Arrow Cresting Setup

[tracker12]

Let's se your arrow cresting setups.  

I recently picked up the standard Bohning crester off the classifieds and looking for suggestions on how to set it up.  Any tips for dipping them before I get started.  At first I will be working with carbon and aluminum shafts.

[M60gunner]

Prep is very important for both types of shafts. Personally I never could dip carbons, hopefully some others here have had success and will share. I scrub my alum with Comet cleanser and hot water. Must be dry to dip. Most paints like it warm and dry, dipping in cold weather is a crap shoot. I have not used water based paints for dipping so can not advise.
I am at that point where in my arrow making life that wraps are much easier on alum and carbon. I crest them using Bohning paints. Woods still will be dipped until my chemical based paints are gone. Then may try the water based stuff from TruNorth.

[reddogge]

I don't dip but tape off a 10" section of carbon arrow and spray with Krylon Fusion paint. I crest with a Bohning crester I bought used. Important to buy really good brushes and liners. I get mine from the art supply store.

[STICKBENDER98]

I have some pictures, but I haven't figured out the posting part yet, I can email them to you if you want.  Feel free to post them if you want.  I started with a bohning crester, but after a few years I switched to a spin right crester.  My set up is for crown dipping and cresting both.  I still use bohning paints for my dipping and cresting, they are a little stinky to say the least but I like the results I get with them.  Happy arrow building.

Jason

[tracker12]

I watched a cool video where a guy used the Spinritecrester to spin the arrow while he sprayed the arrow.

[Slickhead]

Save yourself some time and money.
Get some fusion spray paint.

Make a crester with a drill or a cordless screwdriver.
Some slingshot tubing and a screwdriver bit to secore the nock. And a piece of cardboard folded with a notch cut out of it to rest the arrow.
Cheap, yes
Redneckeee, yes
Put with practice and patience the results will rival a $200 set up.

[MO Bow]

what slickhead said!  My first crester was a cordless drill, slip tie to hold the trigger down and some surgival tubing.

i held the shaft with one hand as it spun and painted with the other.  i eventually made enough money selling arrows, so i bought a spinrite...

i fund my habit through my habit, so i don't consider it money out of the bank.  although i think the spinrite is a great investment, i was good enough with the cordless drill that you can't tell the difference.

As far as dipping, i've used everything from spraypaint to exterior water based enamel that you can pick up at the big box stores.  They all work great.  i like the high gloss finish of the enamel, but the ease of spraypaint can't be beat.  if you spray, be careful not to put too much on for each coat...it'll crack.  i, too use the spinrite to spray my caps; it's easier to get an even coat that way.

whatever you use, be sure to keep your environment within label parameters, or results will vary.

[Wandering Archer]

Originally posted by Slickhead:
Save yourself some time and money.
Get some fusion spray paint.

Make a crester with a drill or a cordless screwdriver.
Some slingshot tubing and a screwdriver bit to secore the nock. And a piece of cardboard folded with a notch cut out of it to rest the arrow.
Cheap, yes
Redneckeee, yes
Put with practice and patience the results will rival a $200 set up.

That's pretty much what I do. I use a clamp to clamp my cordless drill to the table, then use another quick clamp to pull the trigger, which allows me to only pull it part way so it spins slower.
Kind of a PITA, but it works!

[Mike Vines]

Here is my complete build-along, minus the feather glueing...

  http://www.probowsociety.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2775