# Best glue for carbon arrow inserts?



## NockOn

I think preparation is as important as the glue. I use a bore cleaning brush on mine and also make sure the arrow is cut square. I also clean the inside of the arrow just before glueing the insert with a Q-Tip and 99.953% pure anhydrous Isopropyl alcohol.

I've had good success with Epoxy and Hot Melt and I'm now trying Fast Fletch.

Cheers,


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## eshorehunter

For prep, I clean the inside of the shaft with alcohol on a Q-tip and use some sandpaper to skuff up the insert. I was using epoxy and some other glues and could not keep my inserts in to save my life. I did some searches on here and found about low temp. hotmelt glue. I got some from lancaster with my last order but i hear the stuff from walmart works just as good. Put a point in the insert and hold it with pliers over a flame and get it just hot enough to melt the glue. So far my inserts have held up awesome.


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## Bootch

*Glue*

Loctite 406 - do a simple clean and this stuff sticks, i use it for vanes and point inserts as well but beware it aint coming out again!


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## 1horn

Loctite 411 is what we have used on about 200,000 arrows. Clean first and this stuff sets fast.


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## goldtip45

*glue*

well the wife has some craft glue sticks for her glue gun. so i thought i would try to see if these would work. i used her glue sticks and just recently applied them to my carbon shafts. i tried my best to pull them out with pliers and they would not budge.so i heated a tip on the insert to see if i could remove them and it worked out great. getting ready to try them in my decoy target to see if they hold up ok. will let you know how they work out.


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## bowtech2win

I also use the loctite, but I use the gel version. It is nice on fletchings and inserts and you can control it easy.


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## CaptPete

I also use low-temp hot melt glue. Just make sure you only get the insert hot enough to melt the glue. Carbon & heat don't mix, heat destroys the bond that holds the carbon together...found this out the hard way. :embara::embara:

Kevin


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## Rampant

Bohning's PowerBond is designed specifically as a point/insert glue (not to be used for fletching) and outperforms everything else I've tried... by far!
It expands as it cures, to completely fill the grooves/knurling in the insert, resulting in a bond with no gaps or air pockets. Awesome stuff!


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## goldtip45

*my results*

i tried the glue sticks my wife used for crafts. i did heat the insert with the tip already on and holding with a pair of pliers--using a candle i heated the insert until the glue stick started to melt and applied it to the insert not over heating the insert. like i stated earlier i applied one earlier and then reheated with tip on and it remove easily. so i went out the last couple days and shot into my glendale buck target to see if they would stay secure. the last few days i have shot close to 75 arrows without any inserts coming out at all. at first i was a little sceptical because trimming the excess off around the shaft it felt like rubber. but i let them sit for a while to cool completely down and this seems to be working awesome. there was a member on here that told me to try the craftsman glue sticks or the rod repair glue like at walmarts. so i asked the wife if she had any glue and thought why not try and see if it would work also. all i can say so far is great results!


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## Josh_RN

goldtip45 said:


> i tried the glue sticks my wife used for crafts. i did heat the insert with the tip already on and holding with a pair of pliers--using a candle i heated the insert until the glue stick started to melt and applied it to the insert not over heating the insert. like i stated earlier i applied one earlier and then reheated with tip on and it remove easily. so i went out the last couple days and shot into my glendale buck target to see if they would stay secure. the last few days i have shot close to 75 arrows without any inserts coming out at all. at first i was a little sceptical because trimming the excess off around the shaft it felt like rubber. but i let them sit for a while to cool completely down and this seems to be working awesome. there was a member on here that told me to try the craftsman glue sticks or the rod repair glue like at walmarts. so i asked the wife if she had any glue and thought why not try and see if it would work also. all i can say so far is great results!


I was just wandering if you still are using your wife's hot glue for your inserts. I'm about to put together my first arrows and thought this might be an easy way to go. Thanks


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## Cameronm35

I use Loctite Ultra Control Gel. Same thing I use to do my fletchings with. Great control and great strength. Have never had an insert come out on me.


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## bbjavelina

The craft type glue sticks have worked perfectly for me for several years no matter the target.

Shaft preparation is the most important factor no matter which glue you choose. Brass (not plastic) bore brush and cleaning with a cotton swab. I prefer acetone over alcohol.


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## JF from VA

I have also had good luck with Walmart hot melt glue sticks.


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## bbjavelina

Some folks have reported good results with cheap low temp hot melt, while others report dismal failure. Why the difference? 

Different quality of the glue purchased?
Different cleaning agents? Never use rubbing alcohol.
Is there that much difference between brands of shafts?

Someone above mentioned the hot melt being gummy. I think that's a very good thing. Adhesives that set up rock hard can have the bond broken on a hard impact. From what I've seen this comes mostly from the "instant set" glues. 

Best of luck to each of you.


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## Fury90flier

strongest...Loctite marine grade epoxy.


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## Berdo

Fury90flier said:


> strongest...Loctite marine grade epoxy.


I prefer the navy seal grade


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## bbjavelina

Fury90flier said:


> strongest...Loctite marine grade epoxy.


No doubt that there are stronger bonds than with the low temp hot melt. Personally if prefer an adhesive that is easily reversible. That's just me since I'm always tinkering and trying different things. To each his own.

Best of luck to you.


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## dwagoner

bbjavelina said:


> No doubt that there are stronger bonds than with the low temp hot melt. Personally if prefer an adhesive that is easily reversible. That's just me since I'm always tinkering and trying different things. To each his own.
> 
> Best of luck to you.


i agree, epoxy is way overkill for inserts....

been using loctite gel for years, i just clean with a bore brush i have for arrows only, and some thinner on a Qtip before gluing... works great


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## gofor

Savate said:


> Got me some new inserts and field points for my carbon arrows (left the old inserts and points stuck in the wooden frame of my target, never to be extracted without the help of a winch). :sad:
> 
> What is the best (strongest?) glue for bonding my inserts to my carbon shafts?


To remove arrows from a wooden frame without damaging arrows: Get two LARGE screwdrivers and a framing hammer. Drive a screwdriver into the wood on each side of the arrow in the direction the wood grain runs. By alternating one side and then the other, you can usually get the screwdrivers in as deep as the point.This will spread the wood so you can extract the arrows. DAMHIKT :embara:

I use the hot melt glue from Lowes for mine. Realize that when you slam an arrow into something like wood, the friction heats up the hot melt enough that you can usually pull the arrow off the insert if you try and remove it right away, even if only the tip is buried in the wood. Give it a few minutes to cool first, and the glue rehardens. If you look at the end of a hot-melt arrow after it has been shot into wood, you may notice that the recoil of it hitting has causes the shaft to back off the insert a little due to the instantaneous heat, so you may need to reheat and push it back in tight. (By the way, I have found that the loosening of the insert also occurs with epoxy, but it doesn't re-adhere, so the arrow is out of service until repaired.) I have shot arrows like this for quite a few rounds without fixing them with no problem, but I have a carpet target, They tend to hang up in the face of a bag target.

When gluing in the inserts, I put a tip in the insert, heat that, rub a litttle glue on it from the end of the glue stick, put it into the shaft and turn it a bit. I pre-clean the inside of the shaft with alcohol and make sure its dry. I do not heat the shaft itself. To remove, I heat the tip until it softens the glue.

As you can see, you are not alone in killing wood occasionally. 

Go


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## julle

cheapest hot melt you can find. Won't budge before your shaft breaks..... best thing is, that when you dunk it in some boiling water for 10 second, the insert pulls out with ease.


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## soonerboy

I really like the 30/06 glues. They have one for vanes and one for inserts. I got mine through Lancaster.


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## b0w_bender

bbjavelina said:


> No doubt that there are stronger bonds than with the low temp hot melt. Personally if prefer an adhesive that is easily reversible. That's just me since I'm always tinkering and trying different things. To each his own.
> 
> Best of luck to you.


Spot on, what if you decide that you need to shorten your arrows by .5" or whatever, wouldn't it be preferable to be able to remove them?
I've always used the hot-melt and very seldom if ever lose a point.


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## SouthernBilly

eshorehunter said:


> For prep, I clean the inside of the shaft with alcohol on a Q-tip and use some sandpaper to skuff up the insert. I was using epoxy and some other glues and could not keep my inserts in to save my life. I did some searches on here and found about low temp. hotmelt glue. I got some from lancaster with my last order but i hear the stuff from walmart works just as good. Put a point in the insert and hold it with pliers over a flame and get it just hot enough to melt the glue. So far my inserts have held up awesome.


Thanks for the info. I recently just used the basic hot glue that was in my glue gun. Seems like it has worked great on my carbon arrows. I cleaned the inside of the arrows first. then I applied the hot melt glue to the insert. then I used a heat gun to heat the glue on the insert until it is well melted and will easily slide into the shaft. Slid it into the shaft and then immediately wiped off excess. Hoping that this holds up well. I like the idea of being able to remove the inserts at a later date by heating the arrow point tip with a hot air gun just enough to slide the insert back out.... but I have not tried this yet.


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## GreggWNY

Hot glue for me but I never remove the inserts or glue in points using a flame as it's too easy to damage the shaft. I use a pyrodex cup and microwave some water until almost boiling. Then drop the front of the arrow in and within seconds you can pull the points out easily. 180 to 200 degrees will never damage the shaft. I also do the same thing with broadheads to rotate them.


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## SouthernBilly

GreggWNY said:


> Hot glue for me but I never remove the inserts or glue in points using a flame as it's too easy to damage the shaft. I use a pyrodex cup and microwave some water until almost boiling. Then drop the front of the arrow in and within seconds you can pull the points out easily. 180 to 200 degrees will never damage the shaft. I also do the same thing with broadheads to rotate them.


Thanks for the tip... I would have done it BAD with a heat gun. Thanks for taking the time to tell me.


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