Fletching Your Own Arrows

[Allegheny Tom]

Thinking about building my own arrows in the off season after 2020 is closed.

Questions are, how are helical fletchings, how hard are they to glue on, and how much twist is the sweet spot?

Follow up: Does helical style fletchings increase arrow accuracy as rifling increases bullet accuracy? I would think so...
- How do helical fletchings shoot from a drop away rest? (QAD HDX)
- Does it make it harder to "true" an arrow with them?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys! Please keep the "Idk, but probably" responses to a minimum. I am looking for facts from someone experienced in building arrows at home.

Any suggestions on equipment to buy to aid me in my arrow builds would also be appreciated. Such as fletching jigs, glues, balancers, etc.
View attachment 32659

Are you talking feathers or vanes? If its feathers, then the helical has to match the wing of the feather...right wing feather needs a right helical clamp. You can't use a left clamp to glue right wing feathers.
Vanes don't require a specific clamp.
What shaft material will you shoot? Aluminum shafts have no stiff side so you can just glue in any orientation but carbon do have a stiff side. You should determine where the stiff side is and orient each arrow identically. Most guys start with gluing the cock feather on the stiff side of the shaft.
Wood arrows also need to have feathers oriented to the grain of the wood. But there is a right side and a wrong side with wood...relates to the hazard of a shaft breaking upon release and causing the break to injure the shooter's bow arm.
Ive shot 5" helical feathers for a long time.
This year. I'm shooting a 4" A&A feather glued straight.
They stabilize broadheads fine on a tuned arrow and they shoot much quieter.
IMO, helical do not shoot as quietly...an important consideration.

 

[JBDaddy]

Nobody mentioned the boil-on quick fletch? Anyone try them? Sure is easy.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[heretic]

The further back your fletchings are the more mechanical advantage it has to do its job and steer your arrow true. The trade-off being face contact if they're too far back. I could definitely get away with fletching further back but I'm getting great arrow flight with they way they are now so I don't worry about it too much.

 

[MathewsMan7]

Thanks for all of the info and insight guys! I just learned a lot and got pointed in the right direction to start my research with opinions in my head.

I will try different options in the off season!

Next question, any difference in going a little more forward with the vanes? Benefits? Cons? Thanks!

The closer you run them to the nock, the more steerage you will get...but you have to make sure to not run them too far back that you get facial contact when at full draw...it’s best to draw a bare shaft and have a buddy mark on the arrow where the back of the fletching should be so it never contacts your face and then set your jig up to fletch all of your arrows that distance...as close to the nock as possible without getting facial contact. There’s your answer.

 

[Aaronpaul14]

Nobody mentioned the boil-on quick fletch? Anyone try them? Sure is easy.

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I’ve used them.. never had a problem and def was better than the stock vanes on my old arrows. I probably have 6 different packages laying around of different colors and styles. Think I’m going to try the zinger fletches this year though.

 

[HuntNorthEast]

Nobody mentioned the boil-on quick fletch? Anyone try them? Sure is easy.

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I've tried them and was not a fan at all. Seems cheap and in accurate.

 

[HuntNorthEast]

The closer you run them to the nock, the more steerage you will get...but you have to make sure to not run them too far back that you get facial contact when at full draw...it’s best to draw a bare shaft and have a buddy mark on the arrow where the back of the fletching should be so it never contacts your face and then set your jig up to fletch all of your arrows that distance...as close to the nock as possible without getting facial contact. There’s your answer.

Makes sense, will do!

 

[woodsdog2]

You'll do fine with any of the jigs mentioned. I have used my bitz for over thirty years. You can adjust the degree of offset even with the helical clamp you just have to make sure the base of the vane or feather is seated appropriately along its entire length on the shaft. If I'm setting up a different diameter shaft for the first time, I actually put the shaft in the jig and the fletch I'm going to use in the clamp and make all of my adjustments ahead of time with a "dry run." The set up is strong so get everything clamped in and then pick the jig up and look at all sides especially underneath to make sure the base of the vane or feather is seated along the shaft properly. With short vanes like blazers you can still put a helical on them but it isn't as pronounced as longer vanes in my experience. I am trying the fusion Q2 I vanes this year made for bowhunting. I still use bohning's fletch-tite glue and have never had issues. I used to alcohol prep the base of my vanes back in the day but you don't have to do that now. But I always wipe the shaft area down with isopropyl alcohol before fletching. You can use acetone too but some worry it effects carbon shafts. I have a right clamp and a left clamp and three different nock receivers but I always go back to my old school roots of left helical just because I was taught as a RH archer you want the arrow to steer away from the riser. I know that is/was more of a concern for non- centershot cut risers but it just makes sense to me. Try and experiment with what you find that works for you. Any concerns with your tips loosening when shooting, and really in my experience, they all loosen... I have always put some bohning text-tite bowstring wax on the threads of my tips to keep them from loosening up. A quick and easy way to keep everything secure without glues or anything.

 

[woodsdog2]

With all that said in my previous post, I think I am going to also experiment with zingers this year. I haven't ordered any yet but I watched DIY Sportsman's review of them and AJA's review and they sound really promising, especially to orient your fletchings to your nock tuned bare shafts without the guesswork of making sure the stiff side is in the proper orientation to your rest etc. If we all went back to aluminums we wouldn't have to worry about the nock tuning as you do with carbons.

 

[Weldabeast]

With all that said in my previous post, I think I am going to also experiment with zingers this year. I haven't ordered any yet but I watched DIY Sportsman's review of them and AJA's review and they sound really promising, especially to orient your fletchings to your nock tuned bare shafts without the guesswork of making sure the stiff side is in the proper orientation to your rest etc. If we all went back to aluminums we wouldn't have to worry about the nock tuning as you do with carbons.

I'll bite....if they not to expensive.... What aluminum arrow would u recommend?

 

[woodsdog2]

I'll bite....if they not to expensive.... What aluminum arrow would u recommend?

It all depends on your drawlength and draw weight etc. When you look for aluminums, there are tons of options. I have 2213's and they are roughly in the .350 spine range I believe. Easton Aluminum has a chart. # Rivers has good charts. You have a longer draw length so you may want something like a 2315 but I don't want to tell you an actual shaft and then it be wrong. They have superlights which are stiffer by virtue of their larger diameter compared to something like a 2117 which is a great shaft but is heavier overall. With the EFOC and UEFOC goal, the heavier overall shafts make it trickier. As for the type of aluminum shafts? the good ole' XX75 Camo Hunters. They're like $5.00 per shaft so a dozen is $60. And you know they have uniform spine. The problem? Not many heavy insert options for all of the sizes. I was looking on 3 Rivers the other day and the only heavy brass inserts they have are for 2016 (500 spine) 2117 (400 spine) they do have a "GAMEGETTER II in 340/300 spine but I'm not sure if you can get the XX75 CamoHunters that way. There may be an equivalent. But that's it. I even called Easton last year and they only make heavier inserts for their aluminum crossbow bolts and they only made them specific for that size aluminum shaft.

 

[Apex7]

Thinking about building my own arrows in the off season after 2020 is closed.

Questions are, how are helical fletchings, how hard are they to glue on, and how much twist is the sweet spot?

Follow up: Does helical style fletchings increase arrow accuracy as rifling increases bullet accuracy? I would think so...
- How do helical fletchings shoot from a drop away rest? (QAD HDX)
- Does it make it harder to "true" an arrow with them?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys! Please keep the "Idk, but probably" responses to a minimum. I am looking for facts from someone experienced in building arrows at home.

Any suggestions on equipment to buy to aid me in my arrow builds would also be appreciated. Such as fletching jigs, glues, balancers, etc.
View attachment 32659

I shoot helical fletching out of a trop away rest with no problem. They are easy to fletch and I go with a 3 degree helical. I use a Bitzenburger jig but Bohning makes a nice jig for Blazer vanes at 3 degrees helical. I use super glue gel or Gorilla Glue gel and I do use Blazer vanes.