I have used the zip strip very effectively for both feathers and wraps-- does a great job, does not damage the arrows and makes quick work of stripping. I have used it only on normal sized arrows but think it would work on others as well. Also no carbon dust at all.
I can offer a good tip for a more consistent cutting edge. I use straight edge razor blades (not double edge) for many applications as a luthier building guitars. To control the angle of the cutting edge, cut two long strips @ 1/4” wide x 4-6” of painters tape. Wrap one around the safety end of the blade to protect any surface it is sliding on (carbon shaft). Wrap the others tape strip overlapping around the razors blade. You’re building up distance between the edge and the carbon shaft. You will be able to make a very shallow slice right at the glue level of the vane/fletching. Most good CA glue companies sell Debonders to remove hardened CA. Acetone can also help remove some CA, but understand that acetone is a carcinogen through both your skin and respiration. Wear gloves, wear a vapor rated safety mask outdoors, with good ventilation. Take it seriously.
Instead of using a knife or vane stripper I use a potato peeler, I'm not joking! It works perfectly and will never take the carbon off the arrow because of the backward angle of the blade. It also cuts when sliding in either direction.
I saw a tip where some guy did it with a potato peeler and i tried it myself. Works great. No dust not scrapes even when you actually try to damage the shaft
I've got Bohning's "The Stripper" which I don't think they sell any more, it's the red handle version with a single blade. The Stripper works great. I've used on large 5/16 S size arrows, Easton Jazz's, .166 Skylon Radius and .125 Skylon Paragons with no issues. I originally just used a knife like you did in the video but The Stripper with the way it's angled & the channel style guide and so on means I can just get in to it and not have to worry too much about digging in too deep or cutting myself. I've stripped a dozen shafts or a single vane replacement pretty quickly with it and they come up very nice and clean.
Peter Hill Australia. I have used them on carbon arrows and ACE's. They are effective and do not cut into the shaft. However, I remove most of the vane with a knife and use the tool to cut/scrape off the glued part of the vane.
Useful advice there as usual Jake, especially for the newbie. I use a Bohning vane stripper (single blade, red handle) and find it works well on fat aluminium down to X10 carbon shafts. The handle moulding helps to keep the small blade at the right angle and the curved shape of the blade also gives good coverage of the shaft. Took me a while to learn to hit the glue hard and fast so that advice is really helpful for the beginner.
After discovering fletching tape, I’ve not bothered with messy glue. No issue with fletching tape on 60lb compound arrows, and no waiting around for glue to dry
My experience with non CA glues like the Fletch Tite, you can remove the remains using sanitizer gels (70% isopropanol, 20% glycerin, 10% water). Squirt some, let it soak, wipe using a cloth or sponge. May take multiple applications though.
I discovered something last time I put on one vane as replacement. The Vane clamp easily comes apart with the spring clips, then I put the back half on the magnet, and then firmly butted an existing vane up to the back half of the vane clip, etc etc etc. it just seemed easier and it worked. Same jig.
I love to use a Kiridashi (Japanese carving knife) with a single bevel grind to remove fletching. Lay the flat side on the shaft and slice the vane off. Can't be easier than that without the risk of cutting into the arrow.
I strip down the glue with a box cutter, the use fine grit sand paper to properly remove all traces of glue. Clean it with alcohol wipes the good to go for new fletchings. I mainly use feathers so no the corklike base of the feathers comes off quite easily compared to rubberized vanes.. some principle applies
The Bohning vane stripper works for roughly .166 through 23s. It can be used on X10s, but the back of a pocket knife works better on super skinny shafts.
Last time I ordered prepared arrows, there was an option to add socx arrow wraps for a few euros more. I havent broken any vane on those ones but I think it will really help one day to have that kind of sticker on which the vanes are glued. To cleanup the shaft I'll just use a bit of aceton to unstick the sticker and the glue will peal off with it. Btw it also adds the opportunity to "number" the arrows which can help to find if one arrow in the dozen have always a weird behavior.
Acetone in quRt jar. Make sure all acetone is out of arrodw before installing nock . Acetone destroys nocks in just a few seconds. Also, i use denatured alcohol to clean arrows before fletching. Its the same as primer pens
I use a utility knife. I replaced the straight blade with a curved blade they sell. Works great but you need to always be conscious of your angle like and knife!
Vanes - a sharp knife; CA glue - old scotch brite dipped in warm water; Single vanes - make markings - so you are always sure about nock positions and jig settings.
Can a person just re-glue a defective vane on your crossbow arrow? Many times if my arrow (bolt) goes into the target to far, it will rip loose one of the vanes. Instead of stripping off the vane from the shaft, can it be just re-cemented back on? Hope this makes sense?
#0000 steel wool right before you glue. Also as with most things in hunting and fishing equipment, people seem to go all out crazy with perfection. You have to ask yourself, If I were to buy a $100 set of 6 arrows and 6 arrows from walmart, at the end of the day would it really matter when it comes to shot placement? I would say for 95% of us no. Im sure more expensive arrows will hold up better but .002" inch within 6" you are not going to notice. I not a pro by any means and i could be talking out my ass but some of these "youtubers" are so "anal" about stuff it seems they would ave no time to actually go out and use their equipment. This video was down to earth and he did a great job explaining what you need to do. The old man, Rest his soul, said to me, " Do the best you can, use your head, shut up and listen more and things will be ok. "
Obviously I see a bunch of warnings for acetone... So use caution... But I don't even scrape my vanes off, I put whole thing in the jug and they fall off, and the glue wipes right off or is off when pull shaft out.
I cannot believe how much of a mind reader you are Jake! I'm literally just about to take a WAV Pro vane off my AC/E that I shot through a couple of days ago. BTW the WAV Pros seem to work really well so far, just got them off the Aussie distributor 3 days ago.
I find it a bit harsh the way you do it; I usually do it slower so as not to lose any carbon at all. If ever I have the liberty of time, I usually just use 3m Scotchbrite with acetone to clean off the excess adhesive and portions of the vane.
The new whit fletch is a little bit higher then the old ones ;) But I got it but you have easier and cheaper jigs you can fletch them all 3 at ones or use the 2 remaining to do the third on the right spot
Use a potato peeler. It works perfectly to easily remove the fletching, old glue, and does not damage the carbon. Do not use a knife as you risk ruining your arrow.
Dude! Even though it's not much dust, you should be using a proper mask to avoid breathing in that carbon dust. No kind of particulate is good for your lungs. Safety first. You could have done this one as a voice over!
Yes! They do work exceptionally. I have peeled the carbon off of no arrows once I used a stripper knife. The best one I found was the bohning one
I use the side edge of a putty knife to take glue off a carbon arrow works great. Good handle to grip no sharp blade edge and it fractures glue easily
I have used the zip strip very effectively for both feathers and wraps-- does a great job, does not damage the arrows and makes quick work of stripping. I have used it only on normal sized arrows but think it would work on others as well. Also no carbon dust at all.
I can offer a good tip for a more consistent cutting edge. I use straight edge razor blades (not double edge) for many applications as a luthier building guitars. To control the angle of the cutting edge, cut two long strips @ 1/4” wide x 4-6” of painters tape. Wrap one around the safety end of the blade to protect any surface it is sliding on (carbon shaft). Wrap the others tape strip overlapping around the razors blade. You’re building up distance between the edge and the carbon shaft. You will be able to make a very shallow slice right at the glue level of the vane/fletching.
Most good CA glue companies sell Debonders to remove hardened CA.
Acetone can also help remove some CA, but understand that acetone is a carcinogen through both your skin and respiration. Wear gloves, wear a vapor rated safety mask outdoors, with good ventilation. Take it seriously.
Instead of using a knife or vane stripper I use a potato peeler, I'm not joking! It works perfectly and will never take the carbon off the arrow because of the backward angle of the blade. It also cuts when sliding in either direction.
Yeah I tried that. Worked Ok, but I still ate in to carbon arrow. but if it works cool.
I saw a tip where some guy did it with a potato peeler and i tried it myself. Works great. No dust not scrapes even when you actually try to damage the shaft
I've got Bohning's "The Stripper" which I don't think they sell any more, it's the red handle version with a single blade. The Stripper works great. I've used on large 5/16 S size arrows, Easton Jazz's, .166 Skylon Radius and .125 Skylon Paragons with no issues. I originally just used a knife like you did in the video but The Stripper with the way it's angled & the channel style guide and so on means I can just get in to it and not have to worry too much about digging in too deep or cutting myself. I've stripped a dozen shafts or a single vane replacement pretty quickly with it and they come up very nice and clean.
Peter Hill Australia. I have used them on carbon arrows and ACE's. They are effective and do not cut into the shaft. However, I remove most of the vane with a knife and use the tool to cut/scrape off the glued part of the vane.
Useful advice there as usual Jake, especially for the newbie. I use a Bohning vane stripper (single blade, red handle) and find it works well on fat aluminium down to X10 carbon shafts. The handle moulding helps to keep the small blade at the right angle and the curved shape of the blade also gives good coverage of the shaft. Took me a while to learn to hit the glue hard and fast so that advice is really helpful for the beginner.
After discovering fletching tape, I’ve not bothered with messy glue. No issue with fletching tape on 60lb compound arrows, and no waiting around for glue to dry
My experience with non CA glues like the Fletch Tite, you can remove the remains using sanitizer gels (70% isopropanol, 20% glycerin, 10% water). Squirt some, let it soak, wipe using a cloth or sponge. May take multiple applications though.
I discovered something last time I put on one vane as replacement. The Vane clamp easily comes apart with the spring clips, then I put the back half on the magnet, and then firmly butted an existing vane up to the back half of the vane clip, etc etc etc. it just seemed easier and it worked. Same jig.
I love to use a Kiridashi (Japanese carving knife) with a single bevel grind to remove fletching. Lay the flat side on the shaft and slice the vane off. Can't be easier than that without the risk of cutting into the arrow.
I strip down the glue with a box cutter, the use fine grit sand paper to properly remove all traces of glue. Clean it with alcohol wipes the good to go for new fletchings. I mainly use feathers so no the corklike base of the feathers comes off quite easily compared to rubberized vanes.. some principle applies
The Bohning vane stripper works for roughly .166 through 23s. It can be used on X10s, but the back of a pocket knife works better on super skinny shafts.
Last time I ordered prepared arrows, there was an option to add socx arrow wraps for a few euros more. I havent broken any vane on those ones but I think it will really help one day to have that kind of sticker on which the vanes are glued. To cleanup the shaft I'll just use a bit of aceton to unstick the sticker and the glue will peal off with it.
Btw it also adds the opportunity to "number" the arrows which can help to find if one arrow in the dozen have always a weird behavior.
Just the video I was looking for.
Acetone in quRt jar. Make sure all acetone is out of arrodw before installing nock . Acetone destroys nocks in just a few seconds. Also, i use denatured alcohol to clean arrows before fletching. Its the same as primer pens
If you use your left thumb on the blade back you can control the blade angle easier.
I use a utility knife. I replaced the straight blade with a curved blade they sell. Works great but you need to always be conscious of your angle like and knife!
Wow I wish this video came out yesterday before I started re-fetching my arrows. lol
Vanes - a sharp knife; CA glue - old scotch brite dipped in warm water; Single vanes - make markings - so you are always sure about nock positions and jig settings.
Can a person just re-glue a defective vane on your crossbow arrow? Many times if my arrow (bolt) goes into the target to far, it will rip loose one of the vanes. Instead of stripping off the vane from the shaft, can it be just re-cemented back on? Hope this makes sense?
Sooo as a Roofer, I use hook blades. While you still can damage them, I find they work exceptionally well
About that I feel like should email Easton ask about the best way to remove glue from their arrows. Literally
I use a dull knife to remove vanes from carbon shafts. Takes longer but does not damage the arrow.
#0000 steel wool right before you glue. Also as with most things in hunting and fishing equipment, people seem to go all out crazy with perfection. You have to ask yourself, If I were to buy a $100 set of 6 arrows and 6 arrows from walmart, at the end of the day would it really matter when it comes to shot placement? I would say for 95% of us no. Im sure more expensive arrows will hold up better but .002" inch within 6" you are not going to notice. I not a pro by any means and i could be talking out my ass but some of these "youtubers" are so "anal" about stuff it seems they would ave no time to actually go out and use their equipment. This video was down to earth and he did a great job explaining what you need to do.
The old man, Rest his soul, said to me, " Do the best you can, use your head, shut up and listen more and things will be ok. "
i find that the back of a exacto blade works great
what about vynil wrap? does it make a difference or does the added rear weight of the wrap play with the tune of the arrows
Hey Jake, any research or consideraton for having your Wav Pros to be usable with double sided tape (eg bohning tape, a la spidervane/spinwings, etc)
Obviously I see a bunch of warnings for acetone... So use caution... But I don't even scrape my vanes off, I put whole thing in the jug and they fall off, and the glue wipes right off or is off when pull shaft out.
I cannot believe how much of a mind reader you are Jake! I'm literally just about to take a WAV Pro vane off my AC/E that I shot through a couple of days ago. BTW the WAV Pros seem to work really well so far, just got them off the Aussie distributor 3 days ago.
They make some amazing arrow strippers are fletching stripper
I would not be concerned about spine change due to removing some fine particles, because the glue and fletching do way bigger impact on that
There is a flat skill one that you just run straight down the arrow it's a lot better than the red when it looks like
Thanks bro my arrow’s veans have been falling off
I would be very grateful if the pens are available in a store in Mexico
I find it a bit harsh the way you do it; I usually do it slower so as not to lose any carbon at all. If ever I have the liberty of time, I usually just use 3m Scotchbrite with acetone to clean off the excess adhesive and portions of the vane.
The new whit fletch is a little bit higher then the old ones ;) But I got it but you have easier and cheaper jigs you can fletch them all 3 at ones or use the 2 remaining to do the third on the right spot
Yeah I saw that too, but it doesn’t make much of a difference performance wise.
No clue on carbon, but medium steel wool is the ticket on aluminum.
I use a serrated bread knife to remove vanes off club arrows. Work fine for me.
Your bitzenburger vane jig, is it left helical 🤔
What helicle do you use on aae wav pro
How would paint thinner work?
I have the vane stripper. The blade seemed to dull extremely fast. I end up with a pocket knife
Just use Spinwings!
I have a commercial stripping knife, I find it totally hopeless. The good old box cutter does the job beautifully
Use a potato peeler. It works perfectly to easily remove the fletching, old glue, and does not damage the carbon. Do not use a knife as you risk ruining your arrow.
Just use a cheap potato or carrot peeler. Never use a knife, and dont waste your money on anything else.
Dude! Even though it's not much dust, you should be using a proper mask to avoid breathing in that carbon dust. No kind of particulate is good for your lungs. Safety first. You could have done this one as a voice over!