New to building my own arrows

[jlrichesin]

I have recently decided that I wanted to start building my own arrows. I do not think that anyone cares more about my setup then me, therefor only I can make sure that everything is the best that it can be.

Going to order a jig, saw and materials. The only thing that I am having a hard time grasping is offset and helical. What is standard or is there a standard?

I am sure that I would get more answers on archery talk, however I like this community and prefer to stay on this forum.

Josh

 

[jmez]

There is no standard. Helical, IMO is better for shooting fixed blade broadheads. I think off set really came into play with the short Blazer type vanes. They can be hard to get much helical on but easy to put on offset. I put mine on with as much helical as my jig will allow and still maintain contact with the shaft.

 

[jlrichesin]

There is no standard. Helical, IMO is better for shooting fixed blade broadheads. I think off set really came into play with the short Blazer type vanes. They can be hard to get much helical on but easy to put on offset. I put mine on with as much helical as my jig will allow and still maintain contact with the shaft.

Are you using the longer vanes ?

 

[jmez]

No, I use Blazer vanes. I can get a good amount of helical on them with a Bitzenberger jig.

 

[jlrichesin]

Bitzenberger jig is on my list. I will do some more reading on the helical. Thanks!

 

[camping1601]

I have two Bohning jigs and they come in 3 degree helical, but they are made pretty much for short vanes like Blazers.

I would think Bohning put some thought into this and figured it was a good standard for a non adjustable jig.

 

[5MilesBack]

I've tried heavy helical, straight, and offset, and I haven't seen much of a flight difference or accuracy between them all even with fixed heads at 80+ yards. I will say that the heavy helical on longer vanes does add flight noise and more drop.

I've tested a lot of different vanes over the years but always came right back to my Quick Spins. The only other vanes I liked were the 3" Fusion vanes but their flimsy bases were horrible. They fixed that and now I run the 2.1" Q2i Fusion Xii vanes. I prefer the lower profile over the 2" QS's, and they fly great with just a right offset. I've tried both 3-fletch and 4-fletch and still haven't decided which one I prefer, but I used the 3-fletch this year for my elk arrows and they worked great.

 

[Jeff Martin]

John Dudley often states more than 2 degrees offset is a detriment to arrow flight. he has spent countless hours testing with Easton and their is a reason they come with just an offset when you buy Easton arrows already fletched. He also talked about how much speed you lose down range with hard helical. I used to be in the camp of "as much helical as you can" and would not listen to the contrary view. However based on my own testing, I would agree with John. If the bow is tuned well, 1 or 2 degrees offset is all you really need.

We as bowhunters sometimes just run with the myths of the past.

In summary, you probably have all you need. Compare your fletch to an already fletched Easton. I bet you are fine.

 

[Cant hit em]

The AZ ez-fletch is super easy and quick to use


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jlrichesin]

Thank you for all the information. I really appreciate it.

 

[rblosser]

don't forget a squaring device for shaft ends and inserts

 

[TJ]

The AZ ez-fletch is super easy and quick to use


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I Prefer this over a Bitzenberger when using Blazer vanes on skinny shafts (FMJ).

And the squaring tool that rblosser mentioned is also a good idea to have.

 

[jlrichesin]

looking at the g5 squaring tool. Will add that to the list. Thanks everyone!