Need some help/advice on refletching my arrows?

[Two Beards]

I've long considered purchasing a fletching jig and
other supplies involved with refletching my own
arrows. Could someone give me a list of what I
need to purchase? Make sure to list everything
as I am a 'beginner' when it comes to this[&:].

Any links as to where I could do my purchasing would
be great, too.

While I'm at it, though I don't feel they need it yet, would
a arrow straightner work on my ACC's?

Thanks for the advice,
Shane

[jmac_or]

You need a jig and glue and fletches and arrows. That is it. I use a Bitzenburger fletcher, 4" AAE vanes and AAE fastset glue. I can fletch a dozen in a little over an hour while watching a TV show or something. The AAE glue and vane combo sets up FAST (hence the name).

I may be wrong, but I don't believe you can straighten your ACC, as the carbon would break with any attempt. Someone could correct me on this one though.

JMAC

[Arthur P]

Fletching jig, glue and your choice of vanes or feathers. I always - repeat, ALWAYS - replace my nocks when I refletch. Believe it or not, nocks do get worn out.

Other gear you should already have around the house. A semi-dull knife to scrape off old glue. Denatured alcohol or acetone to clean the shafts - although 5 shot says to avoid acetone and use a solution of water and baking soda for cleaning carbons. I gotta try that. I keep a straight pin handy because sometimes the glue gets dried up in the spout and the pin is for cleaning it out. Sometimes I use some 000 steel wool to prep the fletching area on new shafts. Steal some paper towels from the kitchen. A couple of good cold beverages. You should be good to go.

I haven't tried an arrow straightener on ACC's but it should work like a champ. You're straightening the aluminum core, not the carbon itself.

[Two Beards]

JMAC/Arthur

Thanks for a point in the right direction. A couple other
questions. Anything in particular to consider when
choosing a brand of fletching jig? My bowshop uses
Goat's Tuff to refletch, is there another adhesive that
would bond better than another with certain arrow
types?

Thanks again~

[thenuge15]

I know nothing about fletching, but it seems like if you could bend it, then you could straigten it.

[Arthur P]

I've never used goat tuff so I can't say whether anything is better or not. On the rare occassions I fletch up vanes on carbon, I use one of the cyanoacrylate 'super glue' gels. Bondini works good. Best thing about it is you can find that kind of glue in any WalMart and it's a lot less expensive than archery specialty glue. Frankly, I think it's all the same anyway.

For feathers, I won't willingly use anything but Bohning fletching tape.

As for jigs, I'm using a Bitzenberger. It's the best jig you can get, IMO. There was a JoJan Multi-fletcher on my workbench for many years, but when I started using modern glue, I didn't need to have six shafts working at the same time any more. So, it was the Bitz. The BPE Pro model jig is also a decent one and quite a bit less expensive than the Bitz.

[Greg / MO]

In regards to the fletching jig, I'd used a friend's Bitzenburger a few times and felt it did a fantastic job. I recently looked at the Grayling jig, and it appeared to be almost an exact copy for only about $30, as compared to the $65 for the Bitz. I thought I could save some money and get the same results -- especially given the fact I don't have to refletch that often. Wrong. After fletching one arrow with the Grayling, I packaged it back up and applied the $30 credit towards the purchase of a Bitzenburger. Because of it's quality construction, I'll never have to buy another one again. May add to the collection, but won't have to replace it. There's just no comparison.