Attachment of Asgard APDs to Fiberglass Shafts

1.  Acknowledgements

The following procedure was not developed by one person at one time. Many combat archers worked and tested for months to develop a safe, reliable, and consistent method of attaching Asgard APDs. It is only right and proper that they be acknowledged:

·  Sir Tnek the Ainessestor, Deputy Earl Marshall, Kingdom of Atlantia

·  Gregor von Leipzig, Captain of Combat Archers, Barony of Storvik

·  Lord Karl Haraldsson, Deputy Knight Marshall, Barony of Storvik

·  Your humble author, Lord Ryryd ap Gwerstan

2.  Introduction

The anti-penetration device (APD [1]) is critical for the safety of participants in combat activities in the SCA. But, the APD is useless unless it remains on the arrow shaft. The following is a procedure developed and used in the Kingdom of Atlantia to ensure that the APD stays on, even under the harsh conditions of combat and the brutal conditions of inspection at Pennsic and Gulf Wars. The fundamental problem is that there is no adhesive or cement that will hold fiberglass and plastic together under stress. Simply trying to find a better adhesive didn’t work. (We tried and failed. But, we did find the best (and worst) adhesives overall.) Instead, the following procedure was developed that ‘layers-on’ multiple adhesive and construction techniques that provide maximal strength with minimal labor. A few assumptions are made in this procedure:

1)  ¼ inch fiberglass shafts and Asgard APDs are used.

2)  Super Glue gel (NOT Liquid) or 2-part, 5 minute epoxy is used as the adhesive. (I recommend Super Glue gel. Extensive testing showed both epoxy and Super Glue to be of equal strength. But, Super Glue is cheaper, faster and easier to use. As an aside: Gorilla glue was found to be the worst. It is totally unreliable.)

3)  It is best to do this ‘assembly-line’ fashion, with 3 or more people. I have found that, by doing this, four dozen arrows or bolts can be constructed per hour.

Equipment and Materials Needed:

1)  Shafts and Asgards

2)  Adhesive

3)  A vise (two are better)

4)  Drill with 1/16 inch bit

5)  Dremel (or comparable tool) with dremel saw

6)  Rubber mallet or hammer

7)  6 inch piece of rigid plastic tube, about 3/8 inch diameter. PVC works great. This is not necessary if these are for bolts.

8)  ¼ inch strapping tape. This can be hard to find. Splitting ½ inch strapping tape in half works fine, but is somewhat slower to use.

3.  Procedure

1)  Preparation of the shafts and Asgards

  1. Gently secure the dremel, with saw, in the vise. Turn the dremel on low and spin the shaft end over the saw, making random grooves. WEAR A MASK AND EYE PROTECTION. OTHERWISE, YOU ARE GOING TO BE BREATHING FIBERGLASS DUST. PUTTING GLASS IN YOUR LUNGS IS GENERALLY A BAD IDEA!!! The grooves need not be very deep. This is simply to increase the surface area for the glue.
  2. Drill two holes in the side of the Asgard shaft cylinder, one near the top and one near the bottom. This will allow the air to escape as you are inserting the shaft. Also, some glue will escape through the holes, forming a small extra brace. See the diagram below:

2)  Gluing

  1. Squeeze a small amount of glue into the shaft cylinder. Do not put the glue on the shaft, as this will simply scrape off as the shaft is inserted.
  2. Insert the shaft, turning the Asgard as you push the shaft in. This will spread the glue and fill the grooves.
  3. Put the shaft in the vise, Asgard up. Place the plastic tube over the nock and gently tap the tube until the Asgard is fully seated. If a small amount of bubbling glue comes out of the hole nearest the nock, you are using the right amount of glue. If none comes out, you are using too little. If a lot of liquid glue comes out, you are using too much.
  4. Wipe off the excess glue.

3)  Taping

  1. Cut about 14 inches of strapping tape. Wrap the tape once or twice around the shaft next to the Asgard.
  1. Bring the tape down diagonally to the nock on the outside of the Asgard.
  1. Twist and wrap the tape to the other side of the nock then run the tape diagonally up the outside of the Asgard.

  1. Repeat the last two steps, but running the tape on the inside of the Asgard.
  1. Wrap the tape around the shaft several times, moving up the shaft. Cut off the excess. This one is done.

Note: The actual order of laying the diagonal strips is not important, but:

·  You MUST form an X on both the inside and the outside of the Asgard, along the shaft cylinder.

·  You MUST begin and end by wrapping around the arrow shaft.

·  You MUST use a single, continuous piece of tape.

Field testing has shown that failure to do any of these will produce a significantly less reliable attachment.

May you shot with accuracy and chivalry, in equal measure.

Lord Ryryd ap Gwerstan

Order of the Kings Missiliers

Order of the Sharks Tooth

Order of the Lozulet

[1] As noted by Sir Erika of The Kingdom of Trimaris, this is NOT an anti-bounce back device. Bounce back will always occur. The purpose is to prevent penetration from the bounce back.