Current “best” insert glue?
Equipment
What’s the best out there for permanent placement of inserts into carbon arrows? I’ve tried hot melt and cyanoacrylates but am not happy. 24 hour epoxy? Can someone detail their method for doing this?
Craig
Hot melt is the only way I’ll do it anymore. Never had one pull out shooting 80+ pounds and burying arrows deep into 3d targets.
Well...I've read several posts regarding hot melt so figured I'd give it a try. Shot quite a bit of 3D throughout the summer and lo and behold I pulled out an arrow sans insert and point. No more hot melt for me. I'll go back to what has never failed me previously...good old 24 hour JB weld epoxy. Never should have experimented with something different.
I use G5 blu glu. Only way I’ve figured out to get one out of an arrow on purpose is to ruin the arrow. Sets quick and holds tight.
I've been super happy with Gold Tip's "Tip Grip" glue. No mixing and has been flawless so far.
Are you guys that are pulling out inserts cleaning the tips after you cut them to get all the carbon dust out? I have used multiple different glues and almost never lose a insert. I do believe if you don't get the carbon dust out after cutting you don't get a good bond between the arrow and insert. I take a Q-tip with alcohol and wipe out before glueing.
24 hour epoxy is very permanent. With that said I prefer hot glue Incase I need to remove an insert
I switch points and inserts all the time, Stanley brand super strength hot melt.
Not sure if it is required but I roll up a piece of light sand paper and make a few rotations inside the shaft to rough it up for better adhesion.
Still fairly new to building my own arrows but iv had great luck so far with insert iron.
Take a swab with just enough water to make it damp. Clean the dust out like mentioned above. Allow to dry. Use Loc Tite Control Gel to glue inserts into place.
Some guy's use an arrow squaring device and some index the blades to the vanes. You can do this by doing a dry fit and making an index mark on the insert.
I would highly recommend NOT using super glue gel. It sets up so fast if you don’t get the insert seated immediately and fully your arrow is toast. Also, the faster the glue dries, the more brittle it is.
Gorilla glue impact (with the light blue cap) has never let me down. I’ll also second the Loctite Ultra Control Gel, as I’ve used that with great success....for inserts and vanes!
Hot-Melt aside.... As a general rule, two-part glues will shrink less as they cure than single-part glues. The more flexible the final cured product, the less likely it is to become brittle and fail with a hard impact.
The single most important step is cleaning prior to application. Clean the inside of the shaft with either hot water, acetone or pure alcohol. Use latex gloves and clean the inserts as well. I can't think of a single adhesive that will stick to oily finger-prints. If you handle your inserts with your bare hands, you have no business complaining about inserts falling out later.
I recommend 24 hour epoxies or low-temp hot-melt for casual arrow builders. If you want a permanent bond, the best of the best is two-part windshield urethane for automotive glass.
I always clean the inside of the shaft after cutting and have used Gold Tip Tip Grip for years without any failures. I make dozens of arrows a year for others and it has always worked for me.
I like Loctite Ultra flow control gel. If the shaft is clean inserts won't come out. Still removable with the drill bit method.
I'll give another nod to the Gorilla glue blue cap. I do a lot of stump shooting, roving with my recurve and haven't had an insert come loose yet.
Thanks everyone for the input. I think my biggest issue is that I haven’t cleaned inside the shafts before putting the insert in.
Craig
Gorilla glue, and clean all surfaces with acetone or alcohol.. Glue holds well even after hitting a brick wall, so i'm told :)
Another vote for Gorilla glue!!
Cut, square, brass brush inside, alcohol on a q-tip, then hot melt glue.
No super glue. Cheap 24 hr epoxy works well.
Roughen the shaft with a .270 bore brush, clean shaft and insert with 91% alcohol (NOT rubbing alcohol), then 24-hour epoxy. Haven't lost an insert in a decade.
Ok I went ahead and put them together yesterday. I squared the cut ends with a G5 tool, then cleaned the inside of the shafts with denatured alcohol and qtips until they came out clean. Then I scuffed the inserts with sand paper and then cleaned them with the alcoh too. The only 24 hour epoxy I could find around here was JB weld steel reinforced which I decided was fine. It actually was super easy but it felt like the inserts didn’t hold much epoxy in the grooves. I guess the tolerances are tight enough that there isn’t much gap anyway. Each one had some extra I had to wipe off so I assume the grooves are as filled as possible. Short of breaking one to determine I will have to believe that I did it right. Thanks for all the input here!
Craig
Looks like Everton has a different process and they all work so don’t overthink this
clean glue wait shoot. Don’t sweat it
AAE insert glue. Used it in the shop the last couple years, never had an insert come out.
"I recommend 24 hour epoxies or low-temp hot-melt for casual arrow builders. If you want a permanent bond, the best of the best is two-part windshield urethane for automotive glass. "
I guess I'm a casual arrow builder ?!?! Waaahhhh ! I want to be professional, where does one get some windshield Urethane for automotive glass, x-man ? I will stop by my local body shop maybe...
I use 24hr epoxy now, got some impact resistant stuff last month, JB Weld works great also.
Been using the Blue Hot Melt for carbons and a hot glue gun for best guess 6-7 years and been 100% happy. Insert pull outs have been so few and so far in between I can't recall any not saying I never had any inserts pull out but none in the last several years. But I go to extremes in prepping the insides surfaces of my carbon arrow shafts and inserts surfaces to insure the surfaces of both that will contact the glue are 100% absolutely clean and the entire surfaces of both are well roughed up using 1k grit sand paper.
kreiger,
Autobody windshield urethane is sold by most autobody supply stores. Keep in mind that one cartridge set would do about a hundred dozen arrows. Typical cartridge cost is around $60.
As an old autobody guy, I have connections... if you want this, make friends with your local windshield repair technician and when you're ready to glue in your inserts let him know. Bring your shafts & inserts in and steal a spoon-full of his urethane as he's putting in a new windshield and glue them in right there in his/her shop. You'll have about 5-10 minutes to put them in.... They will NOT come out without drilling them out with a mill bit.
Companies like SEM, 3M an Duramix make smaller cartridge's that I have used at home with auto-mixing tips. I got about 15 dozen out of them for about $35. Carbon Tech used to sell "Rick's Glue" which was a rubberized 48 hr cure epoxy, it was pretty good also.
