Extreme Helical

[Vandal 44]

I have a Bitz and wondering how you folks get such a crazy helical on your vanes while keeping the front and back glued down? I am having one hell of a time, the vanes I am trying are the AAE Max Stealth and the TAC Vanes I think both are 2.75" long (I know they are longer than 2" and shorter than 3")

 

[wadegarrett]

I set up with the front of the vane a little bit pulled out from the clamp to make sure it contacts around the radius of the arrow. Works well, though I do keep them on with the clamp for a little longer than recommended. Might help?

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Are you using a straight clamp or a helical clamp? A straight clamp limits the amount of offset/helical you can achieve while keeping both the front and back of the vane in contact with the shaft. Depending on the vane length and shaft diameter, you can probably get around 3° with a straight clamp.

 

[Vandal 44]

Are you using a straight clamp or a helical clamp? A straight clamp limits the amount of offset/helical you can achieve while keeping both the front and back of the vane in contact with the shaft. Depending on the vane length and shaft diameter, you can probably get around 3° with a straight clamp.

I have right and left helical clamps, the arrows I am using are the Victory RIP .204 and the Victory VAP

 

[Brizzle]

Are you using the AAE primer pen and wipes with their glue?

 

[Vandal 44]

Are you using the AAE primer pen and wipes with their glue?

Yes, I have no problem getting the AAE or the TAC Vanes to adhere to the arrow. I am just trying to get more helical

 

[Billy Goat]

I haven't figured out how to get a bunch of helical in a small diameter arrow. I'm assuming someone makes a jig special for it, but the helical bitz will only do so much on the skinny arrows. I haven't messed with AAE vanes, but the Tac vanes I used were pretty stiff. I tend to use a softer vane like Flex-Fletch or the Q2i. They are a bit easier to wrap around a shaft in my opinion.

Maybe a trick I'm not familiar with.

 

[Beendare]

I did a test years ago with my compound arrows fletching Blazers at a 1.5-2 deg offset vs radical helical. At 40 yds...no difference in groups-zero. Then at 80 yds i got 3”-4” more drop from the arrows with more helical...but again, no group improvements.

I thought for sure more helical would be better..... nope

FWIW, this was with 70# hoyt spyder/ 500 gr arrows. A 400 gr arrow might be affected more....I dont know.


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[Billy Goat]

I did a test years ago with my compound arrows fletching Blazers at a 1.5-2 deg offset vs radical helical. At 40 yds...no difference in groups-zero. Then at 80 yds i got 3”-4” more drop from the arrows with more helical...but again, no group improvements.

I thought for sure more helical would be better..... nope

FWIW, this was with 70# hoyt spyder/ 500 gr arrows. A 400 gr arrow might be affected more....I dont know.


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More offset/helical is more noise too.

If that's something you care about.

 

[Vandal 44]

I did a test years ago with my compound arrows fletching Blazers at a 1.5-2 deg offset vs radical helical. At 40 yds...no difference in groups-zero. Then at 80 yds i got 3”-4” more drop from the arrows with more helical...but again, no group improvements.

I thought for sure more helical would be better..... nope

FWIW, this was with 70# hoyt spyder/ 500 gr arrows. A 400 gr arrow might be affected more....I dont know.


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Beendare, I believe you are on to something. I did some tweaking to the Bitz and decided its not worth the trouble to try and get big helical.

 

[ShakeDown]

I shoot straight offset or slight helical.

That being said if you want to set a hard helical with the bitz set your vane then after you initially wait, gently unclamp the vane and slide the clamp down the magnet to apply a small amount of pressure to the inside (magnet side) of the vane. You will see where this allows full contact of the base of the vane. Wait a bit for the glue to set and you’ll be good.

 

[Zac]

Your gonna have to get another jig if you wan't to mess with more helical. Bitz is good for 2.5 degrees. Vane Master Pro can do 8 degrees without the post, 5 degrees with it. Bohning makes a jig that'll give you 5, the AAE EZ jigs will do 6 I believe.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

SVA puts a crazy amount of helical on their shop builds. I am canning my Bitz for their Arizona blue jigs. I've struggled for years to get helical on a Bitz and it's not worth the effort.

 

[5MilesBack]

I agree with Beendare. From my experience the only thing all that helical adds is noise and a more drop at distance.