Which Bitz for me?
11-12-2003, 02:07 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 2,994
Which Bitz for me?
It looks like someone wants to buy me an x-mas gift right in the price range of the Bitzenburger. I just need to know a few things before passing along the proper link 
Cabelas sells the straight, right and left helical clamps. I' m assuming if I get the straight clamp, I' ll be able to do offset with it? Up to how much?
Assuming I use some form of press to fit nocks, I DON' T need the TM nock receiver, right?
I can use fletch tape on feathers with this jig, right?
Is there a reliable on-line merchant you' d recommend who sells the Bitz cheaper than the $60 Cabelas and BPS want?
Anything else I should know in order to avoid suprises?
Cabelas sells the straight, right and left helical clamps. I' m assuming if I get the straight clamp, I' ll be able to do offset with it? Up to how much?
Assuming I use some form of press to fit nocks, I DON' T need the TM nock receiver, right?
I can use fletch tape on feathers with this jig, right?
Is there a reliable on-line merchant you' d recommend who sells the Bitz cheaper than the $60 Cabelas and BPS want?
Anything else I should know in order to avoid suprises?
11-12-2003, 02:21 PM
#2
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kenosha, Wi USA
Posts: 499
RE: Which Bitz for me?
Straight clamp for straight and offset fletching. Be aware that the right helical and left helical Bitz clamps are NOT mirror images of each other. The Bitzenburger left helical is more drastic than the right helical clamp. They never advertise the fact, but the left clamp is helical pattern of 15 degrees and the right clamp is 11 degrees.
How much offset you want to have will all depend on your arrow shaft diameter and fletching length. There' s enough adjustability on the Bitz that you can have too much offset on a shaft and the ends of the fletching will be hanging off each side. [X(]
How much offset you want to have will all depend on your arrow shaft diameter and fletching length. There' s enough adjustability on the Bitz that you can have too much offset on a shaft and the ends of the fletching will be hanging off each side. [X(]
11-12-2003, 02:34 PM
#4
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kenosha, Wi USA
Posts: 499
RE: Which Bitz for me?
Can' t really answer that question because it is all dependant on the fletching length. There' s only so much " usable" width distance on an arrow shaft (dependant on shaft diameter), and shorter fletching will allow for more offset on this useable width than a long fletching. Imagine you had some 6" fletching you wanted to put on those skinny ACC' s. You wouldn' t be able to have much angle on that length of fletching because the ends would run off the shaft, or at least the useable portion we want to glue to. Now imagine you want to use some 1" fletching. You could put much more of an angle on that because of the shorter flecthing distance can be " angled" more within our useable width.
Here' s a post I wrote a while ago about the Bitz to someone wanting to have set indications on the dials for offset amounts. It' s really anal and over the top, but I wasn' t satisfied when someone just threw out the statement, " Oh I shoot with 4 degrees of straight offset on my shafts." Really? How did you get that number?:
To get the " best fit" of the clamp to various sized arrow shafts, both knobs will be adjusted away from the center mark, and any indicating marks on the dials are arbitrary because of varying arrow diameters and fletching length. A 2613 will sit in the Bitz quite differently than a skinny ACC. The upper " V" of the Bitz is fixed position, as well as the nock receiver. So a 2613 will be mounted in the Bitz at more of an upward angle due to the larger diameter. Your knobs may have to be adjusted quite a bit away from the marks to even be straight and parallel with the shaft. The Bitz' s knob positions are very dependent on arrow diameter
The best way to find the degrees of offset is to measure it. And it will only be approximate because you are taking linear measurements on the curved portion of the arrow shaft, but it will get you in the ballpark of the number. Some people try to use a protractor- difficult at best without some guidelines on the shaft.
If you want to measure the actual degree of offset on your bitz setup- here' s how I do it if someone REALLY needs to know the number. You' ll be taking some very small measurements-I have a dial caliper which makes taking some of these measurements easier. This is for measuring an offset that is set up already- not for ' dialing in' a certain amount.
Beacuse the diameters of shafts differ so much- every setup would be different and Bitz couldn' t have set marks for every offset amount. You need to find the offset for your shafts and the make some marks on the dials for future reference.
The first step is to draw a line (use pencil so you can clean it off later) STRAIGHT down the rear of the arrow shaft in the area that your fletching goes (about 6-8" worth of line). This line needs to be absolutely parallel with the shaft as it is the reference for measuring the degree of offset. We' ll call this the " Parallel With Shaft" line (PWS).
Next, put the shaft in the Bitz with the straight clamp (no vane in the clamp) in the normal fletching position that you' ll be applying your fletch- have the clamp just about touching the shaft. Turn the arrow shaft in the Bitz so that the PWS line touches the rear edge of the straight clamp. This intersection of the PWS line and offset clamp is the desired angle we are trying to measure. Now take your pencil and draw a line on the shaft along the edge of your straight clamp from this intersection. We' ll call this he " Offset Angle" line (OA).
Step Three: You can now remove the shaft from the Bitz. You should see the new OA line intersecting with the PWS line. From this intersection, measure up the shaft (toward point end) on the PWS line an arbitrary distance, say 5" , and make a mark. You can use a longer distance, but anything more than 6-7" won' t let you complete the next step with a large amount of offset. Make this measurement carefully and accurately as you can. Remember this number, whatever you decided to use, as you will need it later.
Step Four: From this mark you just made 5" up on the PWS line, draw a PERPENDICULAR line (in relation to the PWS line) that will intersect the AO line. This perpendicular line should complete the third side of a long, narrow triangle on the arrow shaft.
Step Five: You need to measure the distance of this perpendicular line you just made between the PWS and OA lines. Measure this carefully and accurately as you can- this is where the error comes into play. You are trying to take a linear measurement along the curved portion of the arrow shaft- do the best you can. If you like, you could wrap an edge of piece of paper around the shaft and mark both lines so that you can account for some of the curvature of the shaft and then measure it flat on the desk- your choice. This procedure is anal enough already....... [&:]
Now we have measured two sides of the trianle, and since we have two known sides, we can figure out the angle of offset from these numbers. The trigonometry function on your calculator is needed. Let' s call the distance you measured down the PWS line X, and the perpendicular measurement between the two lines Y.
Tan^(-1) (Y/X) = Offset Angle
Clear as mud, right? Ok- let' s do an example. Let' s say I use my 5" distance, and this is the amount I measured up the PWS line in the third step. The number I measured in step five was .115" (just an example). So X= 5.00" ,and Y= .115"
(Y/X) = .023
Now on most calculators they will trig fuctions: sin, cos, tan......
We need to use the inverse Tangent function, or tan^(-1) button. Press this inverse Tangent button and then enter your (Y/X) number. Press " Enter" after that and you should see the resulting offset angle you desired. For my example, the offset is 1.318 degrees. Use my numbers to see if you have process correct on your calculator.
When setting up the dials for the straight clamp with offset, put in your feather or vane in the clamp in the postion you want to fletch. As you turn the upper and lower dials to get the desired setting, try and " center" the middle of the vane on the shaft, so that the offset will have the front of the vane a little off-center in one direction, and the rear of the vane will be a little off-center in other direction.
Best of luck-
Here' s a post I wrote a while ago about the Bitz to someone wanting to have set indications on the dials for offset amounts. It' s really anal and over the top, but I wasn' t satisfied when someone just threw out the statement, " Oh I shoot with 4 degrees of straight offset on my shafts." Really? How did you get that number?:
To get the " best fit" of the clamp to various sized arrow shafts, both knobs will be adjusted away from the center mark, and any indicating marks on the dials are arbitrary because of varying arrow diameters and fletching length. A 2613 will sit in the Bitz quite differently than a skinny ACC. The upper " V" of the Bitz is fixed position, as well as the nock receiver. So a 2613 will be mounted in the Bitz at more of an upward angle due to the larger diameter. Your knobs may have to be adjusted quite a bit away from the marks to even be straight and parallel with the shaft. The Bitz' s knob positions are very dependent on arrow diameter
The best way to find the degrees of offset is to measure it. And it will only be approximate because you are taking linear measurements on the curved portion of the arrow shaft, but it will get you in the ballpark of the number. Some people try to use a protractor- difficult at best without some guidelines on the shaft.
If you want to measure the actual degree of offset on your bitz setup- here' s how I do it if someone REALLY needs to know the number. You' ll be taking some very small measurements-I have a dial caliper which makes taking some of these measurements easier. This is for measuring an offset that is set up already- not for ' dialing in' a certain amount.
Beacuse the diameters of shafts differ so much- every setup would be different and Bitz couldn' t have set marks for every offset amount. You need to find the offset for your shafts and the make some marks on the dials for future reference.
The first step is to draw a line (use pencil so you can clean it off later) STRAIGHT down the rear of the arrow shaft in the area that your fletching goes (about 6-8" worth of line). This line needs to be absolutely parallel with the shaft as it is the reference for measuring the degree of offset. We' ll call this the " Parallel With Shaft" line (PWS).
Next, put the shaft in the Bitz with the straight clamp (no vane in the clamp) in the normal fletching position that you' ll be applying your fletch- have the clamp just about touching the shaft. Turn the arrow shaft in the Bitz so that the PWS line touches the rear edge of the straight clamp. This intersection of the PWS line and offset clamp is the desired angle we are trying to measure. Now take your pencil and draw a line on the shaft along the edge of your straight clamp from this intersection. We' ll call this he " Offset Angle" line (OA).
Step Three: You can now remove the shaft from the Bitz. You should see the new OA line intersecting with the PWS line. From this intersection, measure up the shaft (toward point end) on the PWS line an arbitrary distance, say 5" , and make a mark. You can use a longer distance, but anything more than 6-7" won' t let you complete the next step with a large amount of offset. Make this measurement carefully and accurately as you can. Remember this number, whatever you decided to use, as you will need it later.
Step Four: From this mark you just made 5" up on the PWS line, draw a PERPENDICULAR line (in relation to the PWS line) that will intersect the AO line. This perpendicular line should complete the third side of a long, narrow triangle on the arrow shaft.
Step Five: You need to measure the distance of this perpendicular line you just made between the PWS and OA lines. Measure this carefully and accurately as you can- this is where the error comes into play. You are trying to take a linear measurement along the curved portion of the arrow shaft- do the best you can. If you like, you could wrap an edge of piece of paper around the shaft and mark both lines so that you can account for some of the curvature of the shaft and then measure it flat on the desk- your choice. This procedure is anal enough already....... [&:]
Now we have measured two sides of the trianle, and since we have two known sides, we can figure out the angle of offset from these numbers. The trigonometry function on your calculator is needed. Let' s call the distance you measured down the PWS line X, and the perpendicular measurement between the two lines Y.
Tan^(-1) (Y/X) = Offset Angle
Clear as mud, right? Ok- let' s do an example. Let' s say I use my 5" distance, and this is the amount I measured up the PWS line in the third step. The number I measured in step five was .115" (just an example). So X= 5.00" ,and Y= .115"
(Y/X) = .023
Now on most calculators they will trig fuctions: sin, cos, tan......
We need to use the inverse Tangent function, or tan^(-1) button. Press this inverse Tangent button and then enter your (Y/X) number. Press " Enter" after that and you should see the resulting offset angle you desired. For my example, the offset is 1.318 degrees. Use my numbers to see if you have process correct on your calculator.
When setting up the dials for the straight clamp with offset, put in your feather or vane in the clamp in the postion you want to fletch. As you turn the upper and lower dials to get the desired setting, try and " center" the middle of the vane on the shaft, so that the offset will have the front of the vane a little off-center in one direction, and the rear of the vane will be a little off-center in other direction.
Best of luck-
11-12-2003, 03:02 PM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 2,994
RE: Which Bitz for me?
Where' s the smiley for " I am now totally rethinking my need to fletch my own arrows" when you need it?
I saw my 80 year old mother-in-law naked once, and it wasn' t THAT scary
I saw my 80 year old mother-in-law naked once, and it wasn' t THAT scary
11-13-2003, 07:39 AM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kenosha, Wi USA
Posts: 499
RE: Which Bitz for me?
Yup. This procedure started many hundreds of years ago, when the Indians first used turkey feathers on the end of their shafts. They got out thier Bitz' s and wondered how much offset they could use on their cedar shafts without getting fletch interference with their shoot-through prong rests. [&:]
11-13-2003, 08:01 AM
#7
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Kalamazoo Michigan
Posts: 41
RE: Which Bitz for me?
LOL, they could have saved so much time and hassle if they would have incorporated a dropaway on those osage risers. Now as for the consistency of the beeswax for the fletching, I am sure there were many would-be chemists cooking up formula after formula...
Rangeball- what about the E-Z fletcher for the mathematically challenged?
Rangeball- what about the E-Z fletcher for the mathematically challenged?
11-13-2003, 08:24 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 2,994
RE: Which Bitz for me?
Rangeball- what about the E-Z fletcher for the mathematically challenged?
It' s all his fault
11-13-2003, 10:11 AM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Posts: 391
RE: Which Bitz for me?
I bought a Bitz about a month or so ago & have been very pleased so far. It did take a little trial & error to figure out how to best set it up for my arrows, but that' s part of the fun in my opinion.
With the straight clamp, you can fletch anywhere from straight to very offset. I don' t really care what the exact offset angle is. I just experimented a little until I found an angle that worked well for me with no contact on my rest.
I' ve also recently started experimenting with feathers and they do work just as well as the vanes in the Bitz. I was also leaning toward the Arizona, and it may be a good jig, but I' m glad I listened to the advice on here & went with the Bitz. No complaints.
With the straight clamp, you can fletch anywhere from straight to very offset. I don' t really care what the exact offset angle is. I just experimented a little until I found an angle that worked well for me with no contact on my rest.
I' ve also recently started experimenting with feathers and they do work just as well as the vanes in the Bitz. I was also leaning toward the Arizona, and it may be a good jig, but I' m glad I listened to the advice on here & went with the Bitz. No complaints.