How can you refletch woodies ? How do you strip the feathers and glue ?

I use a regular knife and sometimes sand and dip the shaft again, other times just re-glue. Depends. 3Rivers sells a widgit for removing fletch; but I have not tried it-my method has worked for decades.

I use a knife blade under the quill to strip the feathers, then sandpaper wrapped around a stick and used like a file to take off most of the excess hardened glue.  Then refletch.  May be noticeable in places, but the functionally the arrows will be fine.

Thanks I will try that . I just didn't know if it is worth it , or just make new .

Whats up Bjorn? You gonna make Utah this year?

Pretty much the same as Bjorn and Orion, here.
Carefully slice under the fletch and lift the feather as the blade moves along. Sand/trim the old glue where necessary.
Touch up the shaft if necessary, wiping on sealer.

A little lacquer thinner run along the quill helps to loosen up the glue, then proceed as above.

If you're a wood carver or just happen to have one, a 1/4" number 6 sweep gouge works well to remove the old fletching without damaging the shaft.  The only real issue is to be really careful when removing the old fletching.

yup.....a razor saftey knife then sand and glue, or re-dip..(my favorite) .....never know they were re-done...

Have you tried the fletching tape by Bohning?  Does a nice job and easy to remove if needed.  Only issue is that you have to make sure that the quill is pressed securely against the shaft.

I use a X-Acto (spelling) knife with a scalpel blade that is very sharp. Just go slow and I scrape and sand paper what little is left.

Dale, I  clean up and re-use old wood arrows all the time.  I use a not so sharp knife to carefully peel the feathers off.  I find that a sharp knife or razor knife wants to grab the wood as I peel the feather off.  If you violate the wood then the arrow is no good.

I then clean the arrow up with Minwax refinisher which does not harm the wood but removes the old paint or finish.  When using the Minwax refinisher I soak 0000 steel wool with the refinisher and rub the arrow down good removing or loosening up the finish.  Then I use paper towels to remove the rest of the finish.

I have cleaned up  many old Bear wood arrows using this method and found some very nice cedar hidden under all the paint.

I also use the finisher to clean up old painted bows.

I use wraps on all my shafts. When I need to redue feathers, I use a blow dryer to take off wrap and old feathers. Replace with new wrap and feathers.

is it worth it?  Without a doubt with the price of shafting approaching the price of carbon!

Yup easy to do and well worth it.  Gently scrap off old, sand and put on  new fletch.

QuoteOriginally posted by Jon Stewart:
Dale, I  clean up and re-use old wood arrows all the time.  I use a not so sharp knife to carefully peel the feathers off.  I find that a sharp knife or razor knife wants to grab the wood as I peel the feather off.  If you violate the wood then the arrow is no good.

I then clean the arrow up with Minwax refinisher which does not harm the wood but removes the old paint or finish.  When using the Minwax refinisher I soak 0000 steel wool with the refinisher and rub the arrow down good removing or loosening up the finish.  Then I use paper towels to remove the rest of the finish.

I have cleaned up  many old Bear wood arrows using this method and found some very nice cedar hidden under all the paint.

I also use the finisher to clean up old painted bows.

Great idea on using the Minwax refinisher.  Thanks for the tip.