Hi guys,
Well I just bought myself a dozen of the newer Grizzly 'Kodiak' heads in 160 grains and am having the devil of a time trying to get them to spin true when gluing them onto screw in BH adapters.
I have the 11/32 alloy adapters - the long ones - and for the life of me just can't seem to get these heads to spin true. Do you think I need the shorter model adapters in 5/16 say...?
If not...well I don't know what to do. I hate having BHs not spinning true...
ak.
I've also had that experience. I think it is because the point is not a needle point but an edge. They fly great just don't spin on a table top perfect.
Boy do they leave a blood trail when placed in the pump house of a deer or elk...
You may want to check with bill Dunn
He can help you out
Are you spinning them on their point or are you using a set of rollers (on the arrow's shaft). If the broadhead does not come to a centered point, it might be tough to get it to show a good true spin unless you are using a roller system and look at the rest of the picture.
ChuckC
I have been spinning them on the point like a top on my work bench. I have a roller so I may give that a try...
It may work.
I went thru this yesterday. Be sure to pre-fit all your components when they are new and clean, no glue. If they won't spin true clean, they will never spin tru with glue.
I've been fighting the same battle with the Kodiaks and Grizzlys. I've gotten most to spin like a top on the top of a shoe box. A few have a wiggle no matter what. The ones that spun well fly incredibly well. I like the flight. The Grizzlies are thicker towards the tip than the Kodiaks and bend less. Does anyone know if the smaller Grizzly will do well on Elk?
Don't over think this Todd. The Grizzly and or Kodiak is no better or worse than any other broadhead. If it's razor sharp and put in the right place it will do exactly what you expect.
Dull or in the wrong place and it becomes a coin toss.
I think you're absolutely correct, Charlie.
I do find the Grizzly's easy to sharpen to the razor sharp degree and they seem to have a proper temper to them, hold an edge well..
I've killed a batch of critters with Zwickeys, Eclipse, Stos, Abowyer, etc..
Shot placement is KEY !
Thanks Charlie!
I am sure these heads will work exceptionally well on all critters if put in the right place... That being said if flight is poor due to mounting offset then..... ?
Well, I guess first shoot them and see if they are !
They are not very wide heads. I am guessing you can get away with a lot less perfection with Grizzlies than with Magnus I s.
I guess I am the wierd one in the crowd. I know about bare shaft shooting and tuning, and all that stuff, but in the end, if you assemble the arrow, and it has feathers, and it shoots fine, it will work ! We gotta shoot em to see.
ChuckC
You know I have noticed some variation with the straightness of the grizzlies and kodiaks I bought, some of them actually look slightly bent and did not spin good. However I also think the tips of the single bevels in general make that type of spin-testing tricky.
Al, are you using heat melt glue or epoxy to mount the grizzlies? I've found the extra time allowed by the epoxy helps me get the grizzlies lined up to my satisfaction. Sometimes they take a good bit of effort and time to get right; time not permitted by the hot melt glue. Always makes me nervous introducing heat to the broadhead, with the potential to affect the temper of the head. The disadvantage to this method is when an adapter is bent, they are VERY hard to remove from the broadhead ferrule, unlike the hot melt.
Also, spinning them by the tip hasn't worked as well for me with the grizzlies. Rolling them on a very flat table and watching the blades works for me.
Cheers, Matt
pm sent.
Al,I use this alignment jig.It has rollers but you can make a quick one out of wood,wih "V" blocks or whatever.It doesn't have to be fancy.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/DSC_0001-4.jpg)
I establish a reference mark with a known,straight point.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/DSC_0002-2.jpg)
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/DSC_0003-3.jpg)
I put the point on and with the blade vertical,align it to the reference point.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/P1020466.jpg)
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/P1020467.jpg)
I turn the blade to horizontal and again,align to the reference point.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/P1020468.jpg)
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/P1020469.jpg)
It helps to go back and forth a couple times to make sure nothing changed.I do one head at a time and it takes literally seconds.The reference point makes it exact and eliminates all guess work.Most of the heads I use on it are 190 and 200 gr Grizzlies.If I shoot or miss game,I like to double check alignment and it is quick with the jig.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/P1020473.jpg)
Gee thanks a bunch for that great tip JimB from up over there in MT !! I have a roller I use to check the straightness of wood shafts so I shall now employ this method of getting BHs alligned.
Cheers,
ak
Al,I have never been good at spinning arrows and aligning the tips.I never knew how much to move the tip and it was all trial and error and took a lot of time.The jig gives me an exact reference point and tells me when the point is exactly on.
I went back to some of my old arrows and checked them on the jig,knowing some wouldn't be perfect but they were off more than I expected.And after aligning on the jig,they spin like a top.
I have also used the jig when repairing a bent or broken tip to restore it to center.
Many configurations will work.You just have to have your reference point and rollers,all mounted on the same rigid base.Good luck with it.
Jim, are you using a slow set epoxy ?
Pat,I use an epoxy called Epo Grip Fast set.It is a paste epoxy sold by taxidermy suppliers and sets in maybe 6-8 minutes.It is also a very strong epoxy,considering it is a fast set.I have done 3 or so arrows at a time but now prefer to take my time and do one at a time.I use the same glue for inserts and aluminum footings.
Even after it sets,it can be adjusted a little as full cure isn't there yet.I think it is a good idea to let any epoxy cure for 24 hours before shooting,even fast sets.
I think a thick glue,whether epoxy or hot glue,helps hold the point when you move it.
Use a glue that doesn't set so fast and keep pushing and turning the broadhead on the insert and spin it till it spins true. My Grizzlies can do some funkie dip and dives if they don't spin true. mike
Yes, I won't hunt with an arrow/broadhead that doesn't spin true. Some of take a bit of extra effort..
Al,
PM sent
I've never seen blood trails like I get with SB heads. Never.
I use a similar set up as JimB, but with one more step. With JimB's jig, it is still possible to mount a broadhead so the point is centered but the back of the broadhead is not and you will get some wobble. To make sure the back of your broadhead is aligned, take a thin piece of wire a couple of inches long and fasten it down to the base of your alignment jig close to where the back of your broadhead will be and then form the wire into a loose C shape that bends out away from the arrow and then comes back to just touch the back edge of the broadhead blade. Spin your arrow in the jig as described by JimB but in addition to referencing the point, also reference whether both edges of your broadhead are touching or have the same gap to the wire. This will assure perfect alignment of the entire broadhead in all planes. I think I first saw this concept in one of Jack Howard's catalogs.
I had the same experience with the new heads even using a roller bearing jig. I just went with another brand because of all the things to fuss with, jumping thru hoops to spin heads true is just not where I want to spend my time.
Out of a six pack of heads only 2 spun true. There are better heads out there in this regard IMO, same 3 to 1 design and have never regreted abandoning the Grizzlies.
Joshua.
QuoteOriginally posted by manfromthepast:
I use a similar set up as JimB, but with one more step. With JimB's jig, it is still possible to mount a broadhead so the point is centered but the back of the broadhead is not and you will get some wobble. To make sure the back of your broadhead is aligned, take a thin piece of wire a couple of inches long and fasten it down to the base of your alignment jig close to where the back of your broadhead will be and then form the wire into a loose C shape that bends out away from the arrow and then comes back to just touch the back edge of the broadhead blade. Spin your arrow in the jig as described by JimB but in addition to referencing the point, also reference whether both edges of your broadhead are touching or have the same gap to the wire. This will assure perfect alignment of the entire broadhead in all planes. I think I first saw this concept in one of Jack Howard's catalogs.
In my setup,the back of the broadhead can't move as it is tight on a steel adapter and there are two sets of rollers to keep the shaft true and the adapter is concentric with the shaft.If I remember right,Jack Howard's setup was one set of rollers,the point stayed in place and alignment was done with the wire at the front of the shaft?
The old Grizzlies had an atrocious ferrule.I've bought several packs of the new Grizzlies-pre-Zipper and the Kodiaks from Zipper and the new ferrules were excellent and it took very little effort to align them.
Give me a holler Al if you are still having issues. Lots of good info here about aligning broadheads.
Joshua, send me some contact info. Your experince is not the norm or we would have been out of business long ago.Give me a chance to find out what was wrong and correct it.The last thing I want is for someone to feel like they got an inferior product.
If anyone is or has had issues with the broadheads we are or have produced. I want to know about it. Please contact me so I can fix any issue you may have had. I can not correct a problem I dont know your having. :D
Bill
JimB - you are right that Jack's aligner used just one set of rollers for the shaft and then the point was pushed up against an end plate similar to yours and then he monitored the gap from the wire to the shaft to make sure everything was in line. I have found that your system works better for me than his but I have still found that there can be some side to side movement at the back of the broadhead from uneven thickness of glue or ferrules and inserts that aren't perfect. Some broadheads are better than others. That is why I use the two roller system and also use the wire as another check.
I JUST went and checked all the heads I bought at kzoo, all are ground nicely, and mount straight. Some older ones used to have ferrules that weren't perfect.
My heads from Bill @ Zipper have been nicely done. I just bought some more at kzoo. Finished well so just a little diamond stone work and they are scary sharp, ferrules are straight.
It's easy to see the wound channel is not straight, and when you hit ribs they actually shatter, not just split. The head spins through an animal. Not really fast, but it does. The more solid the medium is, the more it spins. So if you just look at lung tissue, tough to see any because the force of the lung tissue on the head is minimal. Through heart, muscle, ribs, and hide it is noticeable.
I'd try the zipper product again. I've had no problems.
I turn my BH adaptors down to fit the ferrules of the Grizzly's (Kodiaks) exactly! You have to true things up and then play with them. I settle for nothing but "spins perfect".
good Luck -
Kris
QuoteOriginally posted by Overspined:
I JUST went and checked all the heads I bought at kzoo, all are ground nicely, and mount straight. Some older ones used to have ferrules that weren't perfect.
My heads from Bill @ Zipper have been nicely done. I just bought some more at kzoo. Finished well so just a little diamond stone work and they are scary sharp, ferrules are straight.
It's easy to see the wound channel is not straight, and when you hit ribs they actually shatter, not just split. The head spins through an animal. Not really fast, but it does. The more solid the medium is, the more it spins. So if you just look at lung tissue, tough to see any because the force of the lung tissue on the head is minimal. Through heart, muscle, ribs, and hide it is noticeable.
I'd try the zipper product again. I've had no problems.
This has been my experience also.
If you have a problem with anything Bill makes, he wants to know about it so he can fix it, he provides excellent customer service and great products!!!
Benjy
I didn't have any issues mounting mine either. Well built broadhead :thumbsup:
Bill
Take a look at your BH adaptors, fit them into the Kodiaks dry (w/o glue) if they wiggle and have lateral play, you are going to have a tough time aligning them perfectly. I would also stress that I use hot glue, Kimsha Quick-Stick (to be exact). Hot glue allows you to re-heat and re-align if they do not true-up the first time around.
I true my BH adaptors by inverting my electric drill into the soft jaws of my work bench vice and use it like a miniature lathe. Tighten the adaptor into the chuck, run the drill on a fixed speed and bring a large mill bastard file to bare, flat to the 5 degree taper. Please wear eye protection but I have never had an adaptor come out of the jaws. It doesn't take much removal to get them "just right" either.
You can tune them exactly to the shape of your BH's ferrule. Most adaptors are oversized for the Grizzly's but maybe not for the Kodiaks (I don't have any Kodiaks), as I believe they have improved and slightly enlarged the ferules on them. Be aware that the tanto tip may deceive you and your head may wobble slightly even though it is aligned perfectly. You can slightly and temporarily point the tanto to spin them true.
Once I've dry mounted the BH to the adaptor and have the orientation I want (horizontal), I mark with a Sharpie pen, a small dash on the ferrule running off the back of it onto the arrow or arrow insert, that way, when I apply the hot glue to the adaptor and insert it into the BH, I can align them exactly back the place that spun true when dry mounted.
Hope this is provides an option.
Kris
Thanks for all that Kris and I will keep it all in mind.
Gents, Bill from Zipper/ Grizzly and I have been chatting away and the problem has now been fixed.
These heads look as mean as and I can't wait to send them through some critters, both here and in Africa come August !
Cheers,
Alan.
I know one thing, from my understanding, Bill has done a great job and lots of blood sweat and tears resurrecting this head.
I'll be ordering for my arrows for this Fall for sure..
:thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by zipper bowss:
Give me a holler Al if you are still having issues. Lots of good info here about aligning broadheads.
Joshua, send me some contact info. Your experince is not the norm or we would have been out of business long ago.Give me a chance to find out what was wrong and correct it.The last thing I want is for someone to feel like they got an inferior product.
If anyone is or has had issues with the broadheads we are or have produced. I want to know about it. Please contact me so I can fix any issue you may have had. I can not correct a problem I dont know your having. :D
Bill
Wow, thanks! Let me read thru the tips/suggestions in this thread. Maybe it was/is the adapters... I felt like I tried about as much fussing with rotation, pressure, cleaning the ferrel etc. but did not check the adapter fit.
Joshua
Yes, Al, please share advice. . .
ChuckC