Fletch tape question

[Paul_R]

Originally posted by Slickhead:
 I believe the heat actually helps them
I normally warm them with a hair dryer when fletching.
Then unning my nail down the edge.

Its the only use for a hair dryer I have anymore

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Paul_R:
 

quote:Originally posted by Slickhead:
 I believe the heat actually helps them
I normally warm them with a hair dryer when fletching.
Then unning my nail down the edge.

Its the only use for a hair dryer I have anymore

[LBR]

I've used it in the MS heat and humidity for years--works great.  Lots of friends use it with the same sucess.  A friend in TN who is as professional an arrow builder as I've ever known uses it, always had good results.

One of the great things with tape is not just that it's quick and easy to fletch an arrow;  it's also easy to remove and replace a damaged feather.

[Jon Stewart]

In the Michigan heat I have had them fail so I went to super glue on wraps and Scotch super strength on aluminums. No more feathers rolling over in the hot sun.

But as written there are lovers and haters with no-one in between.

[Qrole]

I'm going to tinker with fletching my own feathers this year and I was considering using the tape myself. Thanks for all the info.

[LostNation_Larry]

tarponut, I hope you contacted your supplier.  As a retailer I would want to know if somebody had a bad experience with a product I sold.

[katman]

Tape works well for me in the hot humid SC coastal weather. Only time I had feathers loosen was when I was experimenting with waterproofing feathers with black magic tire wet, worked great on feathers but over time loosened bond with fletch tape.

[Yellow Dog]

Love the tape and it works even better since I started using wraps instead of dipping. The only problem I ever had was years ago on a batch that I sprayed with a silicon based spray to water proof them. A few weeks later they were curling up and dropping off. That was 17 years ago. Found lost arrows in the field behind the house that were buried in the weeds and dirt for years and you can't pull what's left of the feathers off.

[Rob DiStefano]

if you find yer fletchings are flying and staying on well with tape, and yet it's pretty easy to remove them by pulling them off, they were probably not installed 100% correctly.  

after proper prepping, installation and curing, they will need to be scraped off with a knife and it won't be all that easy, just like fletchtite or duco glued on feathers.

[DJTJR]

It's good stuff and th endives you got here is good as well

[M60gunner]

Rob, thanks for posting YouTube link. I noticed you prep you feathers as well as the shaft. A good tip and one I sometimes forget about. I think it would still be easier to scrape the tape off than old glue. The tape is one thickness and width where as glue can be all over the feather area.
I will give the tape another try. I am now wiser because of everyone help. Another alternative is using plastic vanes but that does not go over to well with longbows and shooting off the shelf. It is also not me.

[Rob DiStefano]

i've shot carbons fletched with kurly vanes and spin wings out of longbows.  they do work well if yer form is good.  

however, there is NOTHING as good as some big twisted feathers for steering a broadhead tipped hunting arrow, no matter what the shaft material.

[mike g]

If you used tape and had problems, It's do to a couple of things.

1) how you prep the Arrow.

2) Tape that is old and been on the shelf for a long time subjected to heat.

Ya want fresh tape, and as mentioned by others, keep it in the fridge.

[M60gunner]

Mike, I was using it for spliced feathers. It made sense to use tape and still does. I think my mistake may have been letting the tape sit around for sometime before using it. I get a lot of supplies as Christmas presents, beats the usually stuff. The tape may have sat for 6 months before I used it.

[TxAg]

I'm a novice arrow builder, but I can miss the target with the best of em and that will put the fletching through its paces.  I watched the video on Braveheart Archery's site and bought the fletching tape and a jig. Fast, simple, and durable.

[Rob DiStefano]

pay special heed to shaft and quill preparation cleaning!  afterwards, don't touch either with yer fingers!  at least in the beginning, you will be much better off laying down the tape as i do in my video, and not rolling it off the tape reel.

[TxAg]

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
pay special heed to shaft and quill preparation cleaning!  afterwards, don't touch either with yer fingers!  at least in the beginning, you will be much better off laying down the tape as i do in my video, and not rolling it off the tape reel.

Regarding the tape application, I figured that out pretty quick....works real nice the way you do it and that's how I've been doing it as well.

[Walt Francis]

First, I used to be a big fan of Fletch tape.  

However, over time and a lot of use,I found Fletch tape to be a crap shoot, sometimes it works great, other times not so good.  

I always glue both the front and back of the feather, on numerous occasions the tape has released, both partially and completely, between the two drops of glue.  Often, on hot summer days, the tape will slip/slide into different positions.  Also, when the temperature gets around zero the tape has failed when bumped, completely releasing between the front and rear glue drops.  It seemed I was always fixing the feathers, adding extra glue (that looked like cr#$) to keep them in place. Life is to short to shoot ugly arrows, or an ugly bow.  

Glue works. I have four Bitz's. For myself, time is not that much of an issue. I have chosen to go with the reliability of glue.

[Brainflex]

Anyone steamed their feathers which are held on with tape?
I have some tatty ones but am reluctant to steam them in case they start falling off.

[Bud B.]

I have steamed mine without any problems. It would appear to me the feathers retake shape long before the tape and shaft get too hot.