I have been shooting parallel cedars from Three Rivers but wanted to build some of my own. I have a cut off saw, taper tool, fletching jigs, feathers, nocks, points, matched raw cedar shafts, stain, sand paper and steel wool. I need to buy a couple dipping tubes or build my own. I have Three Rivers' VHS on building wooden arrows and they pretty much cover everything but I wanted more information on different products for sealing the arrows. Which kind of sealer do you prefer and why? What are it's pros and cons. Can dip tubes be made from PVC or will the laquers affect PVC to the point of ruining the sealant?

I wasn't planning on getting into the cresting immediately just standard stained cedar arrows.

Hello, My arrows I build are not fancy. but here is what I use. I use either Minway stain or Olympic stain because they both stain and seal the arrow, and heck you can stain the arrow to any type wood you want. then I use a couple coats of polyurathane let dry wipre arrows off with a paper towel and fletch up. This works well for me. I use a total of 4 coats. 2 stain and 2 poly.

Yes you can make a dip tube from PVC, I would buy the replacement rubber. Good luck.

Tom-TN has a great recipie for an arrow finish that doesn't require tubes and is very tough. I've always had problems with poly--makes my arrows stick in the target like glue--literally.

Tom should post when he sees this. If he doesn't, send him an e-mail and he'll give you the instructions.

Chad

I use the "big dipper" & lil' dipper" dip tubes 3-Rivers sells. They are great! I leave the fletch-lac finishes in them year round, and have never had a problem with it drying out or skimming over. I'd highly recommend them.

I use a Big Dipper tube and gasket lacquer. It gives a great finish and is possibly the best for resisting target burn. One of the nicest attributes is drying time. I can put on as many coats as I want just as fast as I can dip the shafts. I let the finished shafts sit for 1/2 hour, trim off the excess lacquer from the nock taper, and glue on the nocks. After another 1/2 hour I can start fletching.

Gasket lacquer does take some set up and you can't buy it at WalMart or Home Depot. Some people gripe that it isn't waterproof but since I don't live in Alaska or shoot in the shower, that doesn't concern me.

Lots of people use a wipe on polyurethane and have really good results with it. For me, gasket lacquer is best.

Guy

Has anyone used spar?.It's a spray on finnish.Poly I think.


CB

I have bought the regular Minwax for stain and a quart of Deft satin wood finish. It is a laquer. I don't know if it would be considered a "gasket laquer" but the drying time is 30 min. I am going to give it a try. I will have to test fletching adhesives to see what works and I will test it out on a seperate piece of wood to see how waterproof it is. I think I will try to make my own dip tubes.
I looked at the Minwax polyurethane but it was recommended for indoor use only and suggested the Minwax Spar Urethane for exterior. The polyurethane was supposed to be quick drying and the Spar needed 6 hours between coats. I am normally not that patient.

A quart of the Gasket Laquer from Three Rivers is $21 and the Deft was $9 at Lowes. I'll probably do nothing more than learn a lesson here but I like to do things the hard way at least once to make sure I get my moneys worth.LOL

Has anyone tried to make the cresting machine showed on Stickbow, using a sewing machine motor?

Just found a picture of the crestor on the bowhunting forum. Looks like it would work great. I'll be calling the sewing machine shop soon.

Gasket lacquer is a nitrocellulose lacquer, it's different from both polyurethane and spar varnish. You'll know it when you see it; it's about the color of very light honey and just about as thick. If you want to try gasket lacquer I'd suggest getting in touch with Troy at Sticks and Feathers Arrowsmithing, he's got the best price on it. There's no doubt that using gasket lacquer takes some commitment due to the start up cost. One quart will fill a big dipper with a little left over. I'd suggest getting two quarts to start since you'll be ordering a second within a couple dozen arrows to top off the dipper. By ordering two you'll save on shipping.

Gasket lacquer isn't the best finish for everyone by any means, it's simply the best I have found for me and the way I build arrows.

I beleve one of my friends used Deft at one time and found that Fletch-Tite glue does not work very well on this and some other polyurethanes. I've heard that the Duco and Barge cements work well on polys.

When I was building arrows I used Bohning clear for shaft sealant and PPG automotive paint for crown dips. I could go to my local paint store that carried PPG and get about any color mixed by choosing from 100's of shades. Of course, I would need to thin it with an acrylic lacquer thinner. I could use the PPG paint, Bohning sealer, and Fletch-Tite glue together because they are compatible... they're all an acrylic lacquer based product. Polyurethanes are of a different breed. With low humidity and temps in the 70's, I could re-dip the shafts wihin 30-60 minutes.

I'm very interested also in Tom-TN's epoxy method. Tom could you please send me some info on your method of madness?