Construction of the Saint Artemas combat arrow nock begins with the purchase of 1 1/4 inch diameter ramin wood doweling. This Asian hardwood is an inexpensive and dense wood readily available at most home improvement centers and hardware stores. The milling processes below are relatively simple but requires the use of a 10 inch table saw, several dado blade and milling sets, and a 10 inch carbide-tipped saw blade that makes a 1/8 inch wide cut. Also needed is a disk or belt sanding machine, a drill press and a few hand tools. There are several milling jigs that were manufactured before large scale production could begin, though small batches could be done a little more crudely by hand by a skilled woodworker without them.

Milling Jigs Used

Four jigs were constructed to facilitate accurate milling. While all the required cuts could be made by hand, doing so can be an imprecise and potentially dangerous milling process. The dowel is difficult to hold in the proper position by hand and it can easily twist slightly making for a wider notch than intended. A hand-milled nock will also lack the smooth curving cut that permits the bowstring to fit the nock when drawn, allowing for a more uniform pressure on the arrow as it is propelled forward at its release.

The first jig used was a vertical board made to slide in a frame above and in line with the saw blade and was used to make the string notch. The entire jig frame was wedged to the saw’s fence. A block was cut from 2x4 approximately 10 inches long, and a groove milled along its long axis and centered 1 inch deep by 1 1/4 inch wide. This cut was made such that the doweling will fit snugly in place during milling. A 1/4 inch pivot hole is drilled in the center of the groove 1 inch from the end of the block and counter-sunk to fit a 1/4 counter-sunk bolt. A matching 1/4 inch hole in the block mounted on the plywood index 1 1/2 inches above the plywood surface. The end of the pivoting block needs to be cut in a curve sufficient to allow it to clear the deck of the plywood without catching. Two small stop blocks were mounted on the vertical sliding deck in front and behind the pivoting block at roughly 45 degree angles from the vertical to start and end the stroke when cutting the nock groove. Lastly, a small block was mounted on the milled, 1 1/4 inch grooved pivot block to serve as a length guide for the dowels as they are milled. This small block protrudes only 1/4 inch across the end of the groove to provide a ‘shoulder’ to hold the ramin wood dowel length the correct height above the saw blade. Bolt the pivot block to the block mounted on the index deck with the 1/4 bolt. Ramin wood doweling varies slightly in diameter. Layers of duct tape were used to pad the groove to insure the dowel was seated firmly in place and centered over the saw blade. A 10 inch diameter carbide-tipped saw blade was used to make the 1/8 wide notch.

A second jig was made to mill the finger grooves on the sides of each nock. The jig base was made by mounting two index strips on the bottom of a small piece of 1/4 or 3/8 inch plywood. On the top of this base, two 3/4 by 1 inch strips, roughly 6 inches long, were mounted perpendicular to the saw blade 1 1/4 inches apart (or so the dowel will fit snugly). A fence block was also mounted parallel to the saw blades 1 1/4 inches to the left of the left edge of the milling dadoes. This served to put the 1 inch finger groove at the correct distance from each end of the dowel. A specialized milling head, mounting three blades 1 inch wide with a 1/4 inch curve on the exposed corners, was mounted on the table saw. The milling head had to be set so it would cut a groove approximately 3/8 inch deep into the sides of the nock. In the fence block, a 1/8 inch cut was centered vertically. Inserted into this cut is a 1/8 wide metal strip to index into the previously cut string nock. It protruded 3/16 of an inch so the nocks will lock firmly in place. The jig has a groove cut in the deck to allow the milling head to run in far enough to make the finger groove. A stop block on the back end of the jig hangs over the saw’s deck to keep the jig from being pulled back to far on to the milling head when the jig ws pulled back into its starting position.

A third jig was made to cut the 1/8 inch deep rabbet to fit the inside diameter of the siloflex tubing the nocks will be mounted on. This jig’s base was the same as the base of the second jig. A fence block was mounted 2 1/4 inches from the right edge of the 3/4 inch dado heads mounted on the table saw. Two perpendicular guide blocks are mounted to the jig base to hold the dowel to be milled firmly in place. The space between these two perpendicular guides needs to be exactly centered at the top of the dado heads when against this stop block. The jig deck was cut out just enough to allow it to be dropped over the dado heads such that they protrude 1/8 inch above the jig deck, but still clear the dado blades at their highest point. A stop block to the rear jig to allowed it to move only a short distance on to the dado heads from the front. A dowel with a 1/8 inch metal index across the end was made long enough to allow it to reach off the left side of the table saw’s deck. This is used to rotate the dowel piece as it is cut all the way around the middle of the dowel. A hinged, fitted ‘feather’ or guide was mounted so it would clamp the dowel in place while allowing it to be rotated on it axis while centered at the top of the dado cut. The dowel was then removed and rotated end-for-end to make a second dado cut.

A fourth jig was made to hold the cut nocks vertically for drilling. The hole drilled is ‘stepped’ to give the maximum lightening of the nock without compromising its strength. A special drill was made to drill a 1 inch lower portion of the hole at 3/8 inch in diameter, with an upper portion for another 1 inch at 5/8 inch in diameter. The jig consists of a 2x4 inch block roughly 6 inches in length anchored to a base made of plywood. A vertical hole was drilled into the 2x4 1 1/4 inches in diameter to hold the nearly completed nocks vertically. As the diameter of the ramin wood varies slightly, even on the same dowel, a 3/4 block of pine was also drilled to 1 1/4 inches and a 3/64 inch slot cut into the hole along the grain to provide a relief. The two blocks were screwed together with the 1 1/4 holes aligned. A small ‘C’ clamp was placed so it could squeeze the gap 3/64 gap closed in the 3/4 inch block to clamp looser nocks firmly in place. Then the entire jig was clamped on the drill press table, with additional ‘C’ clamps, and carefully aligned so the stepped hole would be drilled exactly centered. The depth of the hole was set by drilling a 5/8 inch hole through a small block of wood that was slid over the stepped drill bit so the hole could not be drilled deeper than the required two inches with the bit inserted up into the chuck as deeply as possible.

Rough Cutting the Dowels

The milling process is begun by cutting the dowel stock into 5 7/8 inch long sections. Pieces shorter than 5 7/8 inches in length were put aside for milling at only one of their ends.

Milling the Nock Cut

Using jig one, insert a 5 7/8 inch long piece of ramin wood stock in the pivoting block firmly against the stop block in the groove with the grain of the wood perpendicular to the axis of the blade. Holding the dowel firmly, run the vertical sliding deck of the jig into the blade until you hit the 45 degree angle stop block at the back of the jig frame. Pivot the block forward to the 45 degree angle block at the front of the jig to complete the curved nock cut. This pivoting motion creates a curved cut that neatly fits a bowstring. Back the jig out of the blade far enough to safely remove the 5 7/8 inch dowel from the pivot block. Reverse the dowel (turn it end for end) so you can make a cut in the opposite end across the grain. Set the dowel aside and cut two grooves in the ends of all your 6 inch dowel segments. Lastly, carefully cut any dowel pieces shorter than 5 7/8 inches such that they get the 3/8 inch deep curved groove in one end of each short dowel.

Milling the Finger Grooves

Mount the three-bladed milling head for the finger grooves on the table saw. Set the height of the milling head to make an approximately 3/8 inch deep groove. Using jig two, insert and index the previously cut nock groove on to the jig. Run the cut into the milling head to the stop and pull it back to a safe distance. Remove the 5 7/8 inch dowel stock, turn it over and reindex it into the jig. Run the dowel back over the milling head until you reach the stop block. Pull the jig back again to a safe distance. Remove the dowel stock from the jig and reinsert it so as to cut both grooves the opposite end. Once you complete all the full length dowel stocks, run the one end of those dowels that are short.

Cutting the Rabett

Using jig three, insert the dowel stock across the dado head cut with the dowel firmly pushed up against the right-side stop block. to begin you rabbet and then rotate the dowel a full 360 degrees to complete it. A second cut is made working from the opposite end to complete the rabbet. For short piece being made into a single nock, make only one rabbet cut on the dado heads. As there isn’t a second notched end to index on while pressed up against a fence, insert a spacer block of the correct length so the rabbet is cut at the correct distance from the notched end.

Please note: If the nocks are being made to mount on golftubes, skip this step completely.

Cutting the Milled Dowel Stock into Nocks

The 5 7/8 inch dowels are now ready to be split into two nocks. Using a table saw and index, or a crosscut or chop saw, carefully cut the milled dowels in the exact center to split them into two separate pieces. Short dowels are cut to length matching the length of those that are split into two.

Drilling the Nocks

After cutting the nocks into individual pieces, each one is placed in jig four. The separated nock pieces are inserted into the fourth jig with the rabbet end up. The clamp is opened and closed as needed to hold the nocks firmly during the drilling process. The stepped drill is run down until the block covering the bit bottoms out against the end of the nock.

Finishing the Nocks

The nocks now need to be chamfered around the back end to provide a roughly 45 degree angle, approximately 1/8 inch wide across the finished face. This is to reduce the potential protrusion into face grills and to eliminate a sharp corner. This is done on a belt sanding machine by hand.
The nock cut is also hand finished by cutting the corners off the end of the string notch with a chisle or utility knife.

Nocks that are to be mounted on golftubes are not rabetted. Golftube nocks are instead tapered at the tube end so they jam into the golftube approximately 3/4 of an inch. A sanding machine is used to slightly taper the completed nock so it can be easily started on to a golftube.

The Author:
Ingilborg Sigmundardottir is an 11th century Norsewoman. Her husband died long ago on a campaign, and her fair daughter sailed away on a longship to be wedded to a brave Viking prince. She spends her crone years as an accomplished healer, birthing the babies of her village and tending wounded warriors of all types. She contemplates the White Christ, whose teachings she finds sensible and fascinating. She is known as a very accomplished archer, meadmaker, and Healer. She lives away from her village in the surrounding forest and is rarely seen among the villagers, but is intensely loyal to them and offers the services of her bow whenever her village is threatened. Her cottage is rich with plants of all types and she keeps the company of wolves, and the wiser of the villagers know that in times of extreme, she is quite capable of running with them whenever necessary.

Roberta Ashley is a 21st century Norsewoman, a very accomplished anesthetist who is all too often seen in the hallways of various healing institutions in the City of Angels, where she assists in the birthing of babies and the tending of wounded warriors of all types. She is an accomplished archer, meadmaker, and practices in her spare time a very ancient form of Eastern hands-on healing when it is needed. Her cottage in the more remote canyons of the San Gabriel Mountains is rich with plants of all types and she keeps the company of two rescued captive bred wolves, Cheyenne and Mai-Coh. The wiser of her colleagues know that in times of extreme, she is probably quite capable of running with them whenever necessary.