I have got to the point where I am going to have to refletch some carbons real soon. I have fletched lots of woodies and allminums but never carbons! I am not sure what glue will work well as it seems there's alot of them out there! If anyone has a sggestion I would appreciate it. Also can I prep with alcohol or is something else needed?
Thanks in advance!
I use fletch-tite platinum and never had a feather come loose or off not even after an arrow had been lost for a long period of time. For me there is no other on carbon.
Fletch Tite Platinum works just peachy on both carbons & alums. Prep with a light wipe of Acetone. I have absolutely no problem losing vanes...
Here's a tip, if you are having problems losing feathers/vanes with any glue, use arrow wraps on your arrows and fletch over that. Onestringer sells solid color wraps which are very inexpensive but very good quality. I like wraps on my arrows anyway, so keep a good supply of theirs on hand in various patterns & colors...
Also, don't use old glue. Once I open a tube if it's not empty in 8 weeks, I throw it.
Also I gave up on the mess & bother of epoxy for putting inserts in carbons. Hot Melt is way easier to work with (both putting inserts in & taking them out) and works just fine...
I tried platinum ,didnt like it on carbons,feathers peeled off, now trying saunder NPV so far its ok. when using alcohol, use denatured alcohol. never use rubbing alcohol it has oil in it.
If I want something quick,I use goattuff or AAE gell. The only problem is that it will make your wraps white if you use too much glue. If Im not in a hurry I also use fletch tite platinum. The white tube of fletch tite isnt for use on carbons....Roy
Loc-Tite superglue gel.
I prefer fletch tape then a dot of fletch-tite platinum on the ends. 91% isopropyl alcohol or acetone will work as prep cleaner, as stated the 70% rubbing alcohol has oil in it. Good point that old glue doesn't work very well.
I use Duco cement, never had a problem!
For carbons I like to use arrow wraps for they are easier to redo later without having to scrap the carbon shaft and use Fletch-tite Platinum.I wipe the shaft with alcohol and then put on a wrap.Solid color wraps are inexpensive these days or Onestringer.com has some great looking traditional style wraps and many lengths and widiths at excellent prices and customer service.
QuoteOriginally posted by Jason R. Wesbrock:
Loc-Tite superglue gel.
That was the answer I was hoping for!
The NPV glue works great for feathers . I learned a long time ago that hot melt will come undone in different tempratures. Since learning that I use only 24 hour epoxy, I guess if it will fail on a target it can fail on an animal.
Thanks,
I use tape and a bit of superglue on the ends. I always wipe down the carbon wiht a tad of acetone after removing all of the old fletch and previous bonding material.
I gave up hot melt for carbon inserts here in Florida. During hot days of shooting into black layered foam target they just couldn't stand the heat..
I too,only use Loc-tite superglue gel.Cant get the feathers off.
Really depends on the carbons that you are fletching. For Easton carbons (MFX, Axis, Bemans, ect...), superglue is the best. Platinum does not hold longterm. The draw back to superglue is cleaning the shaft off when refletching them. Superglue is a pain to remove.
CX, GT, AD, and any carbon with wraps install you can use bohning platinum. It holds good and easier to clean off and refletch when necessary. If I can avoid it I won't use superglue on my personal shafts just becuase of the pain the it is to clean and refletch them again. dino
Another vote for Duco. It's cheap, available everywhere, and works great (for me) on wood, aluminum and carbon. However, I admit I've only recently started shooting carbons primarily to experiment with maximizing Ashby's advice, so I don't have years of experience. However, even with the extremely tail-tapered GrizzlyStik shafts, Duco gets it done. dave
Fletching tape works great with wraps when it time to refletch, the old fletching can be peeled off without damaging the wraps.
Platium plus never had any problem
I use CA glue from our local hobby store.The kind for building R/C airplane frames from Balsa wood.I get a 2oz bottle of medium for 8.99.Lasts a long time for me.I'd never waste money on a "fletching" glue.Stuff dries in 10-15 seconds.I can do an entire arrow in 3-4(or less) minutes.And I've run them though targets and into the ground with my compound and my curve,and they never came off.
I'm another one that uses the Loc-tite superglue gel. My local wally world has it for $2.38 each in the control gel dispenser.
I perfer goat tuff for inserts, but I can't beat loc-tite for vanes or feathers.
I have been useing it for the last year and have never lost a fletching yet.
fletch-tite platinum Never had any problems if the shaft was clean.
I use Acetone for prep and super glue Gel. I also don't run a full bead down the entire fletch. I dab a dot about every 1/8" or so. Doesn't use as much glue and holds until you cut them off. Another benefit is speed. You wait about 30 seconds and move onto the next one. I can do almost a full dozen shafts on one $1.29 tube.