wolf6151

What adhesive and method is best for gluing inserts into carbon arrows? I bought some carbon arrows that the aluminum inserts came out of easily and need to be reglued. Do I need to sand in the inside of the shaft and how do I clean it and with what? Help please...

BHunter32

Use either a 243 or a 270 caliber bore brush to scuff up the inside of the shaft. Then using some cotton swabs clean the inside of the shaft thoroughly with denatured alcohol until all of the carbon dust is gone. The dust will prevent you from achieving a good bond. I also clean the insert with alcohol and some people even lightly scuff the insert with fine grit sand paper. When installing your point, push the insert into the end of the shaft and slowly rotate the insert so the glue will spread evenly inside. I have been using powerbond by bohning and it works great. Hope this helps.

ken rose

Do everything the above post said to,make sure the inside of the arrow is clean and dry.We use two part 5 minute epoxy to glue our inserts in and have never had one come out yet.Good luck.

ArrowGuy

At the archery shop where I work we reccommend that people use a 24 Hour epoxy. We used to use the epoxy talked about above but began having trouble with some inserts coming out so we switched to the 24 hour. Whatever you decide on, make sure you follow the cleaning instructions posted earlier and definitely don't use any types of fastset glues as they become brittle and can give out upon impact.

gunsnbowses

I have a question related to this topic. How do you remove inserts from a carbon shaft? Is it safe to heat it up with a torch? Will the carbon shaft become damaged? Thanks! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

ArrowGuy

Technically speaking carbon arrows are not supposed to be heated at all. I have very slowly and very carefully heated the POINT in a carbon arrow to remove the insert before. Although it isn't reccommended it can be done if you know what you are doing. Your best best is to leave the insert as is.

MJL927

I asked a similar question this past weekend. Most of the responses I got were similar to Bhunter32's. I went to the local hardware store and bought a 24hr drying 2-part Epoxy made by Loctite. Every indication I have so far says that the stuff works great. Have yet to have an insert come out. The nice thing about slower drying epoxy is, you have roughly 4 to 8 hours of time before it sets to check the heads for wobble. Once your satisfied, stand the arrows on nock end to allow them to dry.

I scuffed the inside with my .22 wire brush. Cleaned away the dust with a cotton swab. BTW, don't use rubbing alcohol since it contains oils that will hinder the adhesiveness. I spread some epoxy in the shaft with a toothpick. Next I pushed the insert in a little more than halfway while turing it. I spread a little bit more expoxy on the remaining exposed portion of the insert. Then I pushed it the rest of the way in and turned it a few times. Immediately wiped up any spilt epoxy.

One thing I did was, screw my broadheads with their practice blades onto the inserts. This allowed me to both use the broadhead to push the insert in and line up my blades with the vanes. I numbered my arrows as well as the broadhead so I know which head properly fits onto which arrow. A little anal, I know but it gives me piece of mind.

-Mike

gunsnbowses

Thanks ArrowGuy. Another reason I asked that question is for lining up feathers with the broadhead blades. What are the chances they're perfectly aligned without rotating the insert. Obviously not good, but I see MJL927 had a good idea in lining them up initially when installing the insert.

Kaos

If they have a Hobby Shop for model planes, cars etc.. that is the best place to get some good epoxy. I have used 5 min epoxy for the past few years with good results.


Edited by - Kaos on 09/25/2002 16:16:11

ArrowGuy

I agree. All of my hunting broadheads are used when originally installing the inserts. The inserts can then be lined up with the fletching for a while till the epoxy sets. (If you are picky about having everything exact don't forget to record which broadhead goes with which arrow if you remove them for any reason.

There is another option for lining up broadheads with fletching as well. If the insert is already in and dried, little rubber gaskets can be purchased at local pro shops and added to the broadhead threads. This allows for more flexibility to tighten the broadhead the desired amount.