Question on fletching tape........

BobCo19-65 · 09-19-2003, 10:10 AM

I' ve been using fletching tape for a while now, and have no complaints about it personally, however, some of the people that I make arrows for are having a little trouble with it and now want them refletched with glue. I' ve been using the tape though on my personal arrows with absolutely no problems. I wonder what they are doing to their fletching and arrows, but of course, I can' t get a clear answer from them. Two questions though:

1. Has anyone else had any trouble with tape?

2. What are you guys using to remove the residue that the tape leaves on th arrow when you refletch the arrow. I have tried nail poish remover (don' t worry, it belongs to my wife

), and 91% alcohol, but am still having a little trouble. A knife also isn' t very effective.

Thanks.

Arthur P · 09-19-2003, 10:56 AM

I use straight acetone to get the residue off. In a pinch, WD-40 strips it off real good but I' d only do that with aluminum arrows. You' d never get a carbon clean after squirting that gunk on it.

There was a post on a trad site that says the tape has a finite shelf life. A year or so, maybe, but that' s just an off the wall guess on my part. Could be your friends got ahold of some old stuff?

BobCo19-65 · 09-19-2003, 11:12 AM

Thanks Art, I' ll get a hold of my chemical distributing buddy to get me some straight acetone.

Nahh, I made the arrows for my buddies with the same roll of tape that I used for myself. I finally got one of them to confess that they shot the arrow through a target and pulled it out the other side (vanes, and only one arrow), so that explains that one. The glue that I put on both ends is still holding the vane on. But the other friend that ruined all of his arrows still won' t confess. But I bet he did something similar. I shot so many arrows with the tape already this summer and never had one of them go bad, so I am having a hard time believing that the arrows that they ruined are being shot normally.

Arthur P · 09-19-2003, 11:17 AM

Ahhh! Plastic vanes! There' s the problem. The tape is not recommended for vanes. Feathers only.

BobCo19-65 · 09-19-2003, 11:27 AM

Yes, I have seen from their advertisments that they are recommended for feathers, but, I' ll tell ya, I' ve been using it on feathers and vanes and have been very happy. I wipe the back of the vanes and shafts with some 91% alcohol, but on either straight or offset, put a dap of glue on each end, and off they go. No problems for me.

I can see how pulling them through the target though with vanes could ruin them as opposed to feathers.

DoninVa · 09-19-2003, 07:11 PM

I used the tape on some feathers and it worked so well I decided to try it on vanes[:-]. Fletched real nice and quick

. Then I started to shoot them

and all of a sudden the arrows were making a noise like feathers[

]. After close inspection, the vanes were coming off one by one[:' (]. Cleaned the vanes with acetone and used a drop of glue front and back. These were mossyoak alums. which were very slick. One good thing the vanes that hung on were easy to remove

. Don