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I have a JoJan jig with a left, right and straight clamp. I'm having issues with gluing 4" vanes to 3335 and Pile Driver shafts. I put the vane in the right hand clamp and adjust the jig so it looks like there is contact the entire length of the vane. From there I add a bead of Gorilla super glue and put it on the shaft. I have some glue push out the sides. I then hold the clamp down for 30-40 seconds and then leave it alone for an hour to set. When I come back, one side of the vane is not glued down and I have to reset it which caused a glue mess from me adding more to it.
My question is, am I not setting the jig up correctly, using too much glue, or is it the wrong kind of glue. I see guys make arrows without all the extra glue and they look clean where mine have overrun and are sloppy.
What can I do to make this better.
Wrong kind of glue,try super glue.
I use a Jo Jan Multifletcher with a left hand clamp (bought it on sale). My advice is to use the adjustments at the top and bottom to get better vane contact. Play around with them being loose and a vane in the clamp. Also, I don't seat the vane all the way down to the base in the clamp, but leave it up about 1/16" or so. This way when gluing vanes on I can visually check them and sometimes add pressure to ensure that they align properly on the shaft.
I have done dozens of arrows over the years - but all using older style glues. Then for years I used the Blazer shrink fletch. I have recently been fletching my Carbon Express Hunter shafts and gluing the fletch onto a wrap, using a new super glue type. The jury is still out on this type of glue for me and therefore I have no pertinent advice on glue types.
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I also use a Jojan multifletcher and if I am having a problem with alighment, I place the shaft & clamp in the jig and draw a line on each side of the clamp with a fine tip pencil. I then remove the clamp & check the lines. Often it shows that what I think I have is a proper visual alignment is not always the correct alignment. I still use the regular Fletch-tite glue and run only a small bead in the groove of the base of the fletch. I always add a small drop of glue at the front & end of each fletch. Temperature is also a major factor in proper adhesion of the glue, if you are fletching in a cool or cold location you will not get proper adhesion.
Assuming you are aligned with the jig to the best you can, my guess would be the pressing down of the clamp and doing it to hard. If you put the vane in with JUST A SMALL AMOUNT out, the weight of the clamp should be all you need. My guess is you are pushing down to much and when you release, you are changing the pressure.
If the jig is set right, the weight of the clamp should be all you need.
If it's always the same side of the shaft with the fletch rising off it, there's your answer. '
As pointed out above by oldrecurveman, it's easy to misjudge how well we are centered on the shaft with the clamp. A consistently off-center application will result in one side of the fletching base rising off the shaft in the manner described.
I use regular Superglue and like it for durability and adhesion, and for speed. It does take some familiarity to handle the instant-adhesion issues, and I would suggest gluing up a few junk shafts with some odd vanes to get the feel of it before using it to fletch up any new ones. I had used some instant super-type glues at work a few times before using them in fletching, so had some feel for how instant and permanent the bonding was. I still ended up scraping off a couple of new feathers and learning how to use just the right amount of heat to get superglue to release a stuck insert when I began using that glue for my inserts as well, but wouldn't switch back now.
Sure is great to sit down at my desk with a half dozen newly cut shafts and a package of inserts and vanes, and walk away in about ten minutes with a fresh half dozen completed arrows ready for the quiver.
I bought some AAE max bond - super strong. Also, watch Jon Dudley’s video on fletching. He has a pretty good trick for using the clamp to get it to adhere better.
Lee
