Yes you have to use the washers, otherwise you will destroy your arrow inserts. I replace the blades and apply just enough pressure to the screw heads to firm them down, without really going heavy, they are tiney screws and easy to damage. As for screwing them on, I just use as much pressure as my fingers allow, and be very careful. The best method would be to use a leather glove, that way you won' t risk cutting yourself. If your bow is tuned well you should be able to take any reasonable shot with the steelheads as you would with a fixed blade head. They key is a well tuned setup and ethical shots.