Building Boffer Arrows

[Sierra Katrian]

This is the recommended method for constructing arrows for use at Underworld LARP.

The shaft of your arrows must be made of carbon fiber, fiberglass, or graphite. We do not allow aluminum, wood, or any other material for shafts. If you are found using any other type of shafts expect to have them confiscated, broken and be asked to leave game immediately. The first time you make arrows, it is strongly recommended that you get help making arrows from someone who has experience making LARP arrows.

At every stage of the process it is important to remember that you are making something that if made poorly or incorrectly has real potential to cause VERY serious injury. If you do not take the safety of your arrows seriously, you have no place at Underworld LARP.

The first thing you will need to do is cut off the tip of your arrows. The best way to do this is to use a hack saw. Do your best to make sure you do not create any splinters or cracks along the length of the shaft. If you do cause any obvious cracks, the shaft will be compromised and can not be used, as these cracks will cause your arrow to fail safety. If you are making bolts, just cut further down the shaft of the arrow to the length you desire.



Once you have removed the tip of the arrow, use a file or sandpaper to smooth and even the edge of the shaft’s end. Once again take care not to cause any cracks.




Once the end of the shaft is flat and smooth, use a strip of duct tape to wrap around the end of the shaft. This will help increase the life of your arrow and reduce the chance that the end will crack or splinter. If your shaft is hallow, fill the top of it with a small amount of glue (crazy glue or gorilla glue are recommended).



Next use glue to attach a penny or nickle to the end of the shaft (dimes are too small anything else is too big). Be sure to give enough time to let the glue set in place. The purpose of the coin is to ensure that the shaft does not pierce through the foam that you will put at the tip of the arrow.




Once the coin is set in place on the tip of the arrow, cut two strips of duct tape a little thinner than your coin and 6 ” long. Place them over top of the coin to make an ‘X’.



Carefully wrap each of the strips of tape tightly around the shaft in downward spiral. Two should be wrapped clockwise, two should be wrapped counter-clockwise. This will help to ensure that over time your coin does not slip off of the tip of your shaft.



Next cut a 4″ long piece of closed cell foam (pipe insulation is best). Cut it to fit very snugly around the shaft of your arrow. It is alright to compress the foam around the diameter of the coin to get the foam to fit as snugly as possible. Put glue along the portion of the shaft that will be covered by the foam. Ideally you will have 1-1/2″ of closed cell foam protruding past the coin, but ensure that you have no more than 2″ of foam past the tip.



Close the foam around the shaft as tightly as possible, and seal the seem up with a strip of duct tape. It is important to have the foam fit tightly around the shaft.



Wrap some double sided tape or double over some duct tape around the foam. Cut another 4″ piece of closed cell foam and put it over the first. It is important to make sure this layer fits snugly over the first one. You may need to trim the width to get an ideal fit.



Wrap the second layer of closed cell foam around the first and seal up the seam with a strip of duct tape. For obvious reasons, it is important that the foam is wide enough that it will not be able to fit into an eye socket. You shouldn’t need a third layer, but if you do, affix it in the same way you did the second layer.



Wrap strips of duct tape around the circumference of the bottom of the foam with about 1-2″ of tape on the foam and 3″ extending over the bare shaft.



Make some relief cuts along the length of the strips of tape.



Wrap each strip of tape tightly around the shaft. This will stop the foam from being pulled froward or even coming right off of your arrow.



After you have wrapped each strip tightly around the arrows’ shaft, wrap a small strip of tape around the shaft at the base of the foam.



Cut a 1 to 1-1/2″ piece of open cell foam that is slightly bigger than the circumference of the closed cell foam. Also cut a small piece of plastic bag that will fit over top of the foam. Put the open cell foam on top of the closed cell foam and wrap the plastic over the open cell foam. Tape the plastic in place. Do not pull the plastic so tight that it compresses the open cell foam. The plastic will stop the tape from sticking to the open cell foam. This lets the open cell foam compress and expand more freely.



Cover the foam with duct tape so that there is no exposed foam. Be careful not to compress the open cell foam when you do this. It needs to be able to compress and expand easily to absorb the impact of each shot.



Use a pin or other implement (I used a thin awl) to punch many (20 or so) small holes in tape. Be careful not to cause any big holes or tears in the tape. The holes let air flow into the foam and helps the foam to compress and expand freely.



Test to ensure that your arrow tip compresses and expands back to it’s original shape easily. If it does, your arrow is done. If not put more little holes in the tip, if this does not fix the problem, make sure the foam is not being caught by the tape or too compressed by the tape. If this is the case, cut away the open cell foam and start again from that stage.



We take arrow safety very seriously. If in doubt ask someone who has made arrows before for help.
 
A big thank you to Shawn Murphy for creating this amazing guide.