Heating Iron for Vanes

[mfllood3800]

Hey guys, many probably know this trick, but perhaps a few don't and can benefit from this technique:

Heating curled vanes back to straightness

I hate when I begin to shoot thru my center of the target. Soon arrows are passing thru, or worst, barely visible from the front side. As soon as you pull the arrow, you see the vanes are curled like a Cheeto.
No need to strip and redo, if you have access to a nice $20 heat iron like this one:
Sealing Iron | HorizonHobby

I turn heat up to "max" setting, place vanes on hard flat metal surface and slowly press firmly on the curled vanes with a hot iron. Eventually I have them pretty warm and I start to "iron" them back flat. I don't worry if I get the vane back to perfect shape. Once it starts to cool, it's memory sets in and really flattens itself out even more.
Would I shoot these in competition? Maybe some of them, maybe not others. But for practicing for hunting, it saves the time and $$ of striping and redoing a bad vane or two, due to pass thrus.



Edit* I will add I include on the heating surface of the iron that I install an "Iron Sock", to prevent the ink coloring from coming off the vanes

 

[1arrowshort]

Great tip, I could use this technique often. Do you have to be careful of melting the vane or does the sock help with that as well?

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[mfllood3800]

depends how hot you get iron
You Will be fine, takes a good amount of heat


The sock also prevents printed image on vane from smearing


I turned my iron to Max heat

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[Beendare]

Blow dryer works too....and you don't have to worry about over heating them.....

 

[mfllood3800]

Blow dryer works too....and you don't have to worry about over heating them.....

As long as it isn't an industrial heat gun.

I have 2 used for decal application that will start a fire, it gets that hot.

The heating irons at hobby shops wont get hot enough to cause you any grief, and the sock just keeps the printed logos, etc, in tact.
A guy could use a blow dryer as well, it would just take a lot longer in the heating process.
This is all dependent on the type of vanes used as well, some are way more flimsy than others and require less heat.

The iron allows the heat source to be directed exactly where desired and gives you the second needed flat surface to press as well.
I just heat mine up on the vise and press against it- done in a short time.

 

[1arrowshort]

I'm going to look into one of those.
Thanks

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