stealthycat

I crowned this arrow with a Krylon white metal primer. I then crested it with testors and dipped three times in Minwax Polyacrylic. I use a Arizona EZ fletcher and fletched the shaft with my turkey feathers and DUCO. I think it looks pretty good. HOWEVER, one of the tips of one of the feathers was off, so I pulled it loose a bit before it compeltely dried to reglue it in line. When I did, it pulled all the paint and everything up from the shaft.

ARGHHHH ! Does the crests and crowns you do allow you to fletch several times without eating the crown and crest paint ? If so, how in the world do you do it ? It aint worth all the time I put into it if I cannot fletch multiple times. I know gasket laquer allows you to do this, right ?

Lilhunter

not my gasket lacquer. You can if you're very very careful and have a good coat over the cresting lines, get away with it but not usually LOL!......and here you thought I was kidding when I said fletch tape!!!

stealthycat

Lilhunter - You can refletch multiple times over the fletching tape ?

Cliff_N_Di

That looks preety dang good..Even with gasket lacquer its still preety dificult to refletch without messing up your crown and crest, Best to just strip em all and start over if you got the time to kill.

pat daily

Will fletch tite work on the polyacrylic or not?
I have both but I would like to know before going in with both feet on some woods that I intend to finish with the polyacrylic.

arrowsmit

I've had good success w/Duco cement on waterbased finishes Pat. I've never tried fletch-tite on anything but Bohning laquer or clean aluminum shafting. Great looking arrow Stealthy!!

Edited by - Arrowsmit on 01/06/2002 14:15:10

Lilhunter

yes Stealthy, with fletchtape you can peel the feather off. The tape comes off like rubber cement, just roll your finger over the shaft and it rubbs off. Normally when I use it though I put a drop of glue at both ends of my feather. Obivously you will need to clean it up a little there, albeit a small drop!!! Get a roll and try it! You cant peel it off very easy until you roll the feather off sideways. Also dont leave a quiver in the car as I have heard they tend to roll if you dont do the two drops, one on each end of the feather. Plus it sticks to everything I have tried..big plus <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>!!!

wallypedal

Stealthy,that's a good lookin' arrow! I've been having good luck peeling off old fletching from fletch tape and refletching. This is on top of gasket lacquer and water based polycylic. It took a while to refine the technique for the initial install of the tape though. I made a jig board up finally. On the left I've got the fletching tape held in a spool device made out of flat aluminum stock and a couple of large fender washers. In the middle, I took more of the flat stock and made an upside down fletching clamp holder. On the right is the fletching jig itself. I pull a chunk of the tape across the fletch base & press it down, then use a pointy ended hobby knife to slice the adhesive loose from the backing. Turn the blade over and use the back edge to separate the rest of the backing from the adhesive. Then cut the extra backing piece off from the tape spool. Got a wood block at the left end of the clamp holder to press the tape against for this cut. Put the fletching on the shaft, open the clamp immediately and rub the quill down onto the tape with my thumb. When all three are done, take the same knife and press the tape to shaft with the back blunt edge, then slice the front ends of the tape off 1/16&quot; or so ahead of the fletch, at the same angle the base is ground. Depending on your fletching source, some of the bases are tapered and feathered off nicely and some have ugly square corners. The square corner ones are the only ones I've had peel without using a drop of cement. If the bases are curled and dry and your clamp is trying to straighten them out too much, sometimes the tape will pop loose when you yank the clamp off right away.
So much for fletching tape 101!!! The product is good, but the directions coulda come off a Band-Aid box.

YBIC Tom

Cliff_N_Di

I have never used Fletch tape, mostly because the company that I build arrows for doesnt like it, apparently they had a bunch of arrows that there were done by somebody else that did use fletch tape, but by the time they reached the Shoot alot of the fletching had came off, they thought it was probably due to humidty..anybody else have this problem?

Dianna

Lilhunter

Tom-Tn was saying heat not humidity...have heard that one before too though!

Great directions Walley LOL! I just take a clamp, put a feather in it, lay a roll on the kitchen table and roll out a strip, take the end to the tip of the feather, run my finger down the tape as it lays on the feather quill. Take my scissors (no fingernails), lift the edge of the backing, peel it off and clamp it on. I do put a drop on the ends though, just something everyone out east forewarned me about....guess humidity could play into it..who knows. super simple to get off, dont have to recrest/cap!!!!! sticks to darn near everything <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>!

man my typing stinks LOL!!!!

Edited by - Lilhunter on 01/08/2002 03:51:52