Contributors to this thread:
I’m looking for a good fletching glue with a good tip!! !!! I’m happy with most every glue I’ve ever used. But, I can’t find one that the tip doesn’t clog up. By the time the bottle is done, I’m laying a fat glue line. Getting that crap all over my two bite’s.
If I’m just fletching stupid and don’t know if any tricks to keep this from happening, then by all means: educate me please.
How are you guys dealing with this?
I stick a needle or sewing pin in the tip to keep it from clogging.
Fletch tite 50+ years. Bare, painted, wraps.
Never have the issue with Loctite Flow Control Gel. It is as good or better than any archery specific glue made and it has the little needle in the cover that keeps the tip from clogging. I have never had a tip clog with it. Worse thing you might have to do is wipe off glue that builds up on the outside of the tip every once in a while.
100% Loctite super glue GEL CONTROL. The best I’ve used by far. Easy to control how much product comes out of the pointed tip and never clogs in my experience. And it’s super tough. Can’t rip vanes off if I tried.
I get frustrated with the cost of the SG gels… there’s just not enough glue in those little bottles to justify the cost… so that annoys me, but not as much as discovering that the superglue doesn’t bond well to surfaces such as wipe-on poly…
I got a tube of Duco and used a push-pin to put a hole in the end of the cap; nice, fine bead, stored well…. Doesn’t adhere to everything.
Any minute now, theoretically, I should be receiving a tube of Platinum fletch-tite, and I am hoping that it will perform as advertised, seeing as I have about a gross of arrows that need fletching right now… Fortunately, they don’t all need to be fletched Right Now…. But I hope to get through the arrows before the glue goes bad.
One thing that not a lot of people will tell you is that once opened, superglue has a pretty limited shelf life, so when I do buy it, I get the tiny tubes that can be used up quickly…. Feathers are just too costly these days to have your glue fail to bond….
And of course, a lot of guys swear by the tape….
If you fletch a half dozen every other year, it’s not such a big deal, but I go through some arrows….. You’d think I’d be a total Pro by now, but I seem to be making every mistake in the book as I pick it up….
Not sure where the issue with cost of SG comes from. It’s about $6.00 per tube and I can easily do a dozen arrows with a tube then throw the rest away as I know I’ll never use it again before it’s dried out. Fletchtite is about the same price and the tip gets dried out after a period of no use.
Was watching a video on arrow building and the guy was using a primer pen before gluing. Not sure if this is a system of two things from the same vendor. Anybody use this stuff? What brand is it? Thanks.
I use the Ultra Gel as several others. I've never had it clog and I wipe the tip off after every fletch to help keep it from building up on the tip. I also use the AAE primer pen on all fletchings even if not mandatory like some of the AAE fletchings require.
Been usin fletch tite platinum forever. No probs. Wipe tip after use. And recap.
Fletch tite platinum here as well. Wipe the tip off and replace the cap after each arrow. If it does get clogged then a little pin down the tube does wonders.
Another vote for fletchtite platinum. Feathers or vanes, bare or wrapped. It works great for me.
The loctite stuff is great... I've also had good luck with the Gorilla brand version of the same CA glue. I've pondered if archery specific glue has a bit of flex to help manage vibration. Perhaps that is more durable for someone who shoots a lot? But from my experience, that Loctite and Gorilla gel glue is super and lasts well. I've used it fletching straight onto shafts and onto wraps - works great for both.
Just wipe the tip when putting it away and it works out.
That said I use it tying flies too, so I may use up the bottle faster than if you just fletch a few arrows. Most CA glues, regardless of gel/liquid/tip/brush etc... Once open, you have maybe 6 months and they start to dry out a bit it seems...
Loctite control gel for me as well, just wiping the tip off occasionally.
I bought some Zing Primer once (I use Flex Fletch vanes)...and I realized it smelled exactly like PVC primer. So now I just buy a can of this, and wipe the edge of each vane with the brush that comes in the can.
Fletchcrete from Sirius is the best I’ve ever found. It’s a pain to use but I can’t even pull the vanes off with pliers once it is set.
It’s the consistency of water so don’t try to apply with the dropper tip, just use a q-tip that you dip down in the bottle and wipe the base of the fletching with. Keep the bottle in the fridge when not using so it lasts longer
You can extend the shelf life of any cyanoacrylate (CA) glue by refrigerating it. Hobby stores carry a product called Zip Kicker that sets any CA glue instantly but it can cause a little whitening effect. Spray it on the arrow shaft before applying the glued vane or feather, wait 3 or 4 seconds and remove the clamp.
I must be a slob. I wipe the tip everytime. It still gets so bad that a pin down the tip doesn’t clear it. I end up having to snip a bit off the tip. Every tube, bottle, and brand ends up being this way. I’m starting to get the feeling it’s me. :^)
WV - try the fridge thing, maybe that will help? Have you used the gel? It seems a lot less "cloggish" than the options which flow more. That said, once open, if you are not using it, the time is limited. So if you make arrows now, and wanted to use the same bottle next year, or even in January to re-fletch one that went through a target or a deer and got messed up, you may well need a new bottle.
When my fletchtite tip gets plugged, I take a paper clip, straighten it and insert it in the the applicator.
Super glues have cyanoacrylate in it. Cyanoacrylate is an acrylic monomer and is the core of super glue’s strength and fast drying time. Unlike other adhesives that require the evaporation of solvents to solidify, super glue requires at least some amount of moisture to dry and cure correctly. Breathing on it while applying and/or working in a humid environment will cause premature curing and clogging. Also read somewhere that Co2 aids in the curing process? Maybe that is why adding baking soda cures it almost instantly into a rock-hard clump.
Anyways, always put the cap back on between use or as soon as possible. Working with an EZ-Fletcher under a lighted magnifying lamp helps keep me from breathing on it while I'm adding the glue as well.
I don’t have much issue with the tip clogging on cyanoacrylate, but as far as a super clean and neat fletching technique is not to run a continuous bead of glue the whole vane, on a 2.25 “ vane put a small drop front and back and 2 evenly spaced in the middle, use the tip to smear the dots together the length of the vane very little if any will ooze out and yield faster greater adhesion for me anyway less is more.. obviously a longer vane will take an extra dot or 2..
Lee, I’m betting that humidity is the cause. It literally stopped up Sunday in the time it took to glue one feather on my first jig to gluing on a second feather in my other jig. We are talking 20-25 seconds here.
I can’t imagine I’m breathing on it. I keep it at arms length. That stuff burns my nose. lol
Every glue AAE makes has done it. Gold tip glue does it. Every fletching glue I ever remember using has done it. I was born and raised in this house and started making my own arrows 38 years ago. It might seem minuscule but, it’s a chronic issue. I remember it always being an issue.
if I open a bottle or tube of glue and don’t use it in a couple weeks, it’s over. Often the whole bottle is hard. I’m betting you hit the nail on the head.
Murph, I was thinking about that. But, I was fletching up with feathers. For a longbow shot off the shelf. I was afraid to try it. Mainly because I was afraid it would accelerate the tip stopping up.
AAE Max Bond. Don't overthink it.
I’ve been trying not to coondog.
I do mostly wood arrows and some aluminum. I use Duco on the woods and Saunders on the aluminum. A tube will last me for months and dozens of arrows. No problem ever with Duco clogging up and just a paper clip to unclog the Saunders. A tube of Duco costs me about $4 and does several dozen or more arrows so much cheaper than a bottle of superglue
Saunders arrowmate and feathers
