bbahunter:

I just got off the line with a Bohning tech. The Fletch-Tite "Platinum" sounds very good.

The tech said that the "Platinum" is Bohning's formula and is not a cyanoacrylate-based glue. The glue has a 3-5 minute working time and totally cures in 2 hours. That is an excellent time-interval for working time and then being able to use the shafts.

With the original Fletch-Tite (still available), I would guess that the working time would be about 15 minutes. I pushed the envelope and would move the to next fletch in about 2-5 minutes..depending on weather. I then would not shoot the shafts until they sat for 24-48 hours....depending on the weather.

I have used Bohning for 40 years. I should have went to their site in the first place.

BobCo: Still will check out the one you use. If I don't use it, others may.

c903,
Yes it is very good glue, i just bought some last week, and fletched up some of the bohning blazer vanes on some goldtips.
I haven't had a chance to shoot the arrows yet, but the glue worked very well with the vanes.
I can't wait to try this glue on feathers, because i was having some of the same issues as you were with some of the super glue types, including goat tuff.
I don't think you will be disappointed.

BobCo:

Were you able to read your own writing?

Bohning Platinum sounds good, but that does not mean that what you are using might not have a feature that might be better, or the entire product might be a bit better.

Sorry it took so long c903, I tried to change my profile here and messed up my e-mail address (they send you a new password I guess), so I could not log in yesterday. I put in two requests for help yesterday mornning, but it doesn't seem like anyine is too quick around here. So I set up a new account.

Anyway, here it is: The product name is maxi-cure extra thick and is distributed by BSI (Bob Smith Industries). Like you mentioned previously, it does contain cyanoacrylate




Quote:
"Bob Smith Maxi-Cure CA Extra Thick 2 oz
Thick CA is used when you need working time but has the same tremendous holding power when set as normal CA glue. With thin CA, you put the parts together first and then apply the glue. The glue seeps into the joint and then sets bonding the parts together. With thick CA, you can build the old fashioned way - put the glue on the part first and then place the parts together "


Be sure to let me know how the Bohning does.

I have fletched hundreds of feathers with Goat tuff and even crazy glue and have never, not once had any get into the feathers.

I can understand your quest for a better glue, but don't understand how you get glue above the base and into the feather.

Rack, some feathers aren't ground real well and have a lot of pith left on the bases. The pith soaks up glue like a sponge, before it can set. That's exactly what sent me to using fletching tape instead of glue.

On the other hand, I've never had it soak through the quill and soak the barbs themselves!

C- Just trying to be helpful, so don't get bent out of shape with me. A little constructive criticism and a hint or so.

I've got a feeling that the glue problems you described - with what sounds like glue getting on everything within a 500' radius[:-] - is more the result of sloppy, rushed technique and disorganized work space than anything else. And repositioning fletches? Shouldn't ever have to reposition a fletch. Once you're ready to go to the jig with that clamp, everything should be 'right'.

Plan out your job. Get out everything you need and no more than what you need.

Organize your work area and keep it organized as you work. When you pick up a pair of scissors and use them, then put them back in the same place when you're done. Five minutes later, the next time you need the scissors, you won't be searching around wondering what the $%^! you did with those #$%! scissors!

Develop hand movements and techniques that you can repeat EXACTLY at each step for each fletch. Remember that each fletch is an entire operation in itself and each operation is 1/3 of the total job. When each step of each operation is consistent, then each operation is consistent with every other operation. When all the operations are consistent, the total job is consistent and professional looking.

Finally, RELAX. Fletching is not a race. Getting in a hurry causes mistakes. A mistake costs you three times the time you would have used by doing it right in the first place. 1) You wasted the time it took to apply the fletch in the first place. 2) While you peel the fletch off, you could have been indexing the jig and loading the clamp with the fletch for the next station. 3) As you're replacing that fletch, you should have been placing the fletch for the next station.

With tape, I can do a dozen arrows in less than an hour - about 45 minutes - when I get my technique going good. When I get in a hurry and try to go fast, I can do a dozen arrows in just over an hour.

Gateways I suppose[&:]

Pull the lock off the wallet and buy some trueflights..........LOL

I just buy what they've got at the shop. They probably are Gateways.

Arhur P:

I am not even dented, let alone bent out of shape.

Constructive criticism can be received one of two ways; as a personal affront, or instructive. In my case, having worked with bows and arrows for 40 years, I consider your comments to be an instructional alert. In other words, when someone has been doing something for many years, he or she can form bad habits and those habits can become unconsciously ingrained. Sometimes it takes it takes a swift kick in the butt to alert a person that they have formed bad habits.

However, in my case I assure you that I have not formed any bad habits regarding building arrows. And I will not do a sloppy job. My fabrication system is good stuff, precisely set, and in good order. My working area is setup to easily move from one step to another (cutting to fletching) without stumbling over everything. My fletching unit is on a large turntable with two Bitz's and all the components and tools neatly compartmentalized and within easy reach.

I enjoy fletching, so I move slow and can spend an enormous amount of time building shafts. As for the need to reposition or reinstall a fletch. When I set the clamp, I will apply some down pressure for a few seconds to assure the base of the fletch is making full and solid contact. Sometimes I will apply too much pressure and the clamp will slip. I clean the area, apply new glue, and reset. Rarely, but sometimes when have someone talking to me while I work, I will become too engaged in conversation and make a minor boo-boo. However, 99.999% of the time, my finished product is good and durable.

The problem I had with the super glue did result with a batch of Gateway 5" feathers that I had purchased in a bulk sale. I had never used Gateways in all the years I have shot. I could not pass up the price for the amount of feathers I bought.

The "super-glue" was recommended to me. It was not totally liquid, nor was it totally gel. However, it was liquefied enough, that when I inspected the arrows the next day, some of the glue had got into the BASE of the quills, and had actually ran down my shafts. It was a mess.

Your advice is good advice for anyone to follow.

I did not read all post but I ,like you,do not like the super glue type glues.They get brittle and do seem to come off easier over time.

The fLetch tite glues are far superior glue imo to the other types on the market.

I tried the Fletch Tite Platinum tonight and was VERY IMPRESSED with it.It wasn't anywhere as stringy as the older style glue and did seem to dry much faster.I would put a very small bead along the base and then run my finger down it to ensure an even and very small amount of glue on the vane and I was changing vanes much faster than before.


As far as fletching,I give it an A+ but only time will tell how well it works on the range and in the field.