Educate me on Arrow Building

[TRD1911]

I'm not new to archery by any means. Been shooting since I was about 10 or 12 but new to arrow building. I've always just bought the factory fletched arrows by the dozen, threw on whatever broadhead caught my eye for the season and sent it. Maybe I want to improve my accuracy or maybe I'm just bored in the off-season but I want to start tailoring my equipment to my specific setup.

Here's what I have -

Easton 340 FMJs
Cut 29.75 inches from end to end (not including the nock)
100gr Stinger Buzzcuts
Have been using the 2in Blazer veins.
Mathews Halon 6 @ 60lbs

My current FOC is 7.915%.

What I've been reading and finding online is that I should be somewhere between 12-20% FOC. The easy solution is buying a heavier head but I already have a dozen of the 100gr Buzzcuts and after a few succesful seasons with them I don't want to change (superstition or sentimental...I'm not sure).

A few questions that I have -

1) Inserts vs Collars - The inserts maintain the OD of the arrow and add weight to move FOC forward. The collars add rigidity to the front of the arrow shaft but increase OD (increased drag on penetration). Which do you prefer?

2) I'm a right handed shooter. Should I be doing a left or right helical? Straight?

3)Arrow wraps - I'm leaning towards white so I can visualize the blood but my eyes pick up neon green and/or orange really well. Which do you recommend and what brand?

4) What jig do you recommend? I prefer something solid and reliable but see that price ranges drastically on these for some reason. Quality and consistency is more important than price for this but lets be reasonable (lets say under $100).

Thanks for all the help

[Stein]

I am a beginner as well.  I tried a few jigs and ended up with the Bohning Helical.  It seems to work perfect every time as long as I get it lined up and the nock all the way down into the jig.

[theleo]

Point weight: Guessing that you have the normal HIT insert you could switch to the brass version to add the weight.

Helical: That's up to you to find the sweet spot. All things being equal I'd rather mine be straight fletched but I'm more accurate with about a 3 degree helical on mine. The amount depends on the shooter/setup. A left helical has a tendency to loosen broadheads.

Wraps: My 2 favorite colors are pink and white. Greens, yellows, and oranges, can be a pain to pick out of summer and fall foliage. For solid colors the Bohnning ones are fine, for custom wraps Onestringer is a great place to work with.

Jig: A Bitzenberger would be your best bet. The price is reasonable and they give you the ability to experiment with your fletchings. If you're going to stick with 2" vanes and just want as much helical as you can an EZ Fletch mini is a pretty sweet little jig.

 

[TRD1911]

Are you guys running inserts or collars? It seems to go either way with the youtube celebrities on which they prefer. I'm leaning more towards the inserts since it maintains the streamline shaft but do like the idea of increased rigidity on penetration that the collar offers.

[mburrows]

Dont worry about foc. I dont think its an important statistic to even consider

If I had your draw length, id go to a 300 spine arrow, add a 50 or 75 grain insert and pick whatever color arrow wrap you think looks good.

For a fletching jig, i have an Arizona ez feltch. Its not perfect but it's ok.

[Bone collector 13]

Not much to add, other then look up Aaron Snyder. He’s put out a few podcasts about arrow building, FOC all of that and is just a wealth of knowledge. His podcast is Kifrucast

[TRD1911]

Not much to add, other then look up Aaron Snyder. He’s put out a few podcasts about arrow building, FOC all of that and is just a wealth of knowledge. His podcast is Kifrucast

Listening to the Kifarucast with Donnie Vincent right now, ha!

[Parasite]

I'm not new to archery by any means. Been shooting since I was about 10 or 12 but new to arrow building. I've always just bought the factory fletched arrows by the dozen, threw on whatever broadhead caught my eye for the season and sent it. Maybe I want to improve my accuracy or maybe I'm just bored in the off-season but I want to start tailoring my equipment to my specific setup.

Here's what I have -

Easton 340 FMJs
Cut 29.75 inches from end to end (not including the nock)
100gr Stinger Buzzcuts
Have been using the 2in Blazer veins.
Mathews Halon 6 @ 60lbs

My current FOC is 7.915%.

What I've been reading and finding online is that I should be somewhere between 12-20% FOC. The easy solution is buying a heavier head but I already have a dozen of the 100gr Buzzcuts and after a few succesful seasons with them I don't want to change (superstition or sentimental...I'm not sure).

A few questions that I have -

1) Inserts vs Collars - The inserts maintain the OD of the arrow and add weight to move FOC forward. The collars add rigidity to the front of the arrow shaft but increase OD (increased drag on penetration). Which do you prefer?

2) I'm a right handed shooter. Should I be doing a left or right helical? Straight?

3)Arrow wraps - I'm leaning towards white so I can visualize the blood but my eyes pick up neon green and/or orange really well. Which do you recommend and what brand?

4) What jig do you recommend? I prefer something solid and reliable but see that price ranges drastically on these for some reason. Quality and consistency is more important than price for this but lets be reasonable (lets say under $100).

Thanks for all the help

1) Inserts versus collars ... I've only ever used inserts. I have nothing against outserts, but I just never had the need to try them. While the outserts might increase initial drag on penetration, I would not be surprised if they reduce overall draw on pass-through since the remainder of the arrow shaft is now passing through a larger hole created by the outsert. Maybe one day I'll try them ...

2) Left or right helical, or straight ... let me expand on this a bit. You also have the option of left and right offset which is basically somewhere in between straight and helical. Trying to fletch helical can be a PITA. I can elaborate more with a phonecall. An offset vane is basically using a straight fletch clamp and adjusting the jig to put the vane on 1-2 degrees off parallel. The more vane rotation you have, the more accurate you will be, but at the expense of losing KE faster and adding arrow noise. Should you be fletching right or left hand? Not sure. I always use right hand, but I know some guys will shoot a bare shaft into a target a short distance away to see if the arrow naturally wants to spin clockwise or counterclockwise. Simply mark the arrow with a paint dot, shoot the target, and see which way the dot rotated. Then fletch correspondingly.

3) I don't use arrow wraps. Just personal preference.

4) I recommend the Firenock jig. Spendy, but well built. Buy a used one to save some $$$.


Now I am going to touch on a few things that you have not mentioned.

A) FMJ's ... while I don't have any experience with these shafts, I did shoot Easton ACC's in the past. What I found was that due to the aluminum in the shaft, the shafts were prone to losing straightness after awhile. My 0.001" straightness shafts would eventually range up to 0.006" and cause accuracy issues. I don't know if FMJ's have this issue, but I suspect they would. I recommend 100% carbon, specifically Black  Eagle arrows.

B) You dont have to go to a heavier head to increase FOC. You can buy FACT weights to add extra weight up front. You can also use heavier insert if you are not already maxed out and as long as they are installed with hot melt glue. If installed with superglue, you might as well just leave them in and add the FACT weights.

c) Spine indexing ... this can really improve accuracy. Basically you are finding the stiffest part of the arrow (the spine), and making sure all the arrow spines are located in the same position (say top dead center for instance). I buy my shafts already indexed and I can tell you that I do notice a measurable increase in accuracy when shooting my crossbows.

[Crunchy]

Bitzenberger is the jig I and many would recommend.  You will not get any helical from a 2 inch blazer vein.  To get any helical you will need a 4 inch vane.  I would just stick with an off set which is very slight with a 2 inch vein.  Wraps I have tried but could never get right, so I gave up.  I wouldnt over think FOC.  If your arrow flight is shooting well call it good.  I shoot 3 inch vanes with as much offset I can get and maintain good contact for gluing.

[Stein]

I fletch  2” Blazers with a helical, not sure why you couldn’t.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Crunchy]

Its too short of a vane to get any real helical twist to it.

[Tracker0721]

So I make trad arrows and have since I was 14 or so. How we tune spine to a stick bow is point weight. Cause guys shoot from 100 grain target tips to 300. My recurve is 55# and with my 190gr head I shoot a 70-75 which equates to like a 300 spine.

So shooting a 340 with a 100 grain tip I’d say when you paper tune you’ll be pretty stiff spined. I shoot a chill and my arrows are 29” 340s with 150 up front. Perfect holes on paper but my FOC is still lacking a wee bit but my speed is still decent with my t-Rex arms draw.

Another thing is nock weight decreases spine too. So a 20-30 grain lighted nock takes away about 10-20 grains up front because a typical nock is only 10 or so. Also the length of the arrow, anything over 28 decreases spine and under 28 stiffens it. Hence why carbons used to be 55-75. At 30” it was 55lb and 26” it’s 75. 28 was middle ground 65#.

Morale of the story. Set up your bow how you feel best but then go paper tune! Tuned bows kill better.

[OltHunter]

I've gotten a lot more involved with arrow building over the past year.  And the best part is you get to try all of this out to see what works best for you and your setup.  All bows, archers, and form are all so different that there really isn't 1 right answer to your questions, just places to start to work off of.

A must start is to check spine first and all of the different options you are talking about and what that will do to your spine.

http://www.pinwheelsoftware.com/

Download the credit card less trial to double check your spine, and how much you can put upfront and what all the combinations of wrap/no wrap, 3 vs 4 vanes, 50 grain insert up front, etc.  7 days is all you need.  Come up with 3 or 4 different setups to try out.

After you get everything figured out, draw a little line down your shaft at the nock, and shoot a bareshaft into the target at 5 ft.  look to see where that line went, left or right and fletch that way.  I believe it has to do with the way your strings and servings are twisted that dictates the spin.  Mine have always spun right. This is one of those splitting hairs does it really matter, but it's one of those easy, why nots...

Broadheads do better with some offset/helical.  2 degrees is a good middle ground and start.  Another good tool to get is an arrow spinner and squaring tool.  Make sure your field tips and broadheads are spinning perfect as that can be a problem. 

Bitzenburger jig for me, straight with offset about 1/16 of an inch up front.

I don't do arrow wraps because i have a long draw, long arrow, and to get everything balanced the way i do, my arrow is already heavy enough.  I may drop from the front end weight to try them as I've heard it's night and day difference when fletching a lot, and they look cool!

And I run an insert system to add weight, that you drop from the back of the nock down and use a long tool to screw in.

FOC is an interesting topic these days and it sounds like you just need to get it to what works for you and your groups.  Getting a screw in type of system is the best.  Try 30 grains see what that does, try 50 grains see what that does, try nothing, see what that does.  Making sure it's all within the spine match of the program above.  I'm not sure what Easton has, you might just have to buy heavier inserts and glue them in.

But my final suggestion, get a dozen arrows and pick 3 or 4 different combinations.  Maybe wraps, 30 grains up front, 2 degree offset, and blazers.  50 grains up front, offset, no wraps, and AAE Max Stealth.  nothing up front, wraps, 4 inch vanetechs...something like that.  After you tune, shoot them all through paper and make sure they are all getting the same tear.  If not, move your nock to another fletch and see what that does.  Get them all shooting the same.

Then shoot them all at 4 different spots on your target and see what shoots the tightest.   Keep those arrows and rip the others off and then fletch those the exact same or with a small change, maybe 3 degree, or try 4 vanes, etc. Then you found your combination.

Then once you get the tightest group, try dropping the weight on your bow 3 pounds and see what it does.  Add a twist to one of your cables, remove a twist, etc.  See what that does.

Just my experience and thoughts for you.

[Drewski]

Its too short of a vane to get any real helical twist to it.

If you want or need a bunch of helical on a Blazer, try the AZ Mini. It puts a ton of helical on them. Better than my old Jo Jann and Bitz.

[Fl0und3rz]

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