More fletching problems!!!!

[docmay]

I am really thinking about not making arrows anymore. I have been making my own for 10 years and have had lots of problems the last year and a half. I have made wood arrows from raw wooden shafts, aluminums and tons of carbon shafts. Lately my fletchings seem to fall off with ease. I usually use wraps and either blazers or fusions. I have used fletchtite platinum, goat tuff, super glue gel, etc. Vanes seem to come off really easy these days. If I bend the fletch a little it comes off the shaft. Seems like they used to adhere so well it would tear the wrap away before the fletch came off. This weekend I redid about thirty arrows. All with wraps. Ran over all wraps with scotch-brite pads to rough them up and rubbed down with alcohol. Fletched with arizona ez fletch(mini) because I like the helical. All the orange fusions came off with ease. Some of the yellow blazers came off but overall seemed better. This is driving me nuts. Makes me nervous when you travel and spend money on hunts and aren't sure when your fletching are going to fly off. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Always thought I knew what I was doing but now not so sure.

[haas0311]

Have u roughed up the fletching as well?

[kd350]

Mine fall off easily too for some reason. I've been leaving more toward the quickfletch for this reason

[docmay]

Wondering if it might be all the helical on the small diameter shafts but really seems to be an adhesion issue as the vanes lay down pretty well. Does roughing up each vane seem to help? I thought blazers had some coating on the base that helped with adhesion. Never seemed like I have trouble before last season.

[Miodetx]

I had the same problem this year with Blazers, been fletching my arrows for the last 5 yrs with Blazers with no problems. I switched to locktite superglue gel & denatured alcohol & it worked.

[docmay]

Just wondering if the daytime crowd had any other ideas. Thanks!

[oktx]

You shouldn't have to rough up the vanes. If you have to rough them up to use Blazers I would find a new vane.

[J. Colwell]

I was having same problems with Fusions and decided to try the NAP Quikfletch. No more glue for me!

[OrangeBlood]

I would lean towards the helical you are applying, have you tried as straight fletch to see if you have the same problem.

[Swampa]

I would try straight fletch and see it they are still doing it. I like to put a drop on the front a back after the initial glueing.

[J. Colwell]

I would lean towards the helical you are applying, have you tried as straight fletch to see if you have the same problem.

I have tried straights and had the same results. I believe that you get a bad batch of vanes because when they were molded, they used a release agent in the molds because they were having problems with the vanes sticking in the molds. This gets on the vanes and causes issues to the end users.

[Rchr]

Whats your process?

Are you cleaning the arrows?
With what?
Are you cleaning the vanes?
With what?

It could be the glue, I have had really good luck with NPV. It is not an instant fletch but it works really well. Even though it is not an instant fletch I only leave them on my Bitzenberger for 1 min, take off the clamp & rotate to do the next vane. Once all 3 vanes are on, I take the arrow out and stand it up making sure nothing touches the vanes and then leave them for 24 hrs. You have to rip them off once they are set in.

[MEsquivel]

What kind of rest are you using? Have you checked vane clearing the cables and/or riser?

[JBS]

Let the glue point you in the right direction. When the vane comes off where is the dry glue? Still on the vane or on the shaft/wrap? Wherever the glue is still attached clean the other surface. I clean ALL my vanes with acetone as alcohol will not cut some of the release agents used now.

[Cotton]

^^^

Also try new vanes and glue from a different source. If you buy from the same source you could end up with vanes from the same batch.