Mitchell Marks
Fletching an Arrow
The Arrow
The sport of archery is truly a technical and tedious process. The smallest impurity in the
bow, arrow, shooter, or weather conditions can drastically alter the accuracy of a shot;
however, the arrow itself is often times overlooked. The arrow is composed of four main
parts: tip, shaft, fletching, and nock.
The Fletching
The fletching on an arrow makes the arrow fly faster, straighter, and more accurately.
Arrows were originally fletched with two feathers from a hen and one feather from a
rooster. Today arrows are fletched with plastic vanes and artificial feathers. Plastic vanes
are more popular because they are faster, quieter, and more durable. However, some
people use feathers because feathers are slightly more accurate at longer distances. Both
types of fletching need repair after time, which can become quite expensive if you are an
avid archer. It is a lot more cost efficient to repair the damaged fletching yourself.
To re-fletch a single arrow you will need the following:
Pocket knife
Liquid soap (any household soap will do)
Wire gauze
Blow dryer
Acetone
Paper towels
Helical clamp
3 vanes or feathers (your preference)
Fletch Tite Glue(or the fletching glue of your choice)
Most of these items can be purchased at any local archery shop or online. You might have to go
to a hardware store to find the acetone and wire gauze. The vanes or feathers should only run
you $3 or $4 for a pack of 20. A helical clamp usually cost around $15-$20, but they last for
years.
Steps to Re-Fletching Arrows
1. Remove the previous fletching with the blade of a knife. To do so, work the blade of
the knife under the front of the fletching and slowly push towards the knock of the arrow.
Make sure you are pushing the blade away from yourself and others to avoid injury. Repeat
this step until all of the previous vanes or feathers have been removed.
Mitchell Marks
2. Remove the large chunks of old glue by lightly passing the blade of the knife over the
shaft repetitively.
3. Add soap to the wire gauze. Under a running sink, grip the shaft of the arrow tightly
with the wire gauze, and twist the arrow shaft repetitively to remove any remaining glue.
After all of the glue is removed, dry the arrow shaft with a blow dryer.
4. Dab a paper towel with a light layer of acetone. Pass the damp paper towel over the
area of the shaft where the new vanes or feathers are to be glued. The acetone helps
sterilize and clean the shaft so that the new fletchings adhere stronger.
5. Clamp a vane/feather with the helical clamp.
6. Insert the shaft of the arrow into the body of the helical clamp. The knock of the arrow
will fit easily into a grove of the helical clamp.
7. Apply a thin line of Fletch Tite Glue to the vane/feather in the clamp from step #5.
8. Attach the clamp to the body of the helical clamp. Both the clamp and the body have a
magnet which securely holds and presses the vane/feather to the shaft of the arrow.
9. Let vane/feather dry. If you are using vanes, drying takes about 5 minutes. Feathers
take around 20 minutes to dry.
10. Remove the clamp from the dried vane/feather.
11. Turn the knob of the helical clamp to spin the arrow.
12. Repeat steps #5 through #11 to apply the second and third vane/feather.
Let em’ Fly
Learning to fletch your own arrows can take some practice, but the rewards are well worth
your time. Making your own arrows is a fun way to save some money. As an archer, it
allows you to personalize your arrows and learn about your craft.