Lapp Hoffman PERBISICAL EDUCATION FOR HEALTH f+? ~ Readio Program — Jar. "archery Tackle, Its Care and | Selection" (Dr. VOW. Lapp, Dept. of Physical Bducation, and Mr. Gordon Hoffman, Devt. of Chemistry) Before one can take archery seriously it is necessary to have some equipment; namely, a bow, arrows, an armguard or bracer, a shooting glove or tab, a quiver anda target. In addition, a pouch is de« Sirable for carrying a spare bow string, the shooting tab, and a note pade In the archer's terminology, the items just sont ened are oall-~ ed "tackle". ‘Tonight we have with us Mr. Gordon Hoffmen, who can be considered an expert in this line because for a number of years he has made archery tackle, both as a hobbyist and as a commercial artisan. I am going to ask him to discuss bows as the first item on our list. . In order to make the discussion of bows more understandable, it is necessary to define a few terms. First, the back is the outer or convex surface of the bow when drawn, usually flat or nearly s0. Second, the belly is the inner or consave surface of the bow when drawn. Third, the limbs are the upper and lower halves of the bow, Fourth, the handle is the middle portion or grip. Fifth, the weight of the bow is the tensile strength at full draw, expressed in poinds, and is not the actyal weight of the bow. Bows may be made of wood, horn,and sinew (called composite bows) and of stell. Stell bows do not break easily but are somewhat harsh in action and are not widely usede Composite bows are usually made of a thin layer of wood, to once side of which is glued pieces of horn from water buffalo or yaks; this side then becomes the belly of the bow; to the other side is glued shredded sinew, and this becomes the back of the bow. Composite bows are usually very short and strongly reflexede By far the most widely used are bows made of woods The woods most generally used are Yew, Osage Orange (commonly known as hedge), and Degame (or lemon- wood), in the order of their excellence, Other woods sometigies used are hickory, lancewood, snakewood, bamboo and otherse Yew is the bow=vood of song and story, and Yew bows command good prices ranging from a low of #12 - $15 for C grade bows to 825 for grade A bowse Exceptionally fine bows are sometimes sold for much higher prices é For quickness of cast and smoothness of draw Yew cannot be beatene Yew bows should have a layer of the creamy sapwood about 1/4 inch thick on the back, or perhaps a backing of some other tough nine usually hickory. The heartwood is a beautiful reddish br’ Osage Orange is a bow-wood of the highest order, and i. ‘ele able for lnting, but for target work good Yew is to be preferred. The most serviccable wood for low-priced bows is lemonwood, Lemonwood bows are not so quick in cast and are heavier in the hand than Yew or Osage Orange, but are far less expensive. They have a smooth pleasant draw and if properly made are free from handle jar. Lemonwood makes an excellent bow, even for tournament shootings Hickory bows follow the string badly, have a very poor cast, and are little if any cheaper than lemonwood, Bows in general may be of two types, the long bow and the flat bow, or may be a combination of the two. The flat bow is somewhat shorter than the long bow, but is wider and not so deep from back to belly. The flat bows generally have smoother draw and quicker cast, Lapp and are less liable to break. . Bows may be backed with a thin layer of clarified calfskin or fiber to protect the back from being scratch- ede A fiber backing, however, is too inelastic and interferes with the —— action of the bow and ray cut dowm the smoothness of draw “there is a difference between defects twida’ ‘bow and deficiencies. The former exist in nearly every stave and must be compensated for by the bowyer whon making the bow. Deficioncics rey be of commission or of omission. Knots, pins, and small worm holes in the belly can be noutralized by raising or drilling out as a dentist drills out a decayed tooth, and inserting a "Dutchman", or plug. The back is most - important. Almost any defcct may be compensated for if the back is goode Bowstaves are like people; those grown in protected localities, though beautiful to l@ok at, are often weak and supple and lack char- acter, whereas those who have had to struggle for an oxistenco ofton come through scarred and unsightly, but are made of sterner stuff, Osage Orange and Yew bows may be somewhat crooked and wavy, for thoy are made so that the profile follows the natural flow of the grain. Lemonwood bows, however, are syumotrical and pleasing to the cyc. Bows should be made so that they are quite stiff and bulky in ‘the handle, but bend in an otherwise evon, graceful are from the handle section to the tipse. The working strains aro thus evenly distributed and the probability of breaking is at a minimum. A hinged bow is one that has a sharp bend or "hinge" in ono or both limbs. This places most of the strain in one place, increasing the chance of breakages A whip-cnded bow is stiff in the conter and for several inches above and below the handle, but bends evenly from there to the tips. Whip-. ended bows are pleasant to use, and are of good cast but are prone to casy splintering in the back and have an accentuated tendency to follow tho stings’ A bow that bonds in the handle may describe the "perfect arc" of the poets, but will kick unmorcifully and be very disagreoable to use. The handle may be made of velvet, plush, leather, or cords the material may vary but should be comfortable and firme The string,. usually of linen, should bo strong cnough for the bow, but should not be too heavy as this markedly decreascs the cast of the bowe Absolute lack of stretching is an imperative quality for any bow string. | Mr. Hoffman has told you a good deal about bows and their construction, and while he is catching his breath, I shall say a few words about their selections When picking out a commertial bow, hove the sales- man pull the bow to a full draw several times. If it wil] stand this test you can be sure that it will not immediately break after you leave the store. This test should be applied by the salesman because commercial houses will not guaranteo a bow against breakage after it leaves their place of business. After it is yours, take care that it is never dravm beyond the point of your normal draws Do not make the mistake of buying a bow that is too strong. Ordinarily men should not take up the sport with a bow woighing more than 42-45 poundss Most womon will start with bows between 20-30 poundse A bow that is too strong will cost the shooter in mie loss of form, and accuracye The principal factor in the care of a bow is to see that it is nover overdrawme It is said that a bow fully draw is 7/8 breken and for the novice this cannot be over-omphasized. In stringing the Hoffman bow one should nover place the lower tip om the ground and pugh the upper tip dow, nor bend the bow with the kmce. Always watch strangers and do not let them handle your bow, unless you are certain that thoy know waut thoy ave about. A now bow and old ones that have not been used for scme time, should be strung with care and broken in gently by drawing and relaxing the string for progressively longer and long- er draws util the full drew has been reached. Do not loose any bow from the full draw position without an arrow on the string. Bows should never be left near steam pipes, radiators or other sources of artificial heat and they should always te wstrumg when you put them AWAY Now that Mr. Hoffman is rested I'll ask him to discuss arrows for use Arrows are the most exacting of the archor's g@quipment. Arrows are of two types; "solf" made of a single stick of wood, and "footed" | which have a hardwood “footing" or foreshaft glued to the front of a shaft of a lighter woods A chosted arrow is heavy at the neck, | then tapers gradually toward the "pile”™ or pointe A bob-tailed arrow is the reverse of the chested arrow. A barroled arrow is smaller at both ends and slightly larger in the middle. Cylindrical arrows are the type generally used, For the begimner birch arrows are good be- cuase thoy will stand a lot of abuse, but thoy tend to warp casilys The woods most widely used are Port Orford Codar, Norway Pino and - Sitka Spruce. Norway Pine is considerod the king of arrow woods, but it is difficult to obtain the true species. Port Orford Cedar is an ideal wood and is gonorally used. Thore are other excellent woods for arrow making. Footings may be made of Beofwood, Purple- heart, Lomomwood, or stained Hickorye Fine arrows are matched for woight, straightness, spine (or stiffness) and for grouping on the target. An arrow that is too stiff will have a tendency to shoot to the loft. é In regard to the feathers, the arrow may be fletched straight, or spirally so that the arrow spins like a rifle bullet in flight.. Spirally fletched arrows will have a smoother flight than the straight feathered arrows, but on the other hand, they will hide a bad loose, while a straight feathored arrow will expose it so that it may be correcteds The feathers used (usually the pointer feathers from the turkey) may be either cut or stripped. The cut feathers are prepared by pare ing off the quill to leave a stiff foundation, while the stripped feathers are merely peeled from the quill. Cut vanes are more dur- able and stand out perpondicular to the shaft while stripped foathers lean over at a slight angle. It is important that all the feathers be aligned in the same direction or the arrow will wobble and stagger like a drunken sailor. The arrow nock is the notch into which the bow string is placed and it is well to have some sort of reenforeement here, else the arrow will split casilys This nock roenfercoment may be metely a thin fiber insert, a wedgo of horn, fiber, or hard-wood, or it may be a tubular shaped picce of fiber or netal glued on the arrow shaft. Cheap arrows are frequently made with bullot jackets for points’ but these are objectionable in that there is a tendency to kick tho shaft to tho left if the full length of the arrow is dravm in aiming. Dre Lapp Mr. Hoffmon Dre Lapp Mre Hoffman woh The standard point is the parallel pile turned from steel or brass rodse Arrow longth is important, os short arrows cramp the archor and do not get the most out of the bow, while long ones overtax the bow and make the archer extond beyond comfort. The arrow length determines the length of the bow, the bow doos not determine the leugth of the arrow. Tho correct arrow length should be detormined by the shooter at full drawe Dr. Lavp, will vou mention some of the factors to be consid. ered in the purchase and care of arrows? In tho buying of commercial arrows one should first look for straightness, A serics of small curves does no Breat harn, but a single wide bend should not be accepted. A good test for straightness is to spin the arrow between the nails of tho thumb ‘and second finger. If the arrow hops off, it should be rejected. Arrows, however, may become warped with use. To straighten these, heat the bent portion, taking care not to scotch the shaft, bend it carefully to straighten it, and hold it in this position till the wood is set. Arrows warp less if stored in an upright posit- Lone Arrows range in price from $3.00 per dozen for cheap birch, to $16 = $18 por dozon for matched footed arrows which are machine tested to group in the gold at 60 yardse Mr. Hoffman, we have govered bows and arrows rather thoroughly. How about the other tackle necessary for shooting? An arm-guard is necessary to prevent bruising or lacerating the left forcarm. Theoretically this should not be needed since the bow should be so held that the string will not strike the wrist, but even the top notch archers find an arm guard necessarye A service quiver is 2 most convenient accessorye It should be light and deep enough to hold the arrows from falling out. The quiver should be fairly rigid so that the arrows are casily in- sorted and removed. Any sort of receptacle that will answer the purpose will dod’ Yin. He Palmer, the 1936 ‘champion, appeared at the 1925 tournanent with a long pastoboard box stuffed into one of his wifets stockings which was fastened to his waistband with a large safety pine Good finger tips or a satisfactory shooting glove are essente jal to good resutts, These should be made of reasonably stiff, smooth leather. If tips are too thick and hard the string cannot bo folt through the leather and the loose will be uncertaine The target boss (the backing for the face) may be made of coiled straw or marsh griss. and objections on the part of somes However, I strongly suspect that most of tho dostructive critic¢isa Saucy is s0 prevalent comes from those who have not ‘Sakon part in waat thoy are criticising, As a matter of fact, this point was made by o class of deans of women in a Teachers College who took the souse in sow...) dancing primarily to learn how to judge and guide the expression in she social dance among their students. After loarning all the prevailing fads in turns, hops and intriguing twists, they admitted that vhey appreciated for the first time the sheer joy that was to be dorivec from the rhythmic responses which they had previously so harshly scn~ demned. After this experionce they were willing to accept the modern departures from the old fashioned waltz without any further justificat- jon of their popularity than the sheer fun of doing theme | It is a woll known fact that we distrust the unknown and I suppose the. t accounts for the fact that each new style of dancing has immediately outraged the public, which remains os 4 whole, resistant to change in any field of endeavore The fact that fashions in dancing change so rapidly may have something to do with the reluctance of many teachers to attempt to keep informed in the currently popular dances.e Yes, one of my friends teaching a high school class in social dancing was confronted with the request of students who wanted to be taught the shage She later confided to me that only a week before she had spoken to the P.T.A. on "The Awkward Age" but not until the moment of this ro~ quest was she ever aware of having reached it. But whether we teach the waltz or the shag, the importance of helping young people to make a successful adjustments to all of life mst not be forgotteme "The teacher remains, potentially, the artist of character."