Fletching my First Set of Traditional Archery Arrows with Two Methods

[@sebastienraymond3648]

Many of us traditional archers strap a bit of string material in front of the feathers around the tips (some prefer more modern material like heat shrink tubing), to make sure the feathers won't come loose under hard impact (when stumping for example) or when they completely pass through a target. Of course, it's not an obligation. Like many of your followers, I can't wait for your next videos. Have a nice day and take care. :-)

[@InFerrumVeritas]

The finishing tape for spinwings works well

[@NPC-fl3gq]

If you want a semi-permanent solution, bind them on with serving and then coat it with bohning fletchtite platinum... It dries rock hard and WILL NOT come undone without you wanting it to. Heat shrink is my go-to for when a less permanent solution is wanted.

[@sebastienraymond3648]

@@NPC-fl3gq I've never had any issues just using string material around the front tip of the feathers. Old technique that has already proven itself, so why change what works well. Personally, I don't use heat shrink tubing, I don't like the look of my wooden arrows. Have a nice day and take care ! :D

[@lordcarnorjax8599]

My daughter shoots trad with a 68" logbow using aluminum arrows with feathers as per requirements for Archery Australia. The first Easton Jazz arrows I built for her I glued the feathers on with AAE Max Bond. I was replacing a feathers that had come off a lot. I refletched all the arrows with the Bohning tape and not a single feather has come off since then. I always fletch in front of the TV and a beer always help the process.

[@janbrown5176]

I like to grade my feathers, group loose feathers in sets of 3 with equal curl, trim fletch front to 45 degrees, scuff sand fbase with 120 grit before applying tape, leave tape a 1/4" longer than fletch, after attaching feathers I put about 8 turns of sewing thread whipped over the fletch front then a cuppla drips of CA glue to secure. No probs with tape and pass throughs when whipped at the front. Great vid as ever thanks.

[@ryanostler4907]

A quick tip for using the Bohning tape, lay it out flat on a table and tape the ends down so it doesnt move around and coil over on you. There's a guy named Jake Kaminski who has a really great youtube channel that taught me that trick! Maybe you should have a look at his content. ;)

[@tonypace2009]

I think he may be putting out some Trad bow content looking forward to see. Lol

[@BobDorfman]

Glad to see your entry into trad archery! It is a lot of fun. Most of us are not “purists” and try not to take ourselves too seriously. After all, we’re in it for fun. I am looking forward to your future trad videos, especially dealing with the trad “instinctive” shooting method.

[@AnimaTriste]

I am a subscriber for a long time, waiting all the time to see some traditional bow shooting here, your views on shooting techniques... You can imagine my joy now, when it's finally coming. I can't wait. Thank You again for your work and informations until now, and best wishes to You and your family!

[@archeryandstuffwithstevela3423]

Most trad guys don't cut arrows until they are tuning. The other thing that comes up a lot, is FOC. A lot of guys like to shoot heavy points. I like to shoot stiffer shafts too, as trad bows can be pretty aggressive. I'm shooting 46# @ 30" and my arrows are 400sp 31" long with 200gn points. This setup, gives me point on, at 30yd. With fletched and bare shafts hitting together. Love your work Jake.

[@archeryandstuffwithstevela3423]

The other benefit of longer arrows, is that if you are gap shooting, a longer arrow gives you a smaller gap. With a short arrow quite often the the point of the arrow ends up on the ground, in front of the target.

[@cavetroll]

I'm seriously interested in seeing the new bow then. I'm a trad and longbow individual meself

[@infinity345]

The fletching tape method is easier to apply if you don’t pull the full length off the roll. Just lift enough from the roll to attach to an end of the feather and then I roll only as much as you need as you work your way down the feather. I would carefully let the fletching clamp align to the jig magnets before letting the clamp slide down onto the shaft if that makes sense. I use a helical setup too, but the Bohning jig I have doesn’t seem to be as strongly helical as yours. Once the tape is on the quill, run a nail down the tape to make sure it’s fully bonded to the feather. After removing jig, make sure to give the entire quill a push to ensure that the tape has stuck fully to the shaft and there’s no gaps.

[@wayneashby5030]

To free up both hands for gently stretching and placing the tape onto the feather quill, try flipping the clamp upside down with the feather in the clamp and then stick the clamp magnets to the magnets on the base so the base holds the clamp for you. The feather clamp may be angled in a funny way, but that doesn't matter.

[@FrancSchiphorst]

I glue at the club. Glue a vane, shoot a couple ends and glue the next vane(s) :)

[@sweetjamhit]

Never had any feathers lift with tape - the feathers get damaged long before the tape gives out. Nail clipping pliers/snips are great for cutting the tape, and they fit in a small portable tool box.

[@melindalineen6765]

Jake I use the two sided tape all the time. I use flyfishing scissors very pointy and sharp. I put the jig between my legs. I pulled out 1 inch of two sided tape attached to the front slide my left hand down the fletch and run it to the back of the feathers cut off access. Easy and fast

[@jcgardner5852]

Really excited to see what you do with trad equipment

[@Garuda16]

Roger that!

[@cabela7869]

The tape good for shooting in warm weather,in the cold there going to come off. And you will always have to hit tips with glue with feathers.

[@saschajbarth1]

Bohning fletching tape dispenser saves a lot of time.

[@dmouse522]

Don't have all the variables but man... really like my Arizona EZ fletch after watching this. 😃

[@colingregory7464]

I believe JoJan do/did a jig that had a heavier helical and a contoured clamp, that followed the curve around the shaft, its worth whipping and gluing the front end if you are shooting off or near your hand (the raised quill makes a real mess of your hand on the way past)

[@bellshooter]

Using the Bohning tape , put the feather in a straight clamp to apply the tape it is way easier, do all 3 then start the fletching process with the helical clamp. Then tape the front and rear with spinwing tape or glue blob , whipping if traditional !

[@trevorpowdrell5474]

With the tape I run my nail down the quill to make sure it is suck all the way down. Also I have a slightly different fletching jig with a feather holder than sits nicely on the bench which allows me to use both hands when applying the tape. Rather than using a feather burner I have a few different cutouts using a rotary cutter (search for easy feather cutter) that work better than the chopper cutters and do not leave a lingering smell that gets you in trouble with the wife 🙂

[@kpewliu4348]

I've used both glue and tape for feather vanes. Found tape superior. Tape sticks better and stronger, and can be removed more easily, and with minimum damage to the arrow shaft when repairing/changing feathers.

[@ront8778]

Great to see you going Trad! Can't wait to see what bow you come up with. I have never had a problem with CA glue and feathers except when using wooden arrows as the CA does not get along well with many finishes. My first experience with tape did not go well. Most of the feathers lifted off at least partially. That was with an off-brand tape (cheap). I picked up some Bohning tape and have done a few with it. I now have a JoJan multi-fletcher so will use Platinum on most of my future fletchings. I am not in a big hurry and by the time I get #6 done I can unclamp #1 and rotate to the next feather.... I'm curious to see how those vanes work for you. It seems to me that they may be flexible enough for shooting off the shelf but suffer in stabilization compared to feathers. Feathers are quite stiff in the direction they need to be. BTW you should shoot those flu flu arrows before you burn them down! They're a blast! I made a couple out of bamboo with 2 feathers and a radical helical. The back of the feather is all the way around the shaft from the front. Taped them on and wrapped with serving. Makes a really cool sound and spins like crazy! Makes me giggle every time.

[@peterdarby793]

I use tape exclusively for the last 15 years. I pull so but an inch off the roll, match up the loose end on the feather then with the clamp sitting upside down unroll and guide the tape onto the feather, clip with small scissors. After putting feather on shaft I remove the clamp and run the closed scissors down the shelf side of the quill to ensure adhesion. I then use a sharp knife to trim the front end of the quill so there is no sharp edge if it needs it. A drop of glue on the front and that feather will stay long past the destruction of the feather.

[@eythangordon992]

Love your videos. Thank you. I use the Bohning tape dispenser with my tape. Bit of a learning curve, but once you get it down it works great. I fletch all my fethers using tape. Super efficient. I only use glue, AAE, on vanes. Can't wait to see what you think of the AAE trad vanes. I like them, but they do get damaged easily if are grouping arrows. They really payoff when you have to shoot in rainy weather. Looking forward to the new videos on Trad.

[@yannikessarios2103]

If the centre of the clamp makes no contact with the shaft try changing the offset so the curve of the clamp matches the curve of the shaft.. On a different note, great to see an acclaimed olympic archer without prejudice towards other types of archery, that's not been my experience. Mind you, trad archers can be as bad...

[@michaelgrubb6899]

For a first time I used 2" Gateway feathers and Bohning tape for my Easton Avance arrows with great sucess.

[@eventuremotorbikes8348]

Hey Jake, try using an accelerator with the CA glue. It bonds very quickly.

[@garymickus6412]

Jake, how do you remove damaged vanes CA glue on a carbon shaft?

[@jasonmccormick2297]

Jake, Do you have the Backyard Archery Champion shirt for sale? Where can it be purchased?

[@rickwithasilentp2868]

JaKe, do you ever use a primer first before adding the glue to the fletching, and then a catalyst to help the glue set faster afterwards like BSI Insta-Set?

[@Nbr1PHaN]

I’ve used the tape but sometimes it starts sliding on the shaft just enough to be annoying especially with helical

[@greenhoodedvigilante458]

Personally I'm not a huge fan of HIT insert system. I damaged my front of the arrow many time using those. I moved to half-out insert later on. Now I'm using Gold tip hunter xt with 100 grain brass insert. I've also used Gold tip traditional xt and Victory trad arrow. Gold tip is the toughest.

[@bluechiparcherychippycarpe2780]

Great video as always Jake 🏹😁

[@alexandersjostrand5036]

Welcome to the tradgang 🤘🔥🔥

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

🙌

[@randypyatt5649]

I think you did awesome job

[@juancarlossegadecanosa67]

The problem with CA glues and feathers came from when these glues appeared in archery. At that time the most common arrow shafts were aluminum, and in very cold weather the CA glue had a tendency to pop out clean from the shaft along with the feather (If that happens to you in a hunting trip in Alaska you will be very... angry). Nowadays and with carbon shafts there is no such a problem, the adhesion is really good, but there is a new one (a cosmetic problem): If you have to replace a feather, you will have to strip the old CA glue, and probably you also strip the thin coat of wood finish from the shaft, leaving the black carbon exposed. Regarding the tape, I never used it in an helical clamp, seems tricky. One question: Is the front end of the base of that feather cut straight or at an angle?

[@ryanbon]

Getting excited!!!

[@NPC-fl3gq]

I usually only use fletching tape on aluminum arrows. On carbon glue is better.

[@Matt__just_a_guy]

could you apply the tape to the feather with your method of sticking the tape to the table, as per your spinwing video?

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

Possibly!

[@vaazig]

How would the bow shoot with extremely oversized arrows? It's ridiculous, but I'd like to see that. Maybe as a comparison of arrows shot with different vein sizes with an intentionally out of tune bow? This would of course simulate a beginner to intermediate tuned bow, or a bow bought from a not so good retailer.

[@barrymarciski9557]

I also like my Arizona EZ Fletcher, way faster,way easier...but I will try the tape....GR8 vid Jake..thnx

[@jshankar1000]

Yay! Trad!!!

[@tummy_fritters]

Very cool to see some trad stuff coming. Ever think you'll get into cresting? An art in itself. I have to take a guess at the bow and I'm going to go with the trad bow that would be most exciting to me: Big Jim's Thunder Child?

[@MONKLJ]

I tried to use fletching tape and had no success with it, looked easy in other videos, but I ended up throwing the tape away, and going back to glue. This is just my take on tape, sounds like it your take also.

[@sjohn_8627]

It would be awesome if there was a better way to fletch trad vanes without glue. I thought I was pretty darn good at fletching arrows til I came across those.

[@bwfreel]

Trade gonna be fun…!

[@lubossoltes321]

I do fletch with the tape, but I use straight fletchings. Getting the tape on the quill is an issue at times so I guess it's more problematic on helical fletchings :-) Anyway I had no issues with feathers coming off ... they get destroyed long before the tape fails ... Those trad vanes look interesting, but my issue would be damage. Feathers are in a large part self-healing. If the vanes are torn that's it. So those look less durable to me ... Especially in a 3D outdoor setting where you can hit background brush/dirt etc.

[@tonypace2009]

The first time I used steam to fix feathers I was truly amazed by how well they went back to shape.

[@davepersich3035]

If you want to compete, you will probably have to use wooden shaft arrows which is a completely different ball game.

[@aadame90]

The best resource for trad information, based on facts is "the Trad Lab", you can find experiments on vanes, string silencers, arrow weights, etc, all vbaked by scientific data, also anlisys of diferent bows (speed, draw force curves, eficiency, etc)

[@stevejacobs7060]

I find tape doesn’t hold in the winter.

[@Wyldmatt]

I hate the fletching tape I use superglue and just a quick spray of accelerator

[@matan1sharon]

tie a knot at the top of the fathers hold them better then drop of glow

[@theed365]

I use gorilla glue and split my own feathers that I get from the Walmart hobby department for under 3 bucks a bag. Then again, I'm incredibly cheap.

[@dmouse522]

Hope you're not cutting your arrows yet, even with your extensive knowledge of what "should" shoot well.

[@tonypace2009]

He said custom made bow so he may have quite a bit of ajustment to do on the arrows. Lol I dont know how well the Easton spine alighn . But having issue with gold tips on knock tune. Just a 1/8 of a turn can be a big diference in thier flight. Very touchy I think it is something to do where the carbon is overlaping for the seam. Defitnly want that seam straight or down . My bow is a hunting set up though and i shoot broad heads so i spend a bit of time setting them up. Finding I seem to be getting only two out of 6 arrows that are straight enough to spin a broad head true. Looking like I may be going to black eagles.