Setup your Fletching Jig Correctly and Fletch Arrows like a Pro

Fletching arrows can be a tedious task and there is nothing more frustrating than your vanes falling off your arrows.... Learn how to setup a fletching jig so those vanes and feathers stay on the arrows for good!
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[@BooMudd]

I've never heard someone say "shaft" and "vein" so many times in one sentence! Very informative video, thank you!

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

No problem. It’s Vane, just fyi. 👍

[@kenf4837]

Blood travels through veins, arrows have vanes (plastic) or feathers. Both are called fletching! Glad to see you're paying attention and learning!

[@Flux_Flow]

This is the best video in the web on this subject and I have seen a lot of them. I just bought the affordable Bohning Pro, learning the jig, and looking to understand the helical/offset angles. This video addresses my questions. Thank You for all you do and Happy New Year.

[@YoureSoVane]

I'm glad I'm not the only one with tackle boxes of vanes

[@NeroontheGoon]

Yup…

[@tommygun542]

I’ve ordered some bare shafts, points, nocks and a fletching jig. Just waiting on you for the vanes. Nice shirt by the way.

[@kenf4837]

What I use is cyanoacrylate. It works fine for me! Been using it for about 25-30 years and never had a vane or feather come off yet. I had a fellow prove to me I could get tighter groups with a left hand helix about 10 years ago. I've been using it ever since. What I'm looking for now is a feather burner!

[@wolfiewolf188]

Yes.Jake the Bitzenburger is the best fletching jig in the world. A purchase for life. I've been using it for 30 years. Best regards from germany

[@malthus101]

it looks like a pile of crap.

[@Vincerama]

@@malthus101 Seriously! I just bought one. They are not cheap and you get this cast metal thing from the industrial revolution.

[@NPC-fl3gq]

FINALLY your sub count seems to be increasing at a faster rate. It's still criminal though that you don't have hundreds of thousands of subs!! Keep your chin up brother, you're doing an amazing job!!

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

Thanks again!

[@georgehazim1516]

Hi Jake. I have been using Bitzenburger jigs for many years now and love them, You are correct about the clamps not being as flat as they should be. I have 24 clamps and none were perfectly flat. The fix I came up with years ago is simple and will true up your clamps . Do this. Get some 220 sand paper and place it face up on a flat surface. Now sand your clamps edge in a front to back motion until it is perfectly flat. You can also bevel the sides if you like but its optional. You will fall in love with your jig all over again.. George

[@markdederick1953]

Great vid. I’ve always wondered if other people had These same fletching problems I have with these bitzenburger jigs..it can really be hard to set up which you showed … I learned a lot..

[@chazzec]

Kick ass video...I'm going to build tac vanes on 4mm arrows..a pain ..but can be don I know ...2.75 tacks on easton 4mm ...that's the video I need help on , have the same equipment and experience, but everything and anything can help ...once again thank you for the help ....

[@msrvfx]

Cyanoacrylate glue (TM Super Glue) comes in different viscosities from “thin” (no gap filling) , medium (slight gap filling), “thick” (gap filling), to “gel” (very gap filling). There are many manufacturers with varying quality. Starbond, from Japan tends to make the highest quality, and by far the best accelerant for faster drying without making the glue bubble up.

[@CristiNeagu]

Fletched my first arrow yesterday. Used a Bohning Cauldron and some Loctite gel glue. Worked actually very well. I put a bit too much glue on it, but it's not much more than what my local archery shop does. Sure, it can only do 3 plastic vanes, but that's all I need as I shoot only recurve and compound. But if you have the time, you can actually do 4 vanes too, if you cheat.

[@cavetroll]

I'm particularly looking forward to the secret use of the Trad arrows 😁😁

[@michaelcurtis8114]

I use an arrow that is already fletched to line the clamp up. I clip it on the fletching then put it in the jig and it moves the clamp to where it needs to be. Works pretty good.

[@tundragrad9456]

Just something I noticed while watching: Jake doesn't use the Bitzenburger jig straight out of the box. There is a metal strip where the magnets of the clamp go. For thin arrows like ACE/X10, you need to remove that strip. To ensure that nocks with a large nock bed fit well, you can also use a beiter nock adapter. This allows you to place short vanes closer to the nock. Otherwise, it's a great and helpful video.

[@Dragon.Slayer.]

If you read the instructions, it says to remove the metal strip regardless. It is only there to protect the magnets

[@tundragrad9456]

@@Dragon.Slayer. Nice to know. Reading helps sometimes 😂

[@juffurey]

I'm a complete novice but I may look into getting a fletching rig because arrows are fucking expensive. Thanks again for sharing your expertise, Jake. And nice to see you starting to open up to the camera a bit!

[@HipposHateWater]

Look at the bright side: it's cheaper than ammo 😅

[@danwilliams4189]

I’ve fletched thousands of arras, and the Best glue I’ve used is Extreme Power ( medium) green label. Sold at Hobby Lobby .

[@Orr_s]

Ive had great results with the bob smith industries maxi-cure. And the accelerant sold with it too. Stuff is amazing. I will look out for this other glue also

[@craigcoop1]

Thank you for this video. I just purchased a Bitzenburger and was struggling to get good contact. This helped tremendously.

[@msrvfx]

Thanks for this Jake. Any form of gluing is always best when you have a great joint first. Gap filling glue is for poor joints and produces inferior glue joints.

[@msrvfx]

FYI, CA glues were mainly designed for gluing woods that have grain. The bond is far greater when any glue can mechanically attach pressed into a wood grain. That bond greatly diminishes on hard flat surfaces without grain, like metal, plastic, and glass.

[@dantedellelce9056]

Awesome video, thank you for being so thorough

[@MasterBuckProducts]

Maybe if you just used the Cali- Bitz Bitzenberger decals from Lancaster Archery, you wouldn’t have to make all the markings on your jig. They make fletching a lot easier and more fun.

[@peem3154]

I like yr vids a lot, learned a lot, my question is, how do you choose, to fletch the arrows left or right helical ?

[@wayneeden98]

There's a lot of people wonder about which fletching jig is the best, well my bottom line thought on that is ,it doesn't really matter, they all work, just several different types and prices

[@pumaa7]

Great video thanks for sharing, lots of good info

[@Waty8413]

There are Bitzenburger upgrades from 60x that are worth checking out for anyone fletching modern shafts in a Bitz.

[@lordcarnorjax8599]

I bought a bitzenburger jig a few weeks back. I really could have used this video then - LOL. This isn't the first time this has happened either. To be honest I'm not that impressed with the bitzenburger jig considering it's supposed to be the gold standard for jigs and it's high cost compared to other jigs. When I got my jig, I had to file down a very sharp bit on the jig itself and also inside the clamp. I cut my finger on the clamp before I took the file to it. Looking at the AAE nock receiver upgrade though. Maybe you should ask them to send you one for review. ;-)

[@malthus101]

yeah it looks like shit!

[@davidcampbell2661]

Thank-you, now maybe my feathers will stay on. Do you recommend gel or liquid glue for feathers?

[@lcjjr.6714]

What about cleaning the shaft before gluing? Especially aluminum arrows.

[@threecrosses9988]

Thanks!

[@octaviogarcia5457]

Good video! I think the word was cyanocryalate... a mouthfull! regarding the jig, when fletching a small diameter, 5mm or less, it becomes even more critical to sit the feather well. How do you deal with the uper grove of the jig being perfect for 7+mm O.D. arrows but being loose for the small diameter ones. Yestearday I was doing a few arrow and realized this and it can change the position of the shaft towards the front (because it has play) enough to vary the angle and affect proper contact of the vane channel. It occurre to me to cut a small pieces of a 7.6mm arrow and use it as a sleeve on the smaller arrow and slide it so it seats in the upper jig´s arroe grove. This helped but it is a bit of a hassle altough not a whole lot. Do you have a suggestion? I may just ignore this at the next fletching session.

[@rayking3466]

With the "Bitz" I have found that smaller shaft arrows come out better if you hold the shaft in the top groove and twist it so that the play is taken out. Make sure you twist, spin it the same direction every time.

[@jlptneou]

When you said the arrow naturally rotates counter clockwise (3:42) is that for a RH shooter only or is that the same for a LH shooter? Is that a function of contact with the rest, string twist or something else? Awesome channel Jake! Thanks for all the great detail and information.

[@amrazing33]

As far as I know, it is NOT dependent on the handedness of the bow. The natural spin of the arrow is due the industry-wide standard of making the centre serving of the string. So, I think RH and LH bows will still have the same natural arrow rotation as long as the string it uses follow the industry standard. CMIIW

[@owenbitar7379]

The reason for an arrow rotating one direction or the other (clocking) is due to the direction the bow string is wound at the factory. Virtually all compound bows today actually clock to the right (clockwise) and not to the left (counterclockwise) as he claims in the video. You can (and should) check this on your bow before you fletch your arrows. You will need to mark an unfletched arrow shaft near the nock. Then, shoot it into a target from 2-3 feet (make sure you are aware of the mark's location before shooting). Take not of the direction the arrow rotated (likely clockwise). Do this again to confirm. It is important to match your fletching to the natural rotation of the arrow because fletching the opposite direction will actually cause the arrow to reverse spin in flight (you can find videos of this). That causes the arrow to lose energy, stability, and accuracy.

[@chasingthefish9042]

​@owenbitar7379 my bear redemption throw arrows to the left. I think it depends on manufacturer.

[@Vincerama]

@@amrazing33 I believe it is the twist of the STRING. If the string is twisted clockwise the arrow will spin counterclockwise (ie; it spins "left", so use left helicals to make is spin more in the direction it starts spinning at). BUUUT ... you might be right and it's the serving. I had only considered it as the string because that's what I'd read. But the serving twist makes sense as the nock would sit on the serving and the serving windings at the nock would be like small ramps that would force a twist. OK, I don't know ...

[@InFerrumVeritas]

Are you setting up a trad bow? Or are you actually going to come out and have fun with us during indoor season?

[@mxz_archery]

How do you feel about the zenith upgrade kit for the bitz?

[@Joe-wy2bn]

I have my aluminum arrows from the 80's with the original vanes still on them. I bought new easton arrows and the vanes flew off withing a couple shots. I fletch my own arrows...vanes fly off within a couple shots. What the heck?

[@MasterBuckProducts]

You need the Cali-Bitz decal to know what degree you’re fletching at. 👍🙏🏹

[@Muskrat78]

I switched my detent knob with a straight to use with the left clamp not sure if it makes a difference.

[@cristobalv]

i just purchased this jig, i wonder what model clamp should i get ? the left, right or center one ?. im a right handed compound target archer.

[@yvantomac9502]

I put my clamp on a grinder just to get deeper contact .... also it realigns the base

[@YoureSoVane]

Hmm... I know what I'm doing this weekend

[@HipposHateWater]

I'm glad to see I didn't look this up in vane

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

I see what you did there.

[@joepedrasa4569]

How do u keep vanes evenly spaced on smaller diameter shafts??

[@cruzbuddha]

So when are your vanes going to be released?? I've been dying to try those Pro Max style with what looks like WAV material (the yellow vanes ). Seems like a nice combo of more surface area with extreme light weight.

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

Waiting on the deets from AAE!

[@matthiasmongetguilloux2712]

Thanks Jake for this video it really helps me with my fletching. Do u know if it is possible to mix the clamps of the jig? I have a cheap cartel jig and I’d like to buy the bohning left helical clamp but I don’t know if it is compatible.

[@greatlakeshuntingandtracking]

How do you clean glue off your jig?

[@social3ngin33rin]

lol backyard archery champion!!!! No one has beaten me yet on my private range :P What happened to your ultra expensive custom jig? lol

[@joelvandenberg945]

Do you need to adjust the jig at all for the different mm arrows?

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

Yes

[@alexyatsyuk70]

What i dont understand is how to set feathers iqually using the jig? Im often mistake the right distance btw 3feathers

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

They usually have clicks to separate spacing. Should be automatically set.

[@timfoster7979]

The indexer can get sticky in operation. Use a drop of thin oil front and back to get it working smooth so you can feel it pop into position

[@msrvfx]

Cast parts of any kind is never as repeatedly accurate as milled parts. The are cast parts, and casting is less expensive than milled. That makes it economically acceptable. That doesn't mean that a small issue with a cast part can't be accurately adjusted, if you know what you're doing to get good fletching quill contact to the arrow. Make sure the issue isn't the shaft, before adjusting the cast part. It would be awful putting up with a clamp part that is off every time you went to fletch.

[@RainbowArcher252]

Thank you for the video! When shooting fat indoor arrows like an X23 or RX7, which arrow rest do you use? Do you still use a Shibuya Ultima style rest or do you switch to something like the Spigarelli ZT? Any help is much appreciated.

[@InFerrumVeritas]

For feathers, I really like fletching tape instead of glue

[@Hybridesque]

The term you were looking for was Cyanoacrylate.

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

You got it!

[@SirPraiseSun]

are jigs made out of gold and diamond? why so overpriced

[@Fnsa825]

A whole lotta unnecessary yapping, but thanks.

[@jeddiajones4570]

Instead of telling us what you are going to show us, maybe just show us without all the blah, blah, blah.

[@earlfultz8603]

Depends on your string and the bow shoot a naked shaft up close and see if it turns right or left

[@malthus101]

So in other words, these Blitz jigs are crude old pieces of shit, and we need a Swiss or Germany company to engineer something ultra high-quality to dominate this market? :)

[@Tom-tl6sp]

Agree