© Mike Stringer and Caroline Hayes 1996

THE POINTS

(LRP foam arrow/crossbow bolt heads)

There are two grades of foam from which you can successfully make LRP arrow heads. Both are a material known as closed cell, cross linked Polyethylene (PY) foam. The first more preferable grade, is often sold under the trade name of "Plastazote". It is normally sold in convenient 1 x 2 metre sheets of varying thickness from specific suppliers

NB:- 25 millimetre (mm) is the thickness that you will require.

The density of this foam, just like the thickness, can vary greatly. The Plastazote range is tremendous. You will require a 25mm sheet of Plastazote with a density of 45kg/m3. This translates as forty five kilograms per cubic metre of density.

Plastazote is a medium soft foam, resilient, easy to carve and hard wearing. If given the choice I would advise against using "Evazote" foam. Evazote is very similar to Plastazote, but it is slightly more "rubbery" and therefore far more difficult to carve, and possesses no real advantages.

The second choice is camping mat foam or "Karimat" as it is often known. Karimat is supplied in rolls from camping stores and is a reasonable alternative to Plastazote. Although it is basically the same material, it is thinner (usually about 10mm thick) and softer in density. If you are not making many arrows, and you can not afford to buy a full sheet of Plastazote, a Karimat will suffice. The process of making foam Arrow Heads using Karimat is a little more time consuming, but good results can be achieved with care.

I will explain the method of making one LRP foam arrow head using plastazote as follows.

Arrow heads in Plastazote.

If available, place a plastic cap on the end of the arrow shaft where you are building the head. Make sure the cap is a tight fit. Glue on the cap by dipping the end of the shaft in some "Evo-Stik" contact adhesive (or similar) before pushing on the cap. Ensure that it is pushed on fully! The cap helps to spread the load exerted by the shaft against the inside face of the foam head under impact. The cap also reduces any sharp edges around the end of the shaft, and increases the glueing area onto which the foam is applied. The shaft however should have been cut flat and clean with no splinters or sharp edges at all.

DO NOT BUILD A FOAM HEAD AROUND AN ARROW WITH A METAL POINT ON IT!

If you can't get hold of any suitable caps, don't worry. Providing you follow all of this guide properly, your arrows should be sufficiently safe. I would not really advise that you use rubber blunts in place of a plastic cap. They tend to be big and heavy, and difficult to build the foam around properly.

There is one advantage to rubber blunts. If a foam head is built around one, providing the blunt is glued onto the arrow shaft, the likelihood of anyone becoming impaled by that arrow in combat, if the foam were to fall apart is very slight indeed. Being badly bruised is better than having your vital organs punctured!

DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO BUILD HEADS ONTO RUBBER BLUNTS AS A METHOD OF MAKING REMOVABLE LRP ARROW HEADS. IF AN ARROW HEAD IS REMOVABLE, IT STANDS TO REASON THAT IT CAN COME OFF AT ANY TIME!

To begin with, using a ruler and ball point pen, mark out three 50mm squares on a sheet of 25mm thick Plastazote foam. With a craft knife (the snap off kind that will extend a couple of inches and lock) and a steel ruler, carefully cut out all the blocks. Do not use an aluminium ruler, as the metal is quite soft and the knife can tend to cut into it and subsequently cut into you. DO NOT RUSH. Keep your knife sharp at all times. A blunt knife is far more dangerous than a sharp one, as you have to use more force to make it cut. Even blunt knives cut skin very well if your knife slips during carving! The "Kitchen Devil" knife sharpeners are very useful for sharpening craft knives.

Put to one side one of the blocks for use later on in padding the end of the head. You will be left with two other 50mm square blocks, these pieces will make up the sides of the conical arrow head. Cut a 'V' groove the width of the arrow shaft being used, and half as deep in the middle of each of these two blocks . This provides a location joint for the two halves of the head to glue onto the end of the arrow shaft.

Moving on...Turn on your hot melt glue gun, and allow it to warm up for a couple of minutes....

WARNING!

HOT GLUE IF DROPPED ON THE SKIN WILL NOT ONLY HURT A LOT, BUT YOU'LL LOOSE A COUPLE OF LAYERS OF SKIN AND THE BURN WILL HURT FOR SOME TIME!...BE CAREFUL. IF YOU GET ANY HOT GLUE ON YOU, RUB IT OFF QUICKLY WITH YOUR FINGERS STRAIGHT AWAY. YES THIS DOES WORK! YOU'LL NEVER HAVE TIME TO GET TO THE COLD WATER TAP IN THE FIRST PLACE, BUT DO IT AS SOON AS YOU HAVE REMOVED THE GLUE. KEEP THE AFFECTED AREA UNDER THE COLD RUNNING WATER FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES, AND THIS WILL MINIMISE THE DAMAGE AND PAIN!

Next, Spread contact adhesive on the faces (*) only, of the two blocks with the grooves in, and allow to dry.

Spread a line of hot melt glue in the 'V' groove of one block and place onto the end of an arrow shaft level with the top of the cap. Hot glue the 'V' of the second block and place against the first block with the (*) faces together (as shown). Press both pieces firmly together. The contact adhesive will hold the two halves together, whilst the hot glue cools. The hot glue will hold the blocks very strongly on the shaft, and it also has good gap filling qualities if the 'V' grooves are a little too big.

NB:- When using contact adhesive (Evo), treat all PY foam as a non absorbent surface; ie, using a spatula, spread a thin even layer of glue on both surfaces to be joined, and leave to touch dry for a few minutes, then carefully position and press firmly together.

DO NOT USE HOT GLUE TO BOND THE BLOCKS TOGETHER! THE JOINT WILL NOT BE AS ACCURATE, AND IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO CARVE THROUGH.

If you can't get hold of a glue gun, you can glue the heads to the shaft using "Evo". In these circumstances, ensure that the 'V' groove is a good tight fit around the arrow shaft when the two blocks are face to face. When spreading "Evo" on faces (*), also spread it in the groove. Remember, only spread a thin even layer. More glue does not mean more sticking power! Spread "Evo" along the first two inches of the end of the shaft including the plastic cap if available. Allow it all to touch dry for a few minutes, and assemble as described above.

	Using your craft knife, almost at full extension and locked, carefully slice the corners of the 50mm square block you now have on the end of the arrow shaft. Cut all the corners from the octagon now created. You will then be left with an approximate cylinder, which requires some bulk removing from it.
	Carefully, slicing a small amount at a time, trim the circular shape, tapering back the foam head down to the arrow shaft. You should now have a cylindrical cone left on the end of the arrow shaft. Ensure that you do not cut into the arrow shaft when doing this, as you will cause a stress raiser, weaken the head, and therefore it will be more likely to break off during use! For obvious reasons, this can be very dangerous.
IMPORTANT!	To prevent the shaft from forcing its way through the end padding foam due to the impact incurred during shooting, cut out a 50mm diameter circle or square of thick rubber (car inner tube) and glue it over the end of the cone shaped head. This may be done with "Evo-Stik" contact adhesive in the usual way, but hot melt glue is preferable as it bonds extremely well, and adds an additional plastic/barrier between the end of the arrow shaft and the foam padding. A two pence piece is also a good substitute for rubber if you have any difficulty in obtaining it, use hot glue to hold a 2p piece in place if possible. Ensure the 2p piece is quite warm to prevent the hot glue chilling too quickly, and therefore not sticking.

"GAFFA TAPE", MATERIAL, LEATHER (unless it is very thick and strong) OR FOAM ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE AS A REPLACEMENT FOR THICK RUBBER, THEY SIMPLY ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH. DO NOT USE A PIECE OF ORDINARY METAL WHICH MAY HAVE SHARP EDGES. DO NOT USE PLASTIC SHEET WHICH MAY CRACK.

IF IN DOUBT, SEEK ADVICE!

	Using "Evo" contact adhesive, glue onto the end of the cone, (with the rubber in place) the 50mm block of foam left aside earlier (or the double-thick Karrimat square).
	Following the shape of the cone, carefully cut the foam block into a circular shape with a craft knife. Ensure that you do not get the knife at an awkward angle, otherwise your arrow head will be far less than even in shape. A carefully cut, neat arrow head will fly far more accurately than an off centre "lump".
	Finally cut a 50mm square of upholstery/sponge foam, about 10mm thick (thicker if you wish). Using contact adhesive, glue this onto the end of the head. With a pair of scissors, or a sharp craft knife, trim the square of sponge to follow the cylindrical shape of the arrow head. This foam is not essential, but does help greatly to act as a buffer, and take out the initial impact of the arrow when being shot.

That's it....All you have to do is practice, and follow this procedure for any amount of arrows you wish to create.

Finishing Touches

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