Atlatl Design...

[Mud Hawk]

Started on a venture into making my first atlatl...

Here is the spur I designed out of lamb shank bone:



It will be very secure! Artificial sinew already in the mail .

[cgode]

It appears to me, that we have another artist in the house!

[Mud Hawk]

Thanks cgode, god knows how well it will work, but it will be a looker.

Starting to form the wood tomorrow. Red Oak... Probably gonna take a while .

[Cannonman17]

That looks like a very well designed hook-

[Mud Hawk]

Thanks Cannonman, I have been sketching for a couple hours and am afraid that spur won't work for what I am trying to do now.... new head design with a small "skull cracker" and a spur strong enough to support enough weight to pull onself up when climbing. Not going to be an ancient repro, but it will have style with a few survivalist mentality features. Pic coming in a second...

EDIT: Here's the current head subject to change:



Note: the sketch is not in proportion to the oak.

[longtimefree]

mud hawk .just made my first dart today , man you should of seen it fly, 80' no bs, at least 100' the second try, i walked it off over 130' the third try , unbelievably cool new toy to play with , im already thinking on how to modify my next atlatl, right now i use a very simple one , i have seen sticks and boards i dont know which is best any opinions would be nice (from anyone) i was wondering if i could imploy the traits of the dog tennisball thrower in throwing a dart??? using the flex of the stick to help with distance , any opinions on that???? anyone??? here are acouple pics of my first atlatl and dart, i used a piece of steel in the tip instead of a point till i get or make one that weighs right, the feathers are turkey alittle hot glue and sinew on the ends, and it flys like its got magic

[Mud Hawk]

Very cool longtimefree! Haven't had much time to work on mine, but it is half way there. When free time comes up I usually have to get my hunting fix .

[uniface]

using the flex of the stick to help with distance , any opinions on that???? anyone???

Never done it but watched a couple competitors (distance) practicing for a while once (looked like they were getting 250 yards +).

Impression : flex in the shaft is (looks like) just energy going to waste (hula dancing en route). With a stiffer shaft, more of the energy would be going into moving it forward.

[TurtleMan]

Awsome guys!!! like that bone knock Mud! ethier way you go with it that knock should work. mine has just a slight upward cant to it and it works great! I like the idea of the "stoper" behind the knock to keep it from sliding backwards. also a piece of leather or swead between the knock and the atlatl will help with slipage and also let you realy torque that sucker down. Be carfull though, artificial sinew can cut you just like monofilament fishing line! (found out the hard way). Longtime, you are corect in your thinking with the ball-thrower. Think of the atlatl as half of a bow, the flex stores the energy and than releases it at the end of the throw. Also just like a arrow you do want flex in the dart, but it has to be the right "spine" I.E. you don't shoot arrows made for a 40# bow out of a 70# bow because the arrow will flex to much, obviously the convers is also true. This can get tricky when you are useing primitive tec. (twigs and rocks). but the best way to do this is probobly how the anchents did it, make up a few different darts (langths and weights) and start thrown'. The ones that consistently fly the furthest are more "in tune" with your perticular atlatl. Then just note the weight, langth, and diameter of your "sweet" shafts and use this as a guide for future darts! hope this helps, and Keep on Chuckn'!!