Now that we have fully prepared shafts – as detailed in my previous three articles – it’s time to turn our attention to what most people believe is the hardest part of arrow building. This is practical fletching, the process of attaching your chosen feathers, vanes or wings to the arrow. In this piece, we’re going to be focusing on plastic vanes.
Getting a good bond between the vane and the arrow is not as easy as people often think. This is down to the fact that there are three main factors to consider. I think of this as the triangle for success, and success is dependent on each point being compatible with the others. These factors are 1) shaft surface, 2) vane, and 3) adhesive.
It’s really important to do a test arrow with a spare wrap and vane before rushing into doing the full set
