Aloha Gang!

I've seen quite a few post in the past about fletch tape, so I decided to share what works for me. Please keep in mind, I'm not saying that it's better than glue in any way. (most of my friends prefer glue) I use tape, it works for me and these are the steps I take to ensure that my feathers stick to my carbon shafts.

***Warning, it's a little overkill, like everything I do...    :D  

 http://youtu.be/dh7g4bnqQg4  

Thank you!
Ryan

I like the ease and speed of tape BUT I find my feathers pulling away in the mid area (hot weather). The tape seems to stick to the wraps I use but not to the quill. any suggestions?

Not sure of any other strategies besides the ones I mentioned in the above video. I primarily hunt in hot humid weather too. What type of feathers? These days, I'll only use trueflight if I'm using tape.

I use tape on all my arrows need had a problem. ..quick easy and no mess does a great job

Great stuff as usual Ryan      


Bill

Thanks Bill!

I remember a few guys posting that they were having issues with fletch tape. Just figured I'd share what has been working for me over the years.

Aloha!
Ryan

Do mine quite similar to how you do Ryan, glad to see you use your finger nail to run down the feather to make sure the full length of the feather quill is pressed to the shaft...nice video

That dog of yours is awesome brother!!!   Another very helpful video....thanx!!

Ryan, good stuff. Do many steps the same. Tape is really handy to take on trips also. Thanks for the vid.

I can confirm that tape does well in bitter cold down to -25C (-13F) and I will let you know how they do when it gets colder than that!

Never had problems shooting in spring rains, summer heat, and cold winters.

I use true flight and grind my own  

QuoteOriginally posted by Bldtrailer:
I like the ease and speed of tape BUT I find my feathers pulling away in the mid area (hot weather). The tape seems to stick to the wraps I use but not to the quill. any suggestions?

You need to make sure you really rub the tape into the quill when it's on the fletching jig. The quill is porous and if you look at the fletch tape while in good light you will see it doesn't get into all the holes without a little extra pushing.

Ryan rubs the tape (with the backing still on) with his fingers.... I like to take the back of the scissors and at an angle that won't damage the tape rube the tape into the quill. It works a little better for me than just the fingers but I also don't do all the other maneuvers he does later in the process...

Ryan,

Really appreciate your sharing through videos.  I have watched several; some many times.  This one is very informative too.

Thank you for all the kind words Gang!

Our dog Hoku is the BEST bro!    

Thank you for the confirmations in cold weather!!!  

Bldtrailer, I have no experience with grinding my own feathers, but maybe the quill needs to be cleaned (denatured alcohol?) then dried after grinding???

Mahalo Gang!

Haven't had a lick of problem here in Alaska using tape.  I, like Ryan prefer the Trueflite feathers, but by know means discard other brands.  I have found that sanding the quill   down on other brands works just fine(primarily Gateway).

Sit Hoku sit!

LOL Keith!

She actually looked like she was engaged and paying attention.

I filmed that video about five or six times because I stumbled in one way or another... On the last take, the one that was the best, she decided to make a special appearance. I didn't want to redo another one, just hope it wasn't too distracting for some.

Thank you for your added insight!

I use curve suture scizzors I picked up from a vet a while back and I press the tape down on the quill with the curved side of the blade (where others use finger nail.   I also run a thin bead of DUCO along the quill when I dot the front an back.

Great video Ryan! Just finally got to watch it. I know several people that didnt know how to use the tape. I will share the video with them.

Thanks Mike!
I may have one too many steps in there       , but it should give them an idea of my best practices for using fletch tape.  

Aloha!