Easton FMJ Arrow Building
Equipment
Hi Folks,
I'm new to building arrows, and I've been working on a batch of Easton FMJs, and I wanted to share my experience/see if people are having the same experience to make sure I'm not going nuts.
I really like these arrows. I've shot some that I worked on over the winter before i was better at fletching/putting arrows together and despite my rookie mistakes they seem to fly and spin pretty well. They all weigh roughly the same too.
One thing I have noticed is that squaring up the FMJs is a bit of a pain. It seems to take a lot more work on the G5 ASD then the black eagle carnivores (the arrows I used for practice earlier this summer so I didn't mess up the FMJs) I put together. The ones that I've squared so far and dry fitted the components looked like they spun pretty well.
One other thing of note; I originally tried using the Deep Six inserts which I was told could be used with the FMJ arrows, but they just didn't sit right on the shaft for me (I'm using the 5mm), and so I'm going to be using the HIT inserts. Seem to be getting a better result. Hope that saves someone a lot of frustration (and/or a trip to your local archery retailer).
Thanks for any helpful tips/feedback!!
The Deep Six is a 4mm shaft, and the inserts for them are way too small for the 5mm shafts. I use Ethics Archery components when I build fmj's. The HIT inserts is junk and create a soft spot in the connection. A lot of guys are putting collars over their fmj's if the HIT insert is already installed.
Thanks for the clarification - the description of the product I read said all FMJ shafts, but as I've now learned, they're no good. Which is annoying, but good to know now. Practice makes perfect I guess.
When you say it creates a soft spot in the connection, do you mean like it weakens the shaft? Thanks for the help!
Hope you didn’t buy a bunch of Deep Six broadheads. Also hope it was your local pro shop that told to use that insert in the 5mm. I shoot the 5mm with the HIT and BAR with no issues.
I just did some FMJ up tonight ,on the G5 squaring tool I use a cordless drill and do both ends need to hold them down well and go slow work pretty well, much easier then turning by hand!! I mark both ends of shaft with sharpie so can tell when it has hit the whole end of the shaft
Awesome tips y’all- no, it wasn’t my pro shop, it was just me misunderstanding a product description. Rookie mistake but good thing I have made it a point to dry fit all my components and didn’t glue any in to the new shafts.
Another question about the BAR. I’m planning on using slick tricks that have the metal o ring... I have seen mixed comments about using the BAR with that head. Any insight you have would be appreciated!
For squaring.. did you flip the cutting edge? Its different than the one for full carbon arrows
I tried both sides of the cutting edge, I saw some folks online say they called Easton and were told to use the carbon arrow side, some people said intuitively use the aluminum side... I didn’t notice one being significantly easier than the other though. Granted this is my first time working with the FMJs so maybe I’m just messing something up or not applying enough pressure when I turn it on the tool.
The squaring tool is slow on the FMJ’s especially since there is usually a burr after cutting. If you use the sanding stone that comes with the HIT inserts you can smooth and I believe square the ends much faster. Once you get them sanded smooth and there’s no burr you can double check them with the squaring device.
