Arrow cutter recommendations please

Hilltop

Member
I presently use a diy set up consisting of a Dremel drill much on the lines as others have which does the job perfectly well.

However, I am thinking about perhaps getting a purpose made arrow cutter and would like some feedback from any users of these. I often cut arrows for others as well and I would just like something that is more convenient to use.
 

lbp121

Member
Most arrow saws have a high speed cutting disc of around 4 inch dia running approx 8000rpm. I bought the Apple one, it's ok, convenient but not great. Main advantage is motor and disc size.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
I presently use a diy set up consisting of a Dremel drill much on the lines as others have which does the job perfectly well.

However, I am thinking about perhaps getting a purpose made arrow cutter and would like some feedback from any users of these. I often cut arrows for others as well and I would just like something that is more convenient to use.
Might be worth giving the 'Decut Bosscut Arrow Cutter' a look, sub ?120. I don't own one but I have used one and was very impressed. They also sell the 'Decut Ecocut' sub ?100, but I have no experience of this item.
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
I've used homemade and purpose built cutters.
A purpose built cutter is a little easier and quicker to use. Maybe less error prone as well, but as with all these things, not foolproof.

Most of them seem fairly similar to look at, so I guess the main differences are in the ease of adjustment, whether you get a pedal for controlling the blade. I can't imagine you get great differences between the ones at the cheaper end of the market.
 

Hilltop

Member
Went ahead and purchased the 'Decut Bosscut Arrow Cutter' which arrived today.

Very pleased with it and can recommend it.
 

caspian

Member
I also purchased one a few months ago. fairly happy with it, but a few gripes.

for starters, there are too many crosshead screws. it's not expensive to use far more durable hex head screws. also, the screws on the bottom of the "tailstock" assembly were loose, and the ones that hold the depth stop and plinth in place were loose to the point where the whole block was quite misaligned. it was only a few minutes work to loctite everything in place properly aligned, but come on, guys.

more seriously, I have no idea how you're supposed to change the blade out. the chinglish instructions show putting a pin into the back blade mandrel plate to prevent it moving while removing the nut... but there is no hole! there's a couple of opposing set screw holes that are there to lock the mandrel plate to the motor shaft, but you sure can't get a pin into them.

I managed to wrestle the thing apart, and promptly disassembled everything so I could drill a cross pin hole into the minor boss of the mandrel plate. it's aluminium so hand tools are quite sufficient with appropriate care. I then sacrificed an old screwdriver with a 4mm shank to make a locking tool, and future maintenance will be easy.

I also bought a steel ruler and glued it down to the baseplate as a depth indicator as the sticky label version was uselessly inaccurate.

in use, the saw is fairly quiet and nicely vibration free. the depth stop adjusts easily. it cuts arrows as nicely as anything you'd want, and the foot pedal works OK, although feeling a little cheap.

it's not the quality of the better Easton Pro saw, but it appears very similar to the cheaper Easton saw save for the vacuum extra facility, and at half the price it's a good tool for the occasional user who doesn't have access to a club saw and wants to do their own work. just be prepared to do a little work out of the box to get it up to scratch.
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
Regarding the scale: you should never go by that in any case. It's only useful as a quick reference if you've cut arrows to a particular length before, and know where that came on the scale.

The normal method would be to set the first shaft up with the nock of your choice, measure from the nock bed, to find the length you want to cut and mark that on the shaft. Then set the saw to cut to that length, judging by the mark on the shaft. Simple.
Apart from anything else, the exact length is going to vary, depending on the nocks you use.
 

caspian

Member
I don't cut my arrows with the nock in, I cut them shaft-shaft. variable nock length is precisely why I can't see why we stick to this outdated practice, and that's before variable point length is taken into account.

I replaced the stick-on scale because it was well over 1/2" out which was ridiculous. I don't use it for precision length setting, but for the sake of $5 and a few minutes work it was worth having as a coarse adjustment scale.
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
Yes, I'd agree with cutting without a nock in (also removes the likelihood variation in cutting length because you seated a nock incorrectly). But you measure the length with a nock in, for a number of reasons; because that's how the charts work, sometimes you want to match the length of an existing shaft, and sometimes you want the same length with different nocks.
But you only need the nock for as long as it takes to mark the shaft for cutting.
 
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