From: Fiddler
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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After being unable to find and order arrows with the color feathers I want, I decided to build my own. I've now assembled all the arrow-building components, including an old Bitzenburger Dial-O-Fletch Fletchmaster jig I found at a yard sale. Unfortunately, its instruction pamphlet was lost long ago. I'm sure I can find some operating info online. I plan on mounting three right wing feathers on carbon "Tradition" arrows. What would be a good degree of helical to use?
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From: Fiddler
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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Update: I found the owner's manual online and studied it. I discovered there's not really much choice of setting options besides three-fletch or four-fletch settings. It doesn't appear I can change the "twist" of the feather.
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From: Briar
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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I use as much as i can and still have the full and entire base of the feather flush with the shaft. Ill take great adhesion over an extra degree or twist all day.
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From: fdp
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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I don't use any and only fletch offset.
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From: 2Wild Bill
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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I fletch with a BPE jig and have it set for a large helical on 5.5" fletching. My shaft of preference is a 2016 aluminum, so thereby there is plenty of diameter. I imagine with a skinny carbon you won't be able to get much more than an offset. Whatever spins your shaft with a broadhead, field points don't produce a planning factor which would require helical.
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From: George D. Stout
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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If your broadheads plane, you have a spine/tuning issue. Big helicals may help cover that but it's not a solution.
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From: Jim
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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I'm with George. If you tuned right they don't plane. But Im human and I use 3x5" helical fletch just in case. LOL
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From: g2knee
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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1 degree offset works well for me. It doesn’t take much if you’re tuned well.
I’ve used helical too, flies well and true. Even more stabilization, especially with broadheads.
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From: RonP
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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Fiddler, the Bitz jig is adjustable. There is no predetermined degree of helical.
You can put a feather in the clamp, and vary the adjustments of the jig with light hand pressure until the feather sits on the shaft the way you want.
Once you get it to where you want, hold it in place and tighten the adjustment screws.
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From: aromakr
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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Fiddler:
Craig, has it correct, however make sure that your helical clamp is for the right wing if using RW feathers. The smaller diameter of the carbon shafts you might find it difficult to achieve what he said.
Bob
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From: Orion
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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As others have said, if you have a helical clamp, there's pretty much just one amount of helical you will get out of it, determined by the feather base lying flush along its entire length on the shaft. If you have a straight clamp, the amount of helical you can impart is still limited by how the feather base will sit on the shaft, but you can also mount them straight or nearly so, which you really can't do with a helical clamp.
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From: David McLendon
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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As much or as little as you like, fletch a few up with different levels and see which one "you" prefer.
You'll get many opinions when you ask for advice, yours is the only one that matters.
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From: 2 bears
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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You can off set each end of the clamp but it is best to keep the feather in the center of the shaft both front and back. The curved right wing clamp gives plenty of helix & plenty of spin. In fact more than I want with big feathers. The off set is really for use with the straight clamp. Hope that helps. >>>----> Ken
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From: lefty4
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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To me, the alignment of the feather base to the arrow and getting a "maximum glue joint" is far more important than the amount of helix. With a Bitz, there will be more than enough helix.
One suggestion/tip I would add is to run your thumbnail between the feather quill and the clamp to push the feather slightly away from the clamp. When you position the clamp on the jig, squeeze the ends of the clamp slightly and bring the clamp straight down to the arrow. That little extra space between the feather quill and the clamp will allow the feather to better bend and conform to the shaft for a better fit and glue joint.
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From: GLF
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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Just remember the more twist the more noise downrange.
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From: 2Wild Bill
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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"I'm with George. If you tuned right they don't plane"
So bare shaft tuning with broadheads is a better indicator of correct spine?
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From: Mike E
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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Mine are like this.
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From: Boker
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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Straight or offset is what I prefer.
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From: Corax_latrans
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Date: 20-May-22 |
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Nobody said anything of the sort, Bill.
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From: GUTPILEPA
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Date: 21-May-22 |
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A food for thought if a bullet doesn’t spin it’s not accurate
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From: Nemophilist
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Date: 21-May-22 |
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Fred Bear on Arrows
Your next heading here is “arrows and broadheads.” I draw 28 inches, and my arrows are 29 inches with either the blunt field point or the broadhead attached to it, so in the case of the broadhead, I have an inch to the back of the head at my full draw length.
I am not concerned about whether my feathers are left- or right- handed, but I do like a helical fletch and I like a very large feather. I’ve never shot other than three-fletch arrows. I’m sure four-fletch has advantages. I think that they can be cut lower and stand up under wet weather probably better than three-fletch, although I’ve never used them. My fletching is 5 inches long and begins 1 1/4 inches from the very end of the nock. They are spirally fletched so that the shaft revolves in flight. Never use straight fletching on hunting arrows.
I have no particular color preference on fletching, except that I’m often making a film in which it is very important in having the camera follow the flight of the arrow. For this reason I have used rather bright-colored feathers—white and yellows, maybe with a black cock feather for a contrast, and, for some reason, my arrows are never camouflaged. The last three years I’ve been using Converta-Point Magnum® arrows, of course, and they are aluminum. This is a handicap in the woods, there’s no question about it, but it’s one of the things you have to put up with when you are in the filming business. (Author’s note: These were the “new” arrows we had introduced in our 1968 Bear Archery catalog. A special insert was designed for use with broadheads, and there were blunt, field and target points as a part of this new system, so that the archer could use the same arrow shaft and simply interchange the points for practice, hunting or field use. The shafts were especially made for us by Easton. Fred came up with this system and filed for the patent on Nov. 2, 1966, and the patent #3,401,938 was granted on Sept. 17, 1968.)
I do not use any preparation on the feathers to keep them dry. I use a plastic bag pulled over the arrows when they are in the bow quiver and held in place with a rubber band. This, of course, sometimes is a handicap, also, because if you are surprised by game it’s pretty difficult to pull this bag off without making a little rattling sound, but I’ve never found a waterproof fletching material that stood up under very much rain. (Author’s note: This was written before we introduced our Weathers®, all- weather plastic fletching material, but Fred continued to use real feathers even after we had done so.) Naturally, I don’t fletch my own arrows, and I use the Razorhead® (the Bear Razorhead, if you’ll permit me), and I always use the insert even in shooting an elephant … and there’s a reason for this. The insert opens up an “X” hole and gives better penetration because it relieves pinching on the shaft and leaves a better blood trail. I use a Razorhead® with the insert for all kinds of game. Makes no difference the weight of the bow or the size of the game.
As I said before, I like an arrow that is nine times my bow weight in grains. Penetration is a matter of kinetic energy, and it is a well-known fact that a heavy object moving at the same speed is much harder to stop than a lighter one. There’s another factor in the case of an arrow. A given bow has a certain, I’ll call it “quickness,” of return to the string from a full-draw position. A heavy bow can handle a heavier arrow with a great deal more striking energy.
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From: Tedd
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Date: 21-May-22 |
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For broad heads use good bit of helical. I don't think there is a downside unless it gets noisy or you lose a noticeable amount of speed. Its not like the feathers will peel off or anything. My 5 1/2" feathers are just a tad noisy with the same helical as the 5". I keep fussing with the Bitzenburger but the screw holes and the clamp have had 25 yrs of use and it is hard to make fine adjustments. Maybe I'll get a new one someday. But use plenty of helical and feather. Usually in the case of traditional archery the default for hunters is to shoot the best most stable arrow you can in hunting conditions with a broad head. But in the case of someone asking the Leather Wall how much helical to use on their arrow the conversation always seem spiral downward into be a pi$$ing match about who uses the least amount of stabilization. (Maybe not so much on here but definitely on the other website.) I guess there are indicating their superior shooting skills and arrow tuning. When I hear that, it sounds like they are making a choice to hunt with an arrow that is less stable than it can be? I only shoot off the rest at 30 yards max so I don't know anything about metal riser bows. Tedd
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From: Rock
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Date: 21-May-22 |
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I fletch with a Jo-Jan Multi fletcher that I modified so that I could get more helical out of it. G. Fred Asbell showed me how to do this many many years ago, it is set up so that I maximize the helical while still getting the fletch to lay flat on the arrow shaft.
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From: Linecutter
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Date: 21-May-22 |
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You have the 2 adjustment thumb screws that holds the magnet slide that the clamp attaches to. Loosen both screws so you can just move the magnet slide with moderate pressure. You can then adjust the amount of off set you want to have. As mentioned you want the forward and rearward ends of the quill setting flat on the shaft. It only take about 3-5 degrees of off set for good arrow spin using helical feathers, the skinnier the shaft, the less that 3-5 degrees is going to look. If you are using Fletching Tape to put your feather on with, put one in the clamp, put the tape on, and lightly touch it down on to the shaft with the magnet holding it place, then release the clamp. Pull the shaft out of the fletching jig, see how your fletch lays against the shaft. If one end of the fletch is not laying flat on the shaft pull the fletch off, then adjust that end the direction it needs to go, then put the fletch back on with the clamp and see if you have moved it enough. When you get the amount of off set you want/need, then tighten down the thumb screws. The marks on the clamp is for fletch placement, which mark you use is up to you in how far you want the fleching to set forward of the arrow nock. Hope this helps answer your question. DANNY
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From: reddogge
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Date: 21-May-22 |
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Don't confuse helical amount or twist which is built into the Bitz clamp and is nonadjustable with offset on the shaft which you can adjust on a Bitz clamp. Many do.
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