I just bought a bitzenburger with the right helical clamp.

Question #1 - I know to put the shaft in the jig and twist the top knob right and bottom knob left until the vane is making full contact with the shaft. When you twist these knobs does it change the degree of helical or is it just move the jig to make full arrow contact?

Question #2 - I will be using AAE 4" plasticfletch vanes. What is the best thing to use to clean the shaft and do I have to clean the vanes too?

Thanks for all the help!

come one guys,,,, i' m itching to fletch some arrows but I want to make sure I do it right.

Can someone answer the two questions above.

Thanks

I' m not going to be much help.....cause I just started myself this summer and use feathers !
But you can make slight adjustments to the helical by adjusting the nobs......but you' ll find to maintain contact on carbon arrows .....that there isn' t much adjustment.
The pro-shop guy told me to clean my arrows with Acetone and not to clean the Plastic vanes (maybe AAE) if I used a fast set gel......but all I have right now is Fletch tite so he told me to clean the vanes with Acetone . I only have two arrows with vanes ....for rainy weather......so I am not an expert. I have been cleaning my carbon arrows with Denatured Alcohol (because it was handy) and it has worked fine so far ! Good Luck !! Fletching your own is fun........I actually completey assembled my last dozen .....from cutting ,to glueing inserts, nocks, and fletched them too !! No big deal for a lot of these guys ......but for me ....I' m pround to have them in my quiver !!

CBM SC,

Thanks for the reply. I was starting to wonder if anyone was going to reply.
I know what you mean about being proud to have them in your quiver... I feel the same way. We all have to start somewhere!

Thanks again and have a great day

The actual helical is caused by the curavture of the clamp. If you' re using a dropaway, adjust the nobs to get as much of an offset as you can, while keeping good vane contact. For a TM hunter style rest (2 prongs) you' ll only be able to get away will a slight amount of offset.

As far as cleaning is concerned, use isopropyl alcohol to clean the rear portion of the shaft. If you' re using AAE vanes with Fastset gel adhesive DO NOT clean the bases of the vanes. They are treated with a type of accelerator that bonds almost instantly with the fastset gel.

I personally think that either fastset gel or goat tuff are the best adhesives for a vane to carbon bond. I prefer bond-tite for a feather to carbon bond.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

RacHunter, it is very difficult to put a helical on a vane. A straight vane has some memory and will want to be straight. I would recommend only fletching feathers with the appropriate helical. But you can put an offset on a vane (but you will need a straight clamp). That is what is usually done. In order to do this put your arrow in the Bitz, then turn the top screw in the direction you want the offset (I set the top to the left), then turn the bottom screw to the right. There is a pretty narrow range that you will be able to use dpending on your shaft size.

In order to clean the shaft and vane I usually use 91% alcohol. The shaft you can aways clean with this. But, make sure you read the manufacturers instruction before you use anything on the vane. Some vanes are already treated and will not need any preping.