Securing fletching thread

[Pappy]

I wrap with wet back strap sinew and after it dries  good I coat with super glue or TB3. Wipe the access on my overalls and get hollered at by Miss Joanie.
   Pappy

[MWirwicki]

That's just too funny, Pappy.         In my house, we're always after the boy to get a napkin, paper towel or rag.  Yet, he sees "dad" wiping grease, chicken poop and yes, glue on his pants.  Not sure who Miss Heather hollers at the most, me or the boy. 

[Tom Leemans]

I too use the brush on crazy glue to seal the wrap. I've been wrapping with silk embroidery floss from my wife's favorite stitching store. You can get real creative with color that way and it's strong stuff. Artificial sinew works good for your nail knot pulling loop. (I peal away a thinner strand so it isn't so bulky)

[lostarrow]

I use methods carried over from fly tying. Various types of thread wound on using the bobbin I use for tying fishing flies. the bobbin has a thin tube that the thread goes through to guide it exactly where you want . It also comes in handy to separate the feather as you go. It makes quick , accurate work of it . To tie it off  at the nock, I tie a half hitch or two to keep it from unraveling and then Whip finish like the head of a fly. same results as a nail knot but way faster and easier once you learn how.You can even get a tool for a few bucks that helps you make the knot. I've never used one,but have seen them used and they look pretty slick .I then finish up with head cement (fly tying shop once again). One small bottle will last for years. It's made to soak in and provide a waterproof seal ,as well as bind together the threads.If you think of the abuse a toothy little trout can inflict on your" Royal Coachman", it only stands to reason that it will work for arrows.

[JW_Halverson]

I've used super glue also but I always seems to get on my fingers and I can't stand it.

How many times I tell ya to wait until the glue sets before ya pick yer nose!?

[AJMag]

Lostarrow, what type of thread are you using? I've got a bunch of 210 denier I use for tying 1/4oz+ fur jigs, but didn't really think it would hold up right to the fletching. I'm using 30lb artificial sinew for fletching wrap and was having a problem with the wrap in front of the thread pushing back after repeatedly hitting the shelf on the way out. I was coating it with sally hansens "hard as nails", another old fly tying trick. All the ones I made the last few days I used super glue instead, but haven't been able to test shoot with these monsoons we've been having.

[lostarrow]

Good quality "quilting" thread is pretty heavy duty, or linen if you can find it , but I've even used silk. Sounds like your arrows are hitting the shelf pretty hard.I usually glue a small strip of deer hair ,from the leg area on the shelf . The stuff with the short stiff hairs. Calf hair would work too. It makes the draw quiet when you are hunting and really saves the fletching on your arrows. I am finishing a bow right now and am in the process of shooting it in. Got a little excited and didn't shape the rest completely .Noticed a huge difference in wear on the arrows.Not sure what you are getting at about the wrap in front of the thread but Art. sinew  probably wont accept any glue very well, being very waxy and non porous.

[AJMag]

Yeah they may be hitting the rest a little hard, or it was just too loose a wrap job. I really prefer the more natural look, so I'm trying to make the fake sinew work. Too humid here to use the real stuff and get the shrinking advantage.  I may have also built up the wrap too much, so on my current works-in-progress I'm making sure not to over do it. I used swede  for the shelf pad on my current shooter, but I did get the idea to use a piece of squirrel (or was it rabbit...?) zonker strip on one of my previous bows that I haven't yet tried the boo shafts with yet. The zonker looked pretty cool, I left the fur longer which gave it a good soft rest and the fur comes off before the feathers do.  In the end though, there's a whole lot of variables in my arrows to pinpoint only one possible cause/effect of each symptom.

[Stefan]

I do have a piece of antilope fur glued on my arrow rest, maybe I should have arced my arrow shelf more. It's definitly better since I am using clear nail polish on to my fletching thread.

[lostarrow]

 Try cresting a couple of  arrows  ( only where the fletching is ) with some dark paint . Don't put any lacquer on the cresting. Shoot them a few times and see where the paint is wearing on the arrow. The dark colour will also show on the bow where it is hitting. It's a pretty good indicator of where you might change your shelf design if needed.  I've had the Deer leg fur on a bow that I've probably shot close to a thousand arrows from over the years with no deterioration . I believe it holds the arrow just until it leaves the string  and then is for the most part not even touched as the arrow passes. Whatever it is , it's holding up well.

[Stefan]

Another good idea from lostarrow. On compounds we sometimes used to check clearence with baby powder..

[lostarrow]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo,  did you just say the "C" word?          Hahahahaha. All joking aside , it's a method used for everything from timberframing to gunsmithing.Wish I could take credit but some clever Neanderthal probably came up with it first.

[cdpbrewer]

I just wrap the forward end of fletching and favor fishing rod wrapping thread.  I use nylon size E and a coating or two of Duco smeared on with my finger.  Duco will change the color of the thread a bit.  If that bothers you, there are threads which do not change color when a solvent type finish is applied.   I never had much luck getting CA glue to give a good finish- it gives a dusty white kind of finish to the wrap.