I read that for helical fletch the top and bottom knobs must be turned turned in opposite directions.
I went nuts trying to fletch a 2016 RW doing just that.
What I wound up with was to set the jig at 2/32 to the right of the top centerline and 3/32 to the right of bottom center line completely in opposition to the instructions.It worked and both front and rear of the 4" fletch are dead center to the shaft and sitting flat.
Am I missing something here and making this more complicated than it should be? Should I actually be turning the dials in opposite directions? And if I do would the the center marks be moved the same amount on each (equal) but in opposite directions?
I set the jig for the size shaft and I don't care which direction the knobs are set. If the fletch is fitting properly on the shaft I'm happy.
I agree with owlbait put your shaft in the jig put feather in clamp. Put the clamp on jig adjust the clamp so the quill of feather is laying in contact with shaft full length of feather. If you have it set off to far front or back end will start coming away from shaft. Get it as flat as possible.
Great advice, I went through the same when I started shooting carbons, vs, my old aluminums.
I feel your pain in adjusting the angle.
I do the same as above, put a feather in the clamp and slightly loosen my base, put my clamp on, then work the base till the feather makes complete contact with the shaft, tighten down base and start fletching.
After laying the shaft in the jig, place a feather in clamp and lay it down on the shaft.
I then rotate the BOTTOM knob until I reached the desired location and mark it on the clamp. I then rotate the TOP knob until I reach my desired helical position.
Below are 2 pics of my Bitz. On the bottom knob I marked off the centerline(left) and small mark on right is my permenant location.
Top pic you notice 2 small black lines to the right of the center line. The closes mark is what I used to fletch up vanes for my compound customers who wanted a "slight" helical. The black mark farther right is my mark for all my personal arrows. This gives me a FULL HELICAL.
Sorry for the poor pics but you can still see what I'm describing...
top of jig......
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P7010002.jpg)
bottom of jig.......
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P7010001.jpg)
Hey Joe,
You had the correct answer .I saw a new instruction sheet from bitzenberger stating there is no adjustment for helicals. If I had seen that before I would have no problems.
I just did some 2016's with the jig set 1/16" R from center on top and 1/16" R from center on bottom for rw helical. The fletch came out just about perfect.
The old manual always stated to turn dials in opposite directions-Totally Misleading to say the least.
Thanks for the help.
Joe comes through again....
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
You guys just committed two major violations of Man Law, first you read the instructions, second you admitted it in public. :nono:
Starting at center, for a RW helical, the top should be to the right of the center, keeping as much quill as possible on the shaft, while still adding spin to the arrow, and the rear or bottom to the left of center. I position the bottom of the feather so it is just left of center. The top is as far to the right as I can get it and still keep the quill on the shaft.
If you set the bottom of the feather further to the right than the top, you will end up with little or no spin, because the RW feather is now pointed left of your new center. Arrows with big broadheads, and field points to a lesser degree need to rotate for best accuracy. The rotation also creates lift which is hard to define, but a law of physics.
Arrows that spin fly better in the wind.
Keep them spinning for best accuracy. RW to the Right and LW feathers to the left.
Would have been nice to know this before I bought one. I had a bit of trouble for my first arrow. The directions were not exactly clear. Pretty easy to see once you start though.
If you look at the latest instruction sheet you will see a note that there are No adjustments for helicals. That means that both top and bottom dials are set right of center on RW helicals and just the opposite on LW heicals. I hate to open up a can of worms here,but after seeing so many posts on how to adust helicals,I decided to contact bitzenberger.
My thoughts were confirmed by the engineer at bitzenberger. He stated on a RW helical the top dial is to the right of center (about 2/32 " and bottom is also to the right of center about 1/32 " as an example, LW just the opposite) depending on the shaft size.
THE DIALS TURNED IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS APPLIES ONLY TO OFFSET SETTINGS,PERIOD!
He said he will publish a new instruction sheet to include that information.
I hope this helps all those who have been confused.
That's what you get for reading the directions...ha!...JK. I use a left wing helical clamp, but it's the same idea. Just eyeball it. I put as much helical on my arrow as I can get and still keep the base of the arrow on the shaft.