# Fabricating clicker plates



## Arsi (May 14, 2011)

So I just epoxied up my stock clicker cause I needed a tiny bit extra clicker room for some new arrows im using. Its a good solution for now but I want to cut up some aluminum to replace it.

I dont own a Dremel or anything like that, but is that the best tool for the job? Also where would I be able to get a stock sheet of aluminum that would work to cut out a clicker plate?


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## baller (Oct 4, 2006)

If you really want to use aluminum your best bet is to find some flat bar in the width and thickness that you need. A dremel works for the rough cuts but I have found that nothing beats two hands and some files.

Also, I switched to carbon fiber materials...currently I use hockey stick shafts that I have laying around. The carbon is strong but very workable with a file and some sandpaper.


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## Arsi (May 14, 2011)

baller said:


> If you really want to use aluminum your best bet is to find some flat bar in the width and thickness that you need. A dremel works for the rough cuts but I have found that nothing beats two hands and some files.
> 
> Also, I switched to carbon fiber materials...currently I use hockey stick shafts that I have laying around. The carbon is strong but very workable with a file and some sandpaper.


Im not hard set on aluminum. Good idea with the hockey stick shafts. Anyone else got any rough and cut solutions? I was initially thinking of using an old credit card and cutting that to shape for a clicker


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## w8lon (Jun 2, 2012)

Do you have a picture of the extension in question? Depending on how it is mounted to riser, doweled may require drill press/lathe. Screwed to riser may require just a file, drill, countersink, file to suit. Most any hardware store should have a bin of aluminum in various thickness and width.

Since my Midas had a dowelled extension I just glued up a piece of fiberglass and phenolic for the time being. Not as pretty as machined aluminum, but it works!


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

> I was initially thinking of using an old credit card and cutting that to shape for a clicker


We may have found someone cheaper than me on this forum! LOL!

It's pretty easy to just go down to a decent hardware store, buy a length of flat aluminum stock, take a hacksaw (if you don't have one, you can buy one at the hardware store while you're there) and cut the length extension you need out of the aluminum flat stock. Then drill a hole for the extension screw ( you do have a drill and a few bits, right? ) and you're done.

I've made many clicker extensions this way, and I've also bent some flat aluminum stock and backed it with two-sided mounting tape, to affix a clicker extension to my wife's SF Axiom riser. 

It's not rocket science, and you really should have a few of these tools already. 

Besides, any excuse to buy tools is really a guy's favorite kind of excuse anyway.


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## Arsi (May 14, 2011)

w8lon said:


> Do you have a picture of the extension in question?


Its the flat plate kind, not the dowel kind.

As far as tools, I may be able to borrow a drill! But I have very few tools and zero cutting tools so far. Definitely a good opportunity to increase my inventory.


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## kid_cupid (Nov 12, 2012)

Arsi,
What type of riser to do you have? If it is a late model Hoyt, I have some extended clicker plates I had made up of aluminum from a metal shop near where I live. I had to have them made up in quantity to get the overall cost down so I have a few extra. These are unfinished (not painted) aluminum clicker plates that are the same thickness of the Hoyt ones and are extended from the riser about 2.5” or so. If you happen to use a carbon clicker, the sound it gives is a solid, distinct, and positive “click”. I’ve had several compliments on the sound of the clicker. Let me know if you are interested.

Kid_Cupid


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## Arsi (May 14, 2011)

Yep im shooting an HPX. Got any pics? Preferably in comparison to the stock Hoyt clicker.


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## kid_cupid (Nov 12, 2012)

Arsi said:


> Yep im shooting an HPX. Got any pics? Preferably in comparison to the stock Hoyt clicker.


I don' have pic's right handy but give me 'till tomorrow and I'll post them, Will that be OK? This means I gotta take a few pic's tonight which is no problem and then post the photos.......I think I can do that here...I'll figure that out.


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## Arsi (May 14, 2011)

No rush. Im most likely going to be getting some stock aluminum and trying it out myself but if yours looks sweet, I might just buy one from you haha.


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## atjurhs (Oct 19, 2011)

I did the exact same thing using a piece of G10. G10 is easy to cut and shape. I'm sure you can get a pice from McMaster-Carr, or look on the net for hobby rocketry suppliers, they often make rocket fins out of G10, or send the dimensions you need and your address and I'll see if I have a piece I can send you

Todd


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## Dave_Gilbert (Aug 28, 2012)

I saw Kid_Cupid's clicker plate yesterday and it is very well done.



Arsi said:


> No rush. Im most likely going to be getting some stock aluminum and trying it out myself but if yours looks sweet, I might just buy one from you haha.


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## agillator (Sep 11, 2011)

Arsi-
To save yourself some time you might want to consider one of these:

AAE Adjustable Magnetic Clicker
AAE Magnetic Clicker 
AAE Extended Clicker. 
They click even without a clicker plate. They are offered relatively often in the AT classifieds at significant discounts. The one that mounts on the sight extension can be inconvenient if you are changing your sight extension length regularly, but it is easier it get on and off your rig than the other two. Good to have around for those times you are being ginger about trimming shafts.


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## Arsi (May 14, 2011)

agillator said:


> Arsi-
> To save yourself some time you might want to consider one of these:
> 
> AAE Adjustable Magnetic Clicker
> ...


Yeah I actually have the sight mounted one but I needed only a quarter of an inch. My arrows are trimmed to the max cut on X10s; 28" shaft length on 500 spine. After my fun time trimming 550s from the front and back, I am trying to avoid any more rear cut shenanigans.

Though the first one I saw on Lancaster the other night. Its the same one that one of my shooting partners uses. Its pretty slick. Just rattles too much for my tastes.

EDIT: Clarification. I have the sight mounted one in preparation for using fat indoor arrows once indoor season starts up again. But I dont really want to use it in this situation since I move my sight bar around for outdoor like you said in your post.


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## kid_cupid (Nov 12, 2012)

Dave_Gilbert said:


> I saw Kid_Cupid's clicker plate yesterday and it is very well done.


Thanks Dave....

OK Arsi,
here is a photo (prom my mobile phone), let me know if you need more, I'll break out my real camera gear to take the images (yep, I am a professional photographer)








Kid_Cupid


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## andyman1970 (Apr 2, 2008)

kid_cupid said:


> Thanks Dave....
> 
> OK Arsi,
> here is a photo (prom my mobile phone), let me know if you need more, I'll break out my real camera gear to take the images (yep, I am a professional photographer)
> ...


Looks good.

I also need a few more millimeters on my clicker plate, and was hoping Hoyt sold a slightly longer plate. So far no luck.


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## Stash (Jun 1, 2002)

Word of caution...if you extend a riser-mounted clicker too far out (like in that picture) it has a tendency to push slightly down on the arrow point, which can cause the arrow to "jump" a tiny bit as the clicker goes off. Can easily happen if you have a very springy rest wire. You might want to mount the clicker itself forward of the riser somehow to make sure it's close to square to the arrow shaft/point.


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## KenYeoh (Feb 21, 2010)

Epoxy a bunch of folded aluminum to get the right thickness and file to fit, then arc weld to existing plate using car battery and some coins (though not US coins because that would be very much illegal)


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## Stash (Jun 1, 2002)

Or you could use a piece of lexan or plexiglass - pretty easy to cut and file/sand to shape.


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## williamskg6 (Dec 21, 2008)

Just my two cents - you could go the high tech (and slightly expensive) route: draw something up in Sketchup, then get it 3D printed.

I'm actually trying out 3D printing - making a mount to go on sight extensions so that you can use a riser-mounted clicker on a sight. Kinda like the AAE sight-mounted clicker except you put on any riser mounted clicker you want. It's the red part in the image below. 








I don't know if the 3D printing resins are strong enough when they get warm in the sun, but I intend to find out! If it works, I may be making myself a high-tech clicker extension plate for my riser.


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## Arsi (May 14, 2011)

Stash said:


> Word of caution...if you extend a riser-mounted clicker too far out (like in that picture) it has a tendency to push slightly down on the arrow point, which can cause the arrow to "jump" a tiny bit as the clicker goes off. Can easily happen if you have a very springy rest wire. You might want to mount the clicker itself forward of the riser somehow to make sure it's close to square to the arrow shaft/point.


Ehh? Gonna have to explain this one to me. Why would a clicker far out be any different other than the clicker possibly leaving the arrow on the edge, rather than the tip of the arrow.


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## Old Newbie (Apr 14, 2011)

http://www.k1-archery.com/Recurve-Bows/Clickers/K1-Archery-Clicker-Extension.html


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## Stash (Jun 1, 2002)

Arsi said:


> Ehh? Gonna have to explain this one to me. Why would a clicker far out be any different other than the clicker possibly leaving the arrow on the edge, rather than the tip of the arrow.


I would think it's fairly obvious...

If the clicker is square to the arrow shaft, it's pushing the arrow against the plunger button. If your plunger is too weak, the clicker will compress the spring in the plunger, and when it goes off, the plunger will pop the arrow out to the left. Now, that's not what I'm talking about here, but I have seen that happen.

What I am saying is that when the clicker is out at 45 degrees or thereabouts, as the point passes underneath it, the clicker pushes the arrow down a bit as well as in towards the plunger. If you have a very soft wire on your rest, the clicker can compress that wire and as the clicker goes off, the wire springs back and can pop the arrow up a tiny bit. Completely unnoticeable if you're shooting, easily seen from the side. I'm not saying it WILL happen, just something to watch for.


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## Arsi (May 14, 2011)

Old Newbie said:


> http://www.k1-archery.com/Recurve-Bows/Clickers/K1-Archery-Clicker-Extension.html


Already got it  Had the thing from a long time ago when I was shooting long ACEs. Glad I kept it!


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## kid_cupid (Nov 12, 2012)

andyman1970 said:


> Looks good.
> 
> I also need a few more millimeters on my clicker plate, and was hoping Hoyt sold a slightly longer plate. So far no luck.


Andyman,
I called Hoyt and they didn't offer any help with an extnded clicker plate, but then again, I am a "nobody", not a big name shooter making the request, so my efforts were simply ignored. That's why I went to a machine shop, took my riser and my original Hoyt clicker plate. they took one look, made some measurements and called me two weeks later with the product. In the meantime, my coach gave me a brass clicker plate, extended like th eones I was having made up, and it worked but was thiner and sounded "anemic". 

Now I know that many coaches will tell you that after a while, it's not the sound of the click that should signal your release but rather, the feel. So it's important to be in "tune" with your bow (I know, sounds very spiritual). I agree with this but I like the sound of a solid click as well.

Hope this helps
-Kid_Cupid


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## kid_cupid (Nov 12, 2012)

Stash said:


> I would think it's fairly obvious...
> 
> If the clicker is square to the arrow shaft, it's pushing the arrow against the plunger button. If your plunger is too weak, the clicker will compress the spring in the plunger, and when it goes off, the plunger will pop the arrow out to the left. Now, that's not what I'm talking about here, but I have seen that happen.
> 
> What I am saying is that when the clicker is out at 45 degrees or thereabouts, as the point passes underneath it, the clicker pushes the arrow down a bit as well as in towards the plunger. If you have a very soft wire on your rest, the clicker can compress that wire and as the clicker goes off, the wire springs back and can pop the arrow up a tiny bit. Completely unnoticeable if you're shooting, easily seen from the side. I'm not saying it WILL happen, just something to watch for.


Stash,
I think you have a valid point there, so I will have someone watch closely next time I'm on the line. However, thus far, no one, including my coach, has noticed any jumps. I understand that what you may be referring to could also me so quick and so small that it would be hard to detect with the naked human eye. So perhaps a high speed camera would help to ferret any unwanted jumps. 

In my unscientific observation, however, my arrows, seem to behave as expected, I think the clicker arm itself should perhaps not be too strong a force as to cause excessive down thrust on the arrow rest, especially the single wire finger type, e.g. Shibuya Ultima Recurve Rest and similar others. Similarly, the plunger button spring would hopefully be set strong enough to overcome the force of the clicker blade or wire yet still function as needed to render the proper resistance to the shaft to help produce proper flight of the arrow undergoing the dynamics of the archer's paradox. 

But so far, for me, all works well.

Regards,
Kid_Cupid


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Rick McKinney covered this in his book - the value of having the clicker in a more vertical or 90 deg. to the arrow, position. One of the pictures of him shooting shows the clicker position ahead of the riser. I distinctly remember that as I'd never seen it before.



williamskg6 said:


> Just my two cents - you could go the high tech (and slightly expensive) route: draw something up in Sketchup, then get it 3D printed.
> 
> I'm actually trying out 3D printing - making a mount to go on sight extensions so that you can use a riser-mounted clicker on a sight. Kinda like the AAE sight-mounted clicker except you put on any riser mounted clicker you want. It's the red part in the image below.
> View attachment 1677646
> ...


Williams, when I was testing the X-appeal, I found that one of the design flaws in that riser is the location of the clicker hole that forces an archer to use a steeply angled clicker, even for normal clicker positions. My solution was very much like yours, to fabricate an aluminum block that mounted to the sight extension on my Sure-loc sights. It worked perfectly. I eventually got my SKY risers and shot them, so I sent one clicker extension to Staten Holmes and he liked it enough that he asked for another, and shot them at the 2nd leg of the Oly. trials. I offered to make them for Jenny and Miranda, but they didn't want to change anything that close to the Oly. games. 

But it's a very simple and valid device.


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## Arsi (May 14, 2011)

limbwalker said:


> Williams, when I was testing the X-appeal, I found that one of the design flaws in that riser is the location of the clicker hole that forces an archer to use a steeply angled clicker, even for normal clicker positions.


Jeremiah uses an interesting solution. Ive had the chance to see him shooting at different venues and more recently, he had fabricated some bracket that looked like parts of an Erector Set to get his clicker more vertical on his X-Appeal. Gotta do what you gotta do!


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## Drowsy (May 9, 2013)

I know this is now an older thread, but I decided to fabricate an extended clicker plate last night after I messed up my original with plumber's epoxy.

Apparently, my local Home Depot sells aluminum flat bars in the same width and thickness as the stock Hoyt clicker plate (3/4" wide and 1/8" thick). I bought a 4-foot bar, and went to work with my dremel and some matte black Rustoleum in a spray can.

All in all, not bad for an hour's work. If you have a dremel and drill lying around, some time and steady hands, you should be able to make one no problem. Just remember to wear safety glasses when cutting and grinding the aluminum. 

Pics: 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h0lrobshml233d6/2014-03-22%2020.20.58.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gf838vsknh7pnr8/2014-03-23%2015.30.35.jpg


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