Epoxy, Inserts, and Lesson Learned

[spike buck]

Is it possible to heat epoxy and remove the insert? What is the best way to do it? I made the mistake of glueing ALL my mfx inserts while tuning.  

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

Screw a field point in to the insert and heat the field tip not the shaft a little at a time while pulling with pliers until it comes out.

[spike buck]

thanks, I've done that with other glues but was unsure if epoxy was a different animal..

[stabow]

I never had much luck removing inserts from carbons I usually end up ruining the shaft.....stabow

[Romans3]

I've heard of putting a drill bit in the knock end and swinging the shaft to hit the bit agaist the insert and push it out. I don't know if it works with your epoxy or inserts though.

[Old York]

Try the drill bit "swinging hammer" trick.
Do it in a room without any picture windows...  

[Sharpster]

Originally posted by Buckeye Trad Hunter:
Screw a field point in to the insert and heat the field tip not the shaft a little at a time while pulling with pliers until it comes out.

That's the best way to do it. Heat just the field poing and keep pulling pressure on it as you heat it. The heat will transfer enough to release the epoxy before the shaft gets hot enough to be damaged.

Ron

[mark land]

It is going to be very difficult to remove the longer, internal HIT type insert then a regular insert and they can be a bear as well.  You will most likely end up damaged the and/or the insert as well.  Better to chalk up the mistake as lesson learned and buy a new set of shafts to change the tip weight on.  Good luck, Mark

[SlowBowinMO]

Tune the bow to the arrow.  Build out your sideplate a tiny bit.  Done.

[NoCams]

If your fletching is at least 3/4" to 1" down from the nock just slide the nock out and trim a 1/4" off the back of the shaft and you should be stiff enough again. Carbons respond to shaft length changes much faster than a weight change. Remember too that you want that shaft slightly weak bareshafted so that when you add the 30-40 grains of feathers it will stiffen it back up. JMHO

nocams  

[pdk25]

Alot of other solutions, as mentioned above.  One thing that molson and arrow k-9 told me about was to put the arrow in the freezer, then try to use a drill bit from the nock end to slingshot the insert out.  It has worked for me a couple of times on arrows that other methods didn't work.

[Kris]

I do not have experience "heating out" inserts which have been epoxied in, but if Sharpster says you can do it, I believe him.  I would only ever hot glue my inserts in for this very reason "flexibility".  I have had good luck with the Kimsha Quick-Stick as it is less brittle than most others.  I have never had a brass insert fail/push-in a MFX shaft using Kimsha hot glue and have shot them into everything.  Also, there is no limit to how many times you can change-up your setup using this method.  Before you try removing all those epoxied inserts, I'd exhaust my tuning possibilites or use those MFX's for a different bow.  You still have many options.  Good luck!

[Yellow Dog]

Set the torch on your workbench. Screw in a big heavy field point. Put the heat to the field point at the same time gripping it with a pair of pliers and pulling hard. Shaft in the left hand and pliers in the right. Keep constant pressure on it while slowly putting heat to the field point, away from the shaft. When it's ready it'll pop right out with no damage to the shaft.

[Kris]

Yellow Dog, just curious - can you, or have you pulled epoxied aluminum inserts out of MFX or Axis shafts (i.e. shafts with HIT technology) with this technique?  I use your same technique for my "hot-glued" inserts.  I agree with you, I use 250 gr. field points, more mass for more stored heat.

[e alexander]

I've put the point end in boiling water and got them out.

[ishoot4thrills]

Originally posted by SlowBowinMO:
Tune the bow to the arrow.  Build out your sideplate a tiny bit.  Done.

This is an excellent idea. I've done this on more than one bow with great results. It's the same thing as using a stiffer arrow. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

[ishoot4thrills]

Originally posted by NoCams:
If your fletching is at least 3/4" to 1" down from the nock just slide the nock out and trim a 1/4" off the back of the shaft and you should be stiff enough again. Carbons respond to shaft length changes much faster than a weight change. Remember too that you want that shaft slightly weak bareshafted so that when you add the 30-40 grains of feathers it will stiffen it back up. JMHO

nocams      

Another excellent alternative to removing the insert. Although I don't think the feathers weigh quite as much as the weight you mention. Still, a great idea.

[artifaker1]

I've loosened some inserts in easton aluminum that were epoxied and it takes serious heat to bust epoxy. Super glue is easier but still takes a lot of heat and will ruin cheaper arrows. With those internal inserts it would be even more difficult and in my opinion not to likely. I changed all my arrows including stump arrows to front loaded arrows last winter and busted loose many that were super glued but none with the internal insert.I have some and I didn't even try them, just sold them instead. When I do go for it I just take a zippo lighter and heat the field point until I see the insert move about two hair widths out on its own and then I grab it with pliers and it just falls out. I find that if I try to pull when it is still too cold it will pull apart the carbon from the inside sometimes, especially with cheap arrows.

[wapiti]

If it gets hot enough to destroy the epoxy resin you glued them in with then you have compromised the epoxy resin of the shaft and the integrity of the carbon shafting.

[khardrunner]

Heat and carbon do not mix. I've seen/had a number of carbon arrows split up front with little impact after being heated only enough to melt hot-melt glue.