# how to put 3 deg. Helical on blazer fletching



## abruno25 (Feb 12, 2010)

hello, i'm trying to find out how to put a 3 deg. helical on blazer fletchings using a bitzenburger fletching jig? i see the two lines and dials to off set the flecthing, but how do you tell the deg. you are putting on the blazer, thank you


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## edthearcher (Nov 2, 2002)

*Degrees*

really thats a good question, most just guess at it


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

abruno25 said:


> hello, i'm trying to find out how to put a 3 deg. helical on blazer fletchings using a bitzenburger fletching jig? i see the two lines and dials to off set the flecthing, but how do you tell the deg. you are putting on the blazer, thank you


With a helical clamp,
you don't really have much choice in the angle of the clamp.


The helical clamp is curved on the bottom edge.

If you place a helical clamp onto a table top,
the front and rear corner will contact the table top
and the middle of the clamp will be high,
and not be in contact with the table top.

So,
rotate the top dial on the bitz jig to the right a little bit

and

leave the bottom dial at 12-o'clock or
rotate the bottom dial on the bitz jig a bit to the left 
(counter-clockwise)

until 
you see zero daylight
between the helical clamp (no vane just yet)
and
the arrow shaft.

It depends on the outside diameter of the arrow shaft.

Super skinny FITA arrows,
and you will have a very small angle on the clamp,
in order to get a good fit between the clamp
and the arrow shaft.

GoldTip XT Hunter shafts,
you will have to turn the top dial a little more to the right
and
have to turn the bottom dial a little to the left
to get a good fit between the clamp and the shaft.


Easton 2512 aluminum
Easton 2613 aluminum 
then,
you will have to rotate the top dial even more to the right
and
rotate the bottom dial on the Bitz jig even more to the left,
in order to get a good fit.


Generally speaking,
a 2-inch long Blazer vane
will need a 1/16th inch offset
to be close to 2 degrees.

Back end of the 2-inch long vane
and the
front end of the 2-in long vane,
1/16th inch apart laterally = 2-degrees of offset.


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## abruno25 (Feb 12, 2010)

nuts&bolts said:


> With a helical clamp,
> you don't really have much choice in the angle of the clamp.
> 
> 
> ...


sounds good thanks for your help, going to check this out. i have one question for you,i'm shooting carbon express maxima 300's weight fowards, where to place the blazer fletch in the helical clamp to start the fletch, someone told me the second largest line, someone said the first largest line... any sugestions and is there a differnece?


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## nycredneck (Nov 9, 2007)

Well you want your fletching to not be in your face when at full draw. I guess most people go 1/2" to 1" from end of shaft, I wind up in the middle of that at about 3/4" from shaft end. I always thought to go as far back as I can without the fletch hitting my face.


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## jim p (Oct 29, 2003)

The circumference of a gold tip is approximately 1". So if you offset the vane by 1/16" wouldn't you have about 22 degrees of offset?


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

jim p said:


> The circumference of a gold tip is approximately 1". So if you offset the vane by 1/16" wouldn't you have about 22 degrees of offset?


Offset is the lateral deviation from the arrow shaft centerline...

if you put the back end of the 2-inch Blazer vane on the
arrow shaft centerline.....

and

if you put the front end of the 2-inch Blazer vane 1/16th inch
away from the arrow shaft centerline...

then,

you have a triangle.

Base of the triangle is 2-inches long.
Height of the triangle is 1/16th inch long.


The included angle
between the base of the triangle
and the hypotenuse
is 2-degrees.


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## jim p (Oct 29, 2003)

Thanks for explaining how the offset angle is measured.


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## ajstrider (Feb 20, 2009)

Or for 40 bucks you can buy the Bohning Blazer Helix jig that doesn't it perfect for you each time. I love my Bitz jig because of its adjustability, but when the Helix jig does exactly what you want with Blazer vanes, it is tough to beat. I still use my Bitz for certain fletching jobs, and my Arizona EZ Fletch, but for doing my Blazer vanes, the Helix jig is the king.


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## solberg (Feb 10, 2010)

ttt


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## White Wizzard (Sep 1, 2009)

Helix jig works great.


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## thwackaddict (Sep 1, 2006)

So what is the difference in using a straight clamp with 2 degrees offset and a helical clamp with 2 degrees offset? All I have ever used is a straight clamp.... and have been told that the straight will slow the arrow down less and actually result in better loooong range accuracy than helical.

Any thoughts?

I am getting ready to fletch up some injexions(super skinny) and I am wanting input before I get started. Last arrows I did were 339 ACC's and blazers. They seemed pretty skinny when it came to fletching.

So would 1/32 left on the back end and 1/32 right on the front end be a 2 degree straight offset?


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## Greenjoytj (Aug 10, 2013)

Try NAP brand Quickspin vanes, these vanes have a little ridge on one side it acts like a rudder to spin the shaft. NAP recommends a 1.5 degree or less to avoid over rotations.
Try fletching them straight and with just a little offset and see what work best for you.


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## thwackaddict (Sep 1, 2006)

So is the helical clamp the same as a straight clamp???.... straight but ground up in the middle to let it sit down on the shaft more?

Or... is the clamp itself twisted some and not straight?

I am thinking of custom grinding my straight clamp to get it to helical.


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## xforce pse (Mar 9, 2011)

tagged for right heical


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## gofor (Feb 4, 2013)

thwackaddict said:


> So is the helical clamp the same as a straight clamp???.... straight but ground up in the middle to let it sit down on the shaft more?
> 
> Or... is the clamp itself twisted some and not straight?
> 
> I am thinking of custom grinding my straight clamp to get it to helical.


I have a Jojan. My helical clamp is twisted front to back about 45 degrees over a 6" run. It has to have the twist so that the camp base holds the vane perpendicular to the center of the arrow along the entire length of the vane. Otherwise the base of the vane won't make flat contact with the arrow for adhesion, and the vane will not be in a spiral form. (A helical is basically a spiral like a screw thread. If you extend the helical far enough, it will wrap completely around the arrow.).

As for the number of degrees offset, you are pretty much at the mercy of the clamp. By design, the nose will be offset from the tail. The amount is dependent on the diameter of the shaft. Larger shaft will require a larger offset to fully contact the shaft over the vane's length. Thinner shaft will result in less. If you compare two helical clamps of the same length by putting their bottom edges on a flat surface and the middle of the clamp straight up and down, you will notice a curved gap in the center. If one has a larger gap, it will offset the nose more (it is a tighter helical). Another way to compare them is by the amount of twist in the clamp over the same length. The more twisted one will have the tightest spiral (helical) resulting in the most offset. Using a clamp for a small diameter arrow on a fat arrow will give a more offset/twist, but probably too much for the vane to warp enough to make good contact for adhesion. Have not tries that. There is such a thing as too much.

Go


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## CommonKiller (Mar 5, 2012)

No, the Bitzenberger helical clamps are twisted.


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## thwackaddict (Sep 1, 2006)

As close as I can measure I just put a 3 degree straight offset on my injexions. Did this with my bitz and a straight clamp. I put them in the clamp with a little bit more than just the base sticking out of the bottom of the clamp. This seems to help curve the vane around the shaft. I let them set about 5 minutes then take the clamp off and the bohning platinum seems to pull them on down tight as the glue dries.

Would a 3 degree helical clamp put them on any different? Or would it just make it easier to get them on a skinny shaft at 3 degrees?


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## Coverdog (Oct 24, 2012)

thwackaddict said:


> As close as I can measure I just put a 3 degree straight offset on my injexions. Did this with my bitz and a straight clamp. I put them in the clamp with a little bit more than just the base sticking out of the bottom of the clamp. This seems to help curve the vane around the shaft. I let them set about 5 minutes then take the clamp off and the bohning platinum seems to pull them on down tight as the glue dries.
> 
> Would a 3 degree helical clamp put them on any different? Or would it just make it easier to get them on a skinny shaft at 3 degrees?


You'll find it far easier to put a 3 degree or a bit more with the helical clamp. I wasn't able to get to a true 3 degree with a straight clamp no matter how I tried.


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## BDZ65 (May 20, 2004)

I have the BPE, it too has markings similar to the Bitz. What I do is use a caliper to measure the displacement @ the front of the adjustable jig body and do the same at the back of the adjustable body. I then use a little Trigonometry and calculate the offset, like Nuts and Bolts described. Remember your trig formulas for a right triangle: S(angle) = opposite length / hypotenuse length

SIN(angle) = total offset / length of adjustable body.

So:
1. add the two offsets together and divide by length of the adjustable body
2. Take the inverse SIN of the result from step #1 and you have your offset in degrees


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