How to fletch helical for clearance with prongs?

[Jason McCurry]

Ok. I need some help, folks. I switched back to a prong rest (TM Hunter) from my Whisker Biscuit and I have to make this work until Muzzy actually starts shipping the Zero Effect rests for roller guard bows like my Legacy. I talked to them yesterday and they weren' t even very optimistic for getting them out in March and have over 700 orders to fill when they do start shipping, so I' m betting that I have at least a month (which includes three weeks of leagues) before I' ll get one.

I just started fletching my own arrows and have done pretty well a couple times, but I was using a Whisker Biscuit so clearance wasn' t an issue. I finally got tired of the beating the WB was giving my vanes and the wearing of the bristles and went back to the prong rest, so now I' ve got trouble. I was using a pretty severe offset on my Bitzenburger jig with right helical clamp because I didn' t think it would matter much with the WB rest and that' s how my arrows are fletched now. I have no idea what degree offset I was using. It was pretty much a trial-and-error process of trying to have a good amount of offset and still get good contact with the base of the vane on the shaft for the entire length of the vane, which took me several tries.

After all that background, here' s my question. How do I set the Bitz jig with right helical clamp to fletch my Beman ICS Hunter 340 shafts with 4" Duravanes so that I can have good stabilization from my vanes and still clear the prongs of the TM Hunter rest. Of course I would also like to have full contact with the base of the vane along the entire length of the shaft so it adheres well. Please be as specific as you can possibly be. As I said, I' m very new to fletching my own arrows and the instructions that came with the Bitz jig didn' t help me very much. If you could actually include pictures, you' d be my hero! I would ask about this at the shop I usually shoot at but I got a really good deal on the jig " used" (thought new in the box actually) and didn' t buy it there at the shop, so I don' t feel right asking about this even though I pay to shoot there twice a week and buy lots of other stuff there.

Reply here or email me at jasonm@speakeasy.org if you have any information or opinions to share. I really do appreciate the help!

[Jason McCurry]

Anyone?

*listens to crickets*

[Kanga]

Jason.
If you are only going to be shooting leagues and not hunting then go with a straight fletch.

Last year when I had the Bodoodle pro lite on my bow I was able to use a 6 degree right helical on 5" vains without contact.

I dont have a blitz jig so I cant help you with the set up.

[jcrayford2001]

Jason, I don' t think that you could use the existing severe helical with a prong style rest. You will get contact no matter how you orient the nock.

To lessen the effect of my own vanes, I' ve got the spring tension on my prongs set to VERY low.... so low that the prongs won' t support the wieght of the arrow while the bow is at rest. They do spring up while drawing the last few inches, because the prongs only have to lift the point wieght basically. I also use a string loop to minimize the effect of pressing the arrow down if my release was clamped on below the shaft.

Any chance of finding a jig with less helical offset? this might be the only solution until you can get a dropaway...

Jim.

[coyote170]

Jason you might try www.trueflightfeathers.com/ they
were very helpful when I went back to feathers,am
using five inch feathers no clearence problems on the
clearence and my helical is pretty severe! I called them
and they said that the arrow does not start to spin for
about 12 feet and there are no feather tracks on me
rest area. After using feathers again I will not go back
to the vanes because of the improvements in arrow
flight,water proofing is easy and like the way they
react passing through bale,etc. Good luck!!!

[jamaltwy]

why not try a different drop away rest...... trophy taker or NAP 2000/4000 or copper john they just tie to the down cable and pull the rest up when drawing? there is another drop away that uses no cables the name excapes me .. some of these only cast 40-50 dollars this can hold you over till your zero becomes available

[Jason McCurry]

Because I already have the TM Hunter prong rest and I' m not going to spend $50 on something to get me through one month when I have this rest that works just fine. I just need to make the vanes clear it.