Author Archives: Rob Jones

Apr 17 2022

Finally feeling better

Hi all.
Hope you are enjoying a good Easter, weather is pretty good in the UK. I know lots of you will be out enjoyingthe first BBQ or maybe flinging a few arrows.

I just wanted to share a quick update on why I’ve been so quiet on here and podcasts.
I’m finally beginning to feel back to normal health wise. I’ve been under the weather for a few weeks. Coughing all night, so not getting any sleep and exhausted all time, lost voice has too.
Weird thing is I’ve yet been testing negative for Covid for over 2 weeks.
Doctor has me on antibiotics and steroid treatment which seems to have helped, especially with my asthma.

Been feeling pretty low as this is second time in last couple of months I’ve been under the weather.

I’m hoping to get back to writing & podcasts soon. Let me know if you have any questions.
Stay safe everyone, there are loads of people I know who have been suffering from poor health.

Thanks for reading

image of Poster tube with arrows
Apr 5 2022

Cost saving – arrow tubes

As I said in my last article , when I talked about options for cheap fletching tape . I am trying to offer some thoughts on cost savings for archery clubs and archers out there. 

In this one I am going to look at an option for storing and transporting arrows. This is something we all have to do and normally done in purpose made arrow tubes or quivers. I’m also going to make a suggestion on how you might be able to get discount vouchers. 

For a few years I’ve been using poster tubes I buy from the local Hobbycraft store

(https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/expandable-storage-tube-23-to-41-inches/6314101000.html)

image of a lockable poster tube
Lockable poster tube

I’ve posted about this before (https://offthearrowshelf.com/2017/09/21/money-saving-tip/) They work pretty well for transporting arrows, but there are a couple of things to consider. They are designed to transport paper not sharp pointy arrows, so consider this when loading them up.

Second thing is the plastic is not very thick so its a good idea to reinforce the inside of the cap and bottom with something.

image of Poster tube cap needs protection
Poster tube cap needs protection

I use some foam off cuts from a camping roll or the like of about 1 cm thick. 

image of the poster tube cap with foam
Poster tube cap with foam

A good tip that can save you  money is to sign up to their loyalty card. By doing this you often receive discount codes or £5 vouchers for you next shop. Since the arrow tubes are only £11, effectively you are getting it for almost half price, in fact they used to be £10 (details can be  found here for the loyalty card (https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/)

If you have any money saving tips then please let me know here.

Thanks for reading

Mar 28 2022

Cost saving tips – alternative fletching tape

I’m going to run a couple of cost saving ideas out there for the next few weeks, for archers and archery clubs. Let’s face it with fuel and living costs rises every penny counts.

In this one I’m offering an alternative to using fletching tape or glue.

I’ve started using this double-sided sticky tape to fletch club arrows a few months ago. It’s available from Hobbycraft stores and is a lot less than tape sold at archery shops. It’s only a couple of pounds for the long roll, which is able to do a load of arrows.

image of fletching tape

It’s proved to work well on club arrows and not had any fletching come off in the 6 months I’ve been using it. I’ve found the 6mm wide tape works best for plastic vanes. This covers the base of the fletching well and you can trim off any excess. There is also a 3mm wide version that I use on feather fletchings.

Importantly I have found it bounds onto aluminium arrows well, can’t testify on carbons as all our club arrows are aluminium. I have tested it on a few wooded arrows and works on those too.

As I said I am hoping to run a few money saving articles so if you have any cost saving ideas let me know or share them.
Thanks for reading, stay safe.