|
Fletching
Fletchig is very easy if you a) have a good jig and b) have the jig correctly set up. I recommend the Bitzenburger Fletching Jig, it is the most expensive jig I have seen, but it is very high quality. You will need to buy a jig that matches your feathers, meaning right wing feathers require a right wing jig. Bitzenburger offers both a straight clamp and a helical clamp, and I use the helical. Before you use the jig for the first time you will need to calibrate it, and again any time you switch shaft diameters. To calibrate the jig you will need a nocked shaft, and then follow the instructions for your jig.
Before you start fletching, put a shaft into your jig and place a feather into the clamp. Align everything before you put glue onto the feather and check to see where the feather will be on the shaft. Think about how much space you will need to hold the arrow and draw it from your quiver. It is better to have a feather too far up, giving you more space, than too far back, giving you not enough space to grab the arrow from your quiver. Once you know where the feather needs to be in your clamp, make a mark on the clamp so your fletching will be consistent.
To begin make sure that your jig is set up to take the indicator feather first. With the Bitzenburger jigs, there will be a flat part on the nock receiver facing up. Insert your shaft into the jig and place your indicator feather into the jig. I like to have a paper towel and a toothpick nearby before I begin. I typically place the feather with the catch lip butting right up to the edge of the clamp. I make a line of glue along the catch lip, then attach the clamp to the jig, making sure that you have good connection between the feather and the shaft. Here is where I usually need the toothpick to clean up any overflow glue. Wait at least five to ten minutes before carefully removing the clamp. Go slowly and check to make sure that the feather did not get glued to the clamp at any point. Rotate the nock to prepare for the next feather. Repeat with the next two feathers.
When you are finished fletching the arrow or the entire set of arrows, place a small blob of glue at the top and bottom ends of the feathers. This will keep the feather from catching and being torn away. |
