Photos and Information.

UPDATE!

After building a saw and trying it out, it doesn't work well at all. The motor really bogs down when trying to cut even a small wooden dowel. I can imagine what would happen to an aluminum or carbon arrow!

So, I had to order a commercial arrow saw. Here's a picture of it.

It's made by American Archery Products

The original saw project is still here. I'll leave it on the page for a while.

 After shelling out big bucks for a dozen custom made carbon arrows I decided it would be cheaper to make my own. I started pricing things and learning how make my own arrows. The price of some arrow saws I found on the internet and in catalogs were unbelievable!  Then I ran across some pictures where a few guys had made their own using a cheap Harbor Freight mini cutoff saw, item number 42307, $20 on sale plus shipping.

 I used the ideas I saw on the internet with a few modifications of my own. I had most of the pieces in my spare parts storage (junk box) and ordered the saw from Harbor Freight and five (5) correct abrasive cut off blades ($9 bucks) on e-Bay.

 I had a piece of 1/2" thick x 3/4" wide aluminum "T" track lying around, a chunk of hard nylon left over from other projects, that plus a knob, T track slot bolt, small rubber donut, wood screws, and some stick on measuring tape. The tape I had is only single 1 foot sections and it reads the wrong way so I turned it upside down. A proper 36" inch tape that reads right to left is on order. That will add a few bucks to the total cost.

 Here are the pictures of my approach. Total cost is around $40 bucks. I mounted everything on a scrap piece of MDF. It measures 40" inches long, 4 1/2" inches wide and 3/4" inch thick. I didn't router in the T track as some guys had done, I just mounted it on top.  The nylon block is 11/16" thick and I cut a groove in the bottom for it to slide on the top of the T track without touching the wood base. The thickness left on top of the track is 1/4" and that brought the arrow almost exactly level when lying in the saw vise.

 The rubber donut adds some friction to the hold down knob to keep it from working loose. I drilled a small hole in the nylon block and pressed in the steel shank of a Pop Rivet to act as the nock pin. The hole for the slot bolt is 5/16". YMMV.  After getting the nylon block and measuring tape all configured, I stuck in an arrow of known length and located the spot on the block that indicated that length on the tape. Then I carefully cut a notch in the leading corner to point to that measurement on the tape with the arrow correctly positioned in the saw vise.

 I can't wait to try it out. Here are a few more pictures to help understand the layout.

I'll add the proper tape measure when I get it. Here are four spare cutoff blades, they replace the metal saw blade. I also added a couple pieces of "L" shaped metal with good quality skate board bearings attached for arrow testing. Works great!

Now to finish the bow press.