[BandanaMan]

Occasionally I miss my target..........now please don't laugh!:wink:

OK, stop laughing and get serious now, here's my question............my McKenzie targets are backed up by bails of straw. When the arrow buries itself in the straw the vanes are bent and distorted when removed. It seems the longer the arrow stays in the straw the worse the vanes are bent when removed.

Is there a reasonable way to straighten the vanes short of replacing them??

 

[tclow]

If you fletch your own just refletch them.Why take the chance.Not sure if the bent ones make a big difference but why take the chance.Just my .02

 

[jjc155]

By bent do you mean that they look wavy? or is there a crease in them?

If they are just wavy, I have had luck with slightly heating them with a blow dryer to get the wave out. When they are wavy though I never found a difference in accuracy, but they were slightly noisier.

If there is a crease, like you folded one in half, I would replace them as the crease/fold will most likely affect accuracy because it is probably going to change the angles of the fletch.

What kind of vane are you using?

Hope this helps,

J-

 

[BandanaMan]

I do Fletch my own arrows.

However, I was wondering if there was a magic fix for the bent vanes I didn't know about........thanks!

 

[RobJon]

The magic fix is Steam, boil water in a kettle and just hold the vanes in the steam while rotating them, makes them like new!

 

[BandanaMan]

By "bent" I really meant "wavy!"

I tried hot tap water, that seemed to straighten the vanes some.

I'll try the "steam" process the next time I bury one in the straw bails....thanks!

 

[BandanaMan]

By bent do you mean that they look wavy? or is there a crease in them?

If they are just wavy, I have had luck with slightly heating them with a blow dryer to get the wave out. When they are wavy though I never found a difference in accuracy, but they were slightly noisier.

If there is a crease, like you folded one in half, I would replace them as the crease/fold will most likely affect accuracy because it is probably going to change the angles of the fletch.

What kind of vane are you using?

Hope this helps,

J-

I'm using the DuraVane's, 4 inch (white and green) for replacements on the Satellite Bronze Series 2960's. I believe that's what Satellite is using since the DuraVanes are an identical match.

 

[BandanaMan]

I just took three of my worst arrows with wavy vanes and steamed the wrinkled vanes over an electric tea pot!

Came out like new!!!!

Thanks much..........RobJon.......and all who answered!!!!

 

[jacktalkthai]

heat will get you close to new

Ahh, I remember when I used to have the occasional flier too, and my vanes would be as wavy as the ocean.
As others have said, heat works to flatten them out. I used hair driers, steam, and even an iron set on low (to make sure not to melt the vane i put newspaper between the iron and the vane). After heating moderately, while still warm, I put the vane in between two pages of a book to flatten it out. Cool for 5 - 10 seconds, and viola. Almost as good as new.
"Almost", being the key word. They turn out close to original, but not exactly perfect. The only way that I know of to get them back to original, is to refletch them. When "almost" isn't good enough for you anymore, I suggest refletching your own arrows. It really easy, and not expensive. It's fun too.

With some practice your vanes will be getting beat up, not from missing the target, but from other arrows hitting them, and then you'll really want to fletch them yourself.

 

[jdearmon]

Hay Bail Idea

I used to shoot into hay bails many years ago, and I shoot feathers so they would get tore up quick. My solution to the problem was I put up haybails, two high, two deep, with a piece of insolation styrofoam between them. I got the idea when my uncle was installing the styrofoam material in his garage door. It is 1-4 inches thick depending on the size you choose and normally blue in color. You can buy it from any home improvement store. It will stop the arrow before the fletchings bury themselves into the hay.

 

[BandanaMan]

I used to shoot into hay bails many years ago, and I shoot feathers so they would get tore up quick. My solution to the problem was I put up haybails, two high, two deep, with a piece of insolation styrofoam between them. I got the idea when my uncle was installing the styrofoam material in his garage door. It is 1-4 inches thick depending on the size you choose and normally blue in color. You can buy it from any home improvement store. It will stop the arrow before the fletchings bury themselves into the hay.

A very good suggestion!:clap2:

I'll check Lowes this weekend.......thanks!

 

[crakdanok]

How long do they need to be steamed? Will they straighten w/o being pressed. I tried it earlier for about 10 min and gave up.

 

[BandanaMan]

I'm using the 4 inch DuraVanes, and I steamed mine about a minute. Got them good and hot, then shook the arrow by the tip to rid the condensed water. I stood them on the tip end allowing the vanes to dry, when dried they were almost perfectly straight.

You might try the suggestion of pressing them in a book, I was going to do that, but those DuraVanes dried straight enough for my use at target practice to avoid that step.

Are other brands of vanes thicker then DuraVanes, thus harder to straighten by steaming? I don't know!