Broadhead Wobble

[Pete W]

Here is a question I get asked a lot , so I thought that I would see what the Trad Gangers think..

How much tip run out {wobble} is acceptable on a long 3 to 1 broadhead like a woodsman or razor cap when you spin it on the arrow. If it is perfect that is Ideal, however perfect is not always going to happen. What can you live with, 1/64" , 1/32" 1/16", 1/8".

How much is acceptable before you would return them for replacement/Refund?

Thanks for the input, it will help me when I get asked this next time.

Pete

[Otto]

I'd have to say less than a couple of thousandths.  That's like less than 0.005 inches.  When mine spin true, you can't see any wobble what so ever.  I can see 0.008-0.010 inches of runout on a shaft very easily when it's spun. So If I can't see any runout, I know I'm in the area of 0.005 or less.

I'd say any head that shows what you're seeing isn't mounted true on the shaft.  If you are using hot melt then make sure the glue is good and liquid when you mount the head.

If you are mounting a threaded head like a Thunderhead or a Snuffer SS, then something is mucked up with the insert or the head.

[Guru]

If I can see it, it's unacceptable....but it's not always the BH, sometimes it's the steel or al. adapter........

[Apex Predator]

I spin them on my palm.  I think you can feel smaller mis-alignments than you can see.  I've never used one of those spinner thingamajigs.

[12ringman]

Originally posted by Guru:
If I can see it, it's unacceptable....but it's not always the BH, sometimes it's the steel or al. adapter........

Exactly! If I can see it I will reheat it and realign it until I get the perfect spin, period! If it is a screw on it goes in the practice pile.

[Molson]

If the broadhead is defective then I'd return it.  I don't think most alignment issues are caused by defective heads though.  I'd be inclined to say most folks need a little more practice tuning the heads/inserts, straightening shafts, or making tapers even.

On the woods, sometimes you just can't get it perfect. Maybe the shaft was a little out of round, over or under sized, or you've filed the broadhead tip uneven.  A variety of reasons.  Anyhow, I tune it as straight as I can and shoot it.  If it flies, it flies.  If it doesn't it's usually the arrow.  The ones that tune in to what I think are perfect become my big game arrows.  Those that don't get blunts or judo's thrown on them.

[Roadkill]

who takes broadheads back once they have been mounted?

[Steertalker]

If I can see it, it's unacceptable....but it's not always the BH, sometimes it's the steel or al. adapter........

DITTO!

Brett

[dino]

Pete,
You have two different animals there.  A glue on broadhead on a adapter I would give more leeway to.  They can be heated and fixed to spin perfect on the finger.  Razorcaps or one piece screw in heads I think should spin dead on out of the package.  But was Molson said was dead on too.   dino

[Outwest]

I use screw in heads and spin them on my finger. If I can feel any wobble The insert gets reheated and twisted a little until the wobble goes away. If this does not work I try the head on another arrow and repeat the process.There are very few heads that will not eventually straighten out with this process.

John

[ZIP-R]

I've shot some nasty, wobbly zwickeys, that I just could not get the BH adapter in well. They hit with the field tips... I know it makes a difference, but it the arrows, and bow are tuned well you can get away with alot.

B

[Molson]

Roadkill,

  I would venture to say that most of the companies would want you to send back a head that was defective, whether it was mounted or not.  I'm sure they would rather know of a problem early before it became widespread.

[Brian Krebs]

totally with Guru on this one.

[Whitetail Chaser]

Yep, If I see a wobble, that's too much.

Sometimes I have trouble with the adapters and the glue, but a little patience will usually yield a shootable head.

One trick I picked up somewhere was to chuck the adapter in a cordless drill, heat the head and glue, then apply some pressure as you spin the drill SLOWLY to seat the adapter.

Brett

[Precurve]

I shoot black carbon shafts and spin the broadhead tipped shaft on a glass plate to check for wobble.  I place something white (like clean copy paper) behind the arrow so I can watch for any deviation at the base of the shaft.  I stopped using standard screw-in heads because I couldn't get more than half of them to pass this test.  I've switched to glue-on heads with screw-in adapters and hotmelt glue, and leave the final position of the broadhead up to the spin test rather than just trying to square up the head.  I test my broadhead tipped arrows out to 50 yards into a sand pile, and notice an improvement in flight characteristics using this method.  I don't shoot game ever over about 30 yards however, so maybe this is all overkill.  At close range a little wobble doesn't seem to make much difference in accuracy.