good vid, ryan - thanx for sharing.
a few comments, as a loooong time tape fletcher (as far back as the early 1970's) ...
- i use only bohning fletch tape and find it the best
- i clean the shaft AND the fletch quill base with naphtha (lighter fluid) to get rid of any hand oils (oil and the tape glue are totally incompatible and will lessen or loosen or lose the bond!) - naphtha flashes off in seconds
- if yer bare fingers touch the shaft or quill during the fletching process, clean those areas with naphtha before progressing!
- while laying down the tape, don't touch the tape glue area that will touch and bond the shaft/fletching!
- snugging down on the clamp/fletch whilst in the jig is important
- making sure that the fletch quill sits *slightly* proud of the clamp (about 1/16"-3/32"), as shown in the video, is super IMPORTANT!
- i also used to pull off the arrow and reattach the clamp, but that's really anal overkill
- it's a MUST to press down and run a fingernail over the entire fletch and/or base quill - i do this to all feathers once all are fletched and the shaft is pulled off the jig
- it's a MUST to put a dot of glue fore and aft of each fletch
- it takes about 24 hours for the fletched glue to "cure"
hope some of this helps!
a 4-fletch taped arrow that survived from summer to the following south carolina spring. the bugs ate the vanes, but the quills are still firmly attached to the carbon shaft and had to be scraped off with a sharp knife.
Topic: How I Prefer to Apply Fletch Tape (Read 801 times)
