Fletching help - thoughts

[J-Daddy]

I had issues with the 3" Fusion vanes wanting to raise up on the edges...I tried right wing, left wing & straight clamps with them on my Bitz jig and adjusted it every way possible and I'd still have them lift on the edges. I gave up on them, they stuck fine but looked like crap with the edge lifted like that. I've fletched alot of other vanes and never had that issue, only with the Fusions.

 

[dreamingbig]

Maybe it is the stiffness of the fusions that contributes to that.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

I have tried all sorts of glues but always go back to Fletch Tite Platinum for everything: aluminum, carbon and wood & feathers and vanes. I feel the shorter the dry time the more brittle it is. Bohning claims that no vane prep is necessary. I also use denatured alcohol on my shafts prior to putting on wraps and then I wipe the wrap down prior to the fletching.

 

[wapitibob]

Flex Fletch, cleaned with MEK on a q tip. Shaft dipped in MEK and wiped clean with a paper towel. Two tiny drops of GoldTip glue on each end of the vane, spread out in the foot of the vane and all will be fine.
The stiff, high profile vanes need to be pretty straight on the shaft so the foot doesn't pull up. The instant glues won't fill the void where the slow cures will, such as the Platinum glue. The instants cure from a lack of oxygen so the glue film needs to be thin, then the vane clamped down tight.

 

[G Posik]

I always used denatured alcohol on the vanes when I shot compounds. I use a blitz jig with right heli. I also use the super glue gel for all of my feathers and vanes. I use the FMJ's out of my long bow and have no troubles with the right heli on the jig. I have a friend that uses vanes for his trad gear and he uses the same right heli clamps on his blitz jig. from what you are saying it sounds like a little alcohol on the vanes before glueing will help. then a spot of glue on the leading edge of the vane should help you out.


By the way Nick that is some nice work there on them arrows!


Glenn

 

[Gman]

I had issues with the 3" Fusion vanes wanting to raise up on the edges...I tried right wing, left wing & straight clamps with them on my Bitz jig and adjusted it every way possible and I'd still have them lift on the edges. I gave up on them, they stuck fine but looked like crap with the edge lifted like that. I've fletched alot of other vanes and never had that issue, only with the Fusions.

What vane did you switch to?

Thanks for all the other suggestions everyone.

 

[Gman]

Okay - I grabbed some Vanetec 3" Max flo I think. They went on with no problem with a much more aggressive offset. So it's related to the Fusion vanes. I like the look of the Fusion but will I notice any difference at all if I switch to the VaneTec's? That would be the easiest course if it's not going to mess with any of the tuning I've done. Thoughts?

Or should I just stuck with the fusions and a much less aggressive offset?

Thanks.

 

[swat8888]

No one has mentioned it yet so I'll chime in. I bet its the vanes. Norway had a bad batch of fusions not too long ago, they would not adhere and would peel up as you are describing. I also have a bitz and could not for the life of me get them to adhere to bare shafts or to a wrap. I emailed Norway and get brand new vanes sent to me free of charge...same issue. I have since sold them and do not plan on using the fusion vanes again in the future. I tried pretty much everything on here has already mentioned (I have only a right helical clamp)...changing the degree of helical made no difference, different glues didn't work, leaving them in the jig longer did not help, sanding the shafts did not help...IMHO I'd ditch the vanes and try something else. Since the other brand of vanes worked fine I would ditch those vanes and not try to keep screwing with them.

You can look up the thread on archery talk...many people have had the same issues with those vanes.

 

[Gman]

Thanks swat8888. I'm not opposed to switching vanes, but in doing so, will that change anything about my set up or if I'm going with a similar vane will I be fine?

 

[swat8888]

Shouldn't make that much of a difference...vane choice is largely preference or figuring out what works best with your setup. Took me awhile to get my bitz figured out, but I've got it down to a science now and I no longer fiddle around with any of the adjustments to ensure all my arrows have the exact same degree of helical and placement on my vanes.

 

[teamtoppin]

I tried the fusions this year as well. I switched from a NAP 4" quick spin XT.

I wanted to try something different than the Blazers. I found I could not get the Bohning Blazer 3 degree helical jig to fletch the vanes. I kept getting a few of the fletches to pull at the tip. I was using a cyanoacrylate (crazy glue) by Pine Ridge and with the slight pullnig it was not drying with the anaerobic glue.

I was able to fletch 8 of my 12 arrows and kept those with a tight helical. I called Norway industries and the answer I got is the Fusions are a much stiffer vane and do not do as well with helical. Their answer was a 2 degree straight offset would work great.

My next thought was to use a bitzberger either straight or right helical fletch as I dont think the bitzenberger fletches the short vanes as aggressively.

my experience anyway. Hope it helps. I like the Fusions and will try straight fletching in the future.

 

[Jake Leibke]

Something you might want to try....... put a small piece of duct tape where the problem is. Leave it down enough for it to keep pressure on the part that doesn't make good contact.

 

[Titaniumman]

Something you might want to try....... put a small piece of duct tape where the problem is. Leave it down enough for it to keep pressure on the part that doesn't make good contact.

Yet another use for duct tape!

 

[Nick Muche]

Many folks are having issues with the fusions for some reason. They take a little getting used to, but overall once you figure it out they are pretty simple. They are a very stiff vane compared to some others out there. Practice putting them on without glue until your jig is set up to get the proper fit to the arrow.

 

[justin davis]

I use a blitz with a helical clamp. I use four fletch! Works awesome for hunting!