Glueing field tips to wood arrows.

[Nutgrass]

It seams I am doing something wrong. I cut my arrows, I then stain them, I then seal them with 5 coats of clear. Nocks & fletching all stay put ok, well when Rod isn't aiming for my nock that is
But my field tips keep coming off. I clean them in thinners, i rough the arrow tip & then clean it with thinners. Then glue the tips with 24/hr araldite. All this is done over a week or two, so everything should be cure & dry.

Anyone have some suggestions for me ? I was going to try an industrial strength super glue next, but thought I may ask the question here first

Did I mention how easy carbon arrows are to shoot

[DavidM]

(i rough the arrow tip & then clean it with thinners)

Hi Gidget

Sounds like your doing the right thing, the only thing I can think of is when you clean the tips with the thinners do you allow time for it to evaporate off before glueing the tips on.

PS just putting the feathers on some new carbons right now

[Gringa Bows]

Carbons ....yucky

[alaninoz]

You might try 5 minute araldite - the 24-hour stuff can be a bit brittle when set, the 5-minute seems to remain a bit more flexible.

When you say "thinners" what do you mean? Some solvents can leave a residue when they evaporate can this might cause adhesion problems. Acetone, metho and isopropanol (99% or better) usually evaporate completely.

If you have to go to super-glue, you might try Loctite 435 as it has better shock strength than 401 or 454.

[GrahameA]

Anyone have some suggestions for me ? I was going to try an industrial strength super glue next, but thought I may ask the question here first

Go To Rod's house. Get some of his Techniglue that he uses for sticking bows together.

Clean tips with metho and a some sandpaper if there is any possibility of oil film.

Problem solved and you will save money.

[Gringa Bows]

that wont work Grahame he wont find That brand of glue here,and if he uses Smooth-on on he wont be able to change tips.

[blu-dog]

I've got some techni-glue here that you can try Gidget!

[Stickbow Hunter]

Gidget, the others have given good advice. One thing I will ask is; does the point taper on your arra shaft match the taper on the points you are using? Some tapering tools are not very accurate and so the arra shaft taper may only touch say in the bottom of the point taper and where it meets the arra shaft which can give a very small gluing area.

Araldite, 24 hour or 5 minute should do the job just fine.

Tony, perhaps you should use some of YOUR nail polish remover to remove those gaudy colours off ya arras mate.

Jeff

[kimall]

Tony Tony you are one of us now we wont pick on you.
Cheers KIM

[Gringa Bows]

Jeff i think your right,if the taper on the shaft isnt right,there is probs......Kim i think your right too, we're all Ozbowers here,we overlook some tendencies others have

[Bill]

What about air pockets, in my early days I also thought I was getting good seating of my field points until they started to come, if it wasn't for a friend standing near a target butt and hearing the sound of the tip popping off, I also would still be wondering as to the glue, but a small groove down the length of the taper whilst twisting on the field point resolved that problem for ever more.

[Nutgrass]

Thanks guys, Rod did bring up my tapers when we were comparing shafts the other day
Mine was different to his. Although when my tips come off, you can see there has been good contact with the tip, but the glue has just failed to take to the metal tip (like it had a coating of oil or something) To me it does seam to have a decent contact as the glue doesn't seam to have a thicker layer in places, it seams to have an even coating all over once the tip falls off. I might try & get a pick of the tip-less arrows for you to see.
I will try nail polish remover, I would have thought thinners was good, but will give it a try.

Also will give the 5 minute a try. I do find I have t hold each tip for a few minutes as I put them on, or they tend to push back off. Am I doing something wrong there ?




MMMM wood look alike carbon is sounding closer

[Gringa Bows]

Maybe try what Bill said about puting a small groove down the taper of the shaft...................forget about carbons

[Nutgrass]

Yes I will try that groove idea,not is a simPle thing & easy to try.

Will see how the next dozen go

[longbow steve]

Hi Gidget, Yeah like Bill I do a few grooves on the taper of both point and nock to prevent hydraulic lock then allow the arrow to stand vertically on the point or nock till dry.
I have had no success with the 5 minute araldite and prefer the slow set stuff or a good hot melt if I need to get the points of at a later date.
I also get a ball of cotton wool in the point when cleaning them to be sure I get the gack out. You would be suprised at the ammount of gack in some points. Steve

[kombikid]

Hiya Gidget, I used to use Bostik epoxy from the hardware as it was the cheapest 2-part glue I could find, took 24 hours to set but only had to be warmed with the heat gun to get them off. They stayed stuck really well.
These days I just use ordinary ol' Aquadhere PVA glue for points and nocks. You can be shooting them in an hour or so and I've never had one come unstuck, even when I punch right through my mulch bale target and go through the doubled heavy canvas I've hung behind it. You can feel the point hang up on the canvas as you withdraw the shaft, but they stay stuck,
Cheers,
Ian
P.S. I am using POC shafts, so that may help.

[looseplucker]

5 minute araldite works for me. I usually try the tip on the shaft before putting the glue on and see if it wobbles or is too tight and if and where it leaves any imprints and then make a couple of adjustments.

Also what I do have is a "template" arrow - tapered for nock and tip which I use to compare all my made up arrows with (it was one Forro sent me) So if you have done one that is 'perfect' keep it as a guide.

The only issue I have ever had with araldite is putting too much on and the tip popping off because air gets trapped. Very annoyance!

[robmoore]

... Mine was different to his. Although when my tips come off, you can see there has been good contact with the tip, but the glue has just failed to take to the metal tip (like it had a coating of oil or something)...

The metal tips probably have been coated inside and out, with a protective wax. That would need to be removed with some solvent (acetone, thinners etc) and some fine steel wool or something similar - regardless of whatever type of adhesive you decide to use.
Tips that have been properly installed with hot-melt will take a hell of a pounding without coming adrift - yet you could remove and replace the tip later if necessary. Hot melt was designed for that job and copes well with the type of impact that occurs on tips. (By that, I mean reputable brands of archery hot melt - I haven't tried the cheaper hardware store varieties. They might be OK but I would rather use the correct product as I know that it works.)

Whatever adhesive you decide on, the points need to be rotated on to seat them - not just pushed straight on - but I am sure you would already be doing that.

Regards
Bob

[longbowinfected]

Liquid nails construction glue works well too. Let it cure for a day or so. Do the point clean up and the groove thing. Other than that use a tool for keying the taper and using archery hotmelt. tried everything else and they do not work as well.

Kev

[TRASH]

Gday Gidgit
Like jeff said check taper angle but also lenght mthe tip may be bottoming out in the head . I snip the tip off my tapers 3-4 mm glue them up then ......bounce the shaft head first onto the cement very hard. The first couple of bounces are quite dull but when the head is driven home all the way it will bounce and you will hear the differnce in sound. When way back before 3d targets ect and most courses were natural earth banks i wouldnt glue my heads on . just drive them onto the taper.

Rough maybe but effective .
strowy

[Nutgrass]

Hi Gidget, Yeah like Bill I do a few grooves on the taper of both point and nock to prevent hydraulic lock then allow the arrow to stand vertically on the point or nock till dry.
I have had no success with the 5 minute araldite and prefer the slow set stuff or a good hot melt if I need to get the points of at a later date.
I also get a ball of cotton wool in the point when cleaning them to be sure I get the gack out. You would be suprised at the ammount of gack in some points. Steve

This is a very good tip thank you mate. I made a few more this weekend & run a couple of grooves down the side when gluing the tips on. The amount of air bubbles that come out was amazing. I think I may have been using to much glue & the air has been getting caught. But I guess I will see.
The 6 I made yesterday & shot today went well & I didn't loose a tip. I did try loctite super glue this time But will see how that goes

Thanks all for your advise, there are some great tips (hahaha pun) there & if it keeps happening I am sure I will work through them all 1 at a time until I work out what I am doing wrong.

[woodie]

I use hot melt glue, the yellow one from the hardware shop. I clean the head with methow and I heat the head up to burn any oils that I misted out. I donot have many come off.
woodie

[TazGtz]

Also will give the 5 minute a try. I do find I have t hold each tip for a few minutes as I put them on, or they tend to push back off.
:

Twist the field point as you are putting it on, just like if you were screwing it on. It will spread the glue and push all the air out.

[Jeffro]

I put a thin grinding sort of tip in the dremel and do inside the points with it to create as much rough edges inside as I can.Then I clean them out with a cotton bud wetted down with an electronic circuit board cleaning spray.Another one I have is a spray that is for spraying on a surface before stickers are applied.Both are isopropyl alcohol mostly.
Then I use 24 hour araldite and I push the tip against a hard surface to force it on as much as I can then I stand them upright after checking if they are straight.
They have not come off at all since I started doing it that way.
Hot melt for wooden arrow points is a complete wast of time by the way.Ive been on the range with people that use it and by the end of the course they have about 2 arrows left with points on them.
Another way if you use 23\64 shafts is to use 11\32 points with them.Use the tapering tool then hand file an edge for the back of the point to sit in.You end up with points virtually the same thickness as the shaft itself and they dont come off.

I have 2 dozen carbons here ready to be made up

[greybeard]

A mate had a batch of unmarked field points that would not hold on to his arrows. On closer inspection the points appeared to be covered in machine oil.

After dunking them in a container of metho and swirling them around the metho turned black. I dried the points on paper toweling and gave them a bath in new metho. The metho had a pale grey tinge to it which was probably the last of the oil residue.
He has not had problem with tips comming off.

Daryl.

[Nutgrass]

Thanks guys, yes the tips had a coating of oil on them, but I have always washed them in thinners, so I have never suspected the oil to be a problem. But I did clean each tip with a cotton bud on the weekend to make sure they were super clean.
I also scratch around in there with a screw driver to rough the inside up before I cleaned them.

[janmad]

Had the same problems, the target shooters in my local club don't like to see their knitting needle carbon shafts stuck in one of my points, so I started burning the inside of the point before cleaning it with metho, I'm also trying out some tophat points that screws onto the shaft, they seem to be holding out fine and are easy to get on straight, and I put a drop of locktitie on just to be sure it stays on.

[Nephew]

Gidget, the answer is CX Heritage 250's, Bud. (Just don't tell Jeff or Rod I said that!)

[Nutgrass]

Gidget, the answer is CX Heritage 250's, Bud. (Just don't tell Jeff or Rod I said that!)

I hear ya mate

[Stickbow Hunter]

Gidget, the answer is CX Heritage 250's, Bud. (Just don't tell Jeff or Rod I said that!)

Where's the spew Smilie when ya want one!

Jeff