removing brass inserts

[wislnwings]

I've got some Gold Tips that have brass inserts in them.  The inserts were glued in with superglue (bad idea) and now the glue has become brittle in some of them and the points/inserts are pulling out in the 3D targets.  I want to remove the rest of the inserts and epoxy them in before I loose all of them in targets.  How can I safely remove them without damaging the shafts?  I shot a round of 3D recently and started with 5 arrows and finished with 1 still intact and I would prefer to not repeat this.

[JimB]

Some insert a drill bit in the nock end and swing the shaft so the bit hits the back of the insert.Remember,if they come out,they are going to be flying so do it in a safe direction.

[frank bullitt]

You could try heating up a point, srew in and pull out! I think there was also a past thread about this. Do a search.

Pull the nock off and use a cleaning rod and hit with a hammer, possibly?

[bryan r]

I've had luck screwing in a field point and holding the tip over a candle. It takes some time to heat up, but the inserts seem to pull out fairly easy, and have seen absolutely no damage to the shafts.
Will work great for most adhesives.

[Ladams]

Get a 4" brass screw and screw it into the insert and heat the screw the heat will transfer into the insert and reverse the bond without harming the shaft. heat transfers very well in brass so dont use a alum. or steel screw.just pull with pliers when the heat is sufficant,
Works great

[tecum-tha]

What Ladams said...

[JRY309]

I have had done it like JimB,nocking them out with a drill bit,no heat required.

[pickaspot]

Great luck with the drill bit technique here. Be careful with heat - I have boogered a shaft or two using a propane torch and steel point. If you use heat, listen to Ladams!

[saumensch]

The drill bit work for me also but take this serious advice:

 

Originally posted by JimB:
Remember,if they come out,they are going to be flying so do it in a safe direction.

"NO honey, i still cant explain why that light bulb exploded...   :rolleyes:     )

[L. Harris]

I have always used a rifle cleaning rod inserted through the nock end, more controlable and less likely to hurt something when the insert comes out.

[John Whitaker]

I just tried the drill bit technique on a brass insert and mushroomed it (the insert) in the shaft so your mileage may vary on that one.

John

[Stone Knife]

Fix the ones that are bad and wait on the one that aren't. Heat will ruin a carbon shaft in a hurry in a way that may not be noticeable till later. Inserts are cheap people are not, play it safe.

[Matt Green]

i've used the drill bit idea before but i'd suggest going to the hardware store and get a metal rod that fits just inside the shaft (or take the drill bit with you that you know fits). instead of swinging it, you can grip the shaft and hammer the insert out. i have not mushroomed one but can see how it could happen
mg

[Doc Nock]

Won't argue James point, but that is why I too have used a alcohol burner flame...to heat a 150 gr. field point...with a pair of pliars on the back of the point where it touches the brass insert...takes a wee bit more time, but the intensity of a propane torch isn't controlled as well!

I've been removing inserts with a low steady heat to the field tip and pliars for 8+ years. I also keep a jar of water handy and dip shaft instantly, just in case.

As I heat the field point, I apply pressure with the pliars and as soon as it breaks free, I jerk out the insert, dip the shaft then use another set of pliars to unscrew the field point.

Never lost one yet. I have some GT's I've been shooting all 8-10 yrs! either lucky, or it's the lower heat of an alcohol flame burner.

I used to use 5min epoxy and it always came out easily.  Clean up inside of shaft, sand down the insert and start over.

[mahantango]

I use a piece of steel rod for a little more weight than a drill bit and hold the shaft and insert in a pot of boiling water to soften the adhesive without damaging the shaft.

[LKH]

Best way is to get a field point very hot, then have someone screw it in w/visegrips as you pull hard on the shaft.

The secret to not damaging the carbon laminate is to get the heat to the glue very fast and not allow enough time for it to reach the carbon.

I've been doing this for years and never ruined a shaft.

[Huntschool]

I have been pulling inserts mout of carbons for a long time with the "heat the tip" method.  Only ever lost one and that was when the wife hollered while I was doing it. Twitched it into the propane tourch....  Oh well... one aint bad

Ya just need to use some smarts about how hot ya get it.  I also dunk it in cold water as soon as the insert pulls...

[RUSTY1]

Sounds crazy but do you have a golf shop locally that repairs golf clubs? If so they should have what is call a graphite shaft puller.  It is used for pulling the club heads off the shafts without damaging them. I have one of these and use it successfully on even axis shafts. All you will need extra is a wide outside diameter washer with the inside hole big enough for a field tip shank to go thru. Once you have the washer, field point and shafts you want insert out off take them to him. Tell him what you are trying to accomplish. He should know what to do!!!

Rusty

[amar911]

The shaft puller works, but it is the same concept as heating a long field point (or a brass screw that some here seem to prefer) and pulling it with a pair of pliers, which works great if you are careful in applying heat and make sure the insert is pulled out as soon as the bond is broken -- just as others have said. The problem arises when you apply so much heat that it not only breaks the bond between the insert and the shaft, but it also breaks the bond between the carbon fibers within the shaft itself. Preventing the second event is where the shaft puller might help some, but it is a lot cheaper to hold the shaft in a soft clamp in a vise and be pulling on the field point or brass screw at the same time you are heating it. As soon as there is enough heat, the insert will come out and there will be no more heat being conducted to the shaft to cause any damage.

The heat removal process is not hard and won't damage the shaft if reasonable care is taken. I have done it many times, even when epoxy was used as the glue. Super Glue is even easier to break with heat. Since the original question was about Super Glue that had become brittle, the method of using a drill bit or other rod to knock out the insert will almost always work, but with epoxy or hot glue heat may very well be needed. If you use Easton uni-bushings that are glued into the nock end of the arrow, you are not going to be able to use the drill bit or rod because both ends of the shaft are sealed. Heat will be the only solution.

Allan

[frank bullitt]

Yow, and if we're talking heat, even drilling the insert could possibly break 'em loose.

I've drilled out alot of broken fasterners in steel and aluminum. The drilling action alot of times frees the fastener.

Try a bit, just a bit larger than the thread dia.

Practice on a broken or new shaft that will be trimmed back.