut but also shatter and/or seriously damage the blades.

I used spoons since it's easy to get a lot of them and the general shape of the spoons makes it easy to work with. I have some old single layer frying pans and circular saw blades that I will be trying next.

[Wolfbane221]

This is a good instructable, however it looks like you didn't get both peices of metal hot enough when you soldered it or maybe used the incorrect solder? might be better to braze these tips instead of solder else you might have them breaking off in things.

[Wolfbane221]

also that vice will suck the heat out of what you're soldering/brazing if you don't put wood or something to insulate between the metals. hope i helped your next attempt some!

[GwanTL]

Thanks for the tips! Next time I'll try your suggestions.

[GwanTL]

I have'nt tried it out yet, but the weight is comparable to a store-bought broadhead. After I shoot it a few times I plan on cutting holes in certain spots if the weight causes an issue.

[Captain MacTavish]

My father told me that you should want to have the weight in the front instead of the back but if its too heavy then yeah you know