What were the tips lol, have had no luck with vibratite nor the tac pen/glue. Really wanted to try them out but having a hard time with adhesion.

 

First, wipe down the shaft with acetone until no black residue remains on the paper towel. I use a Firenock jig and clamp. After putting vane in clamp, roll the vane base on table edge or similar to flatten base some. I then lightly run 1000 grit sandpaper over base, wipe with Acetone, then I brush on the Loctite (Blue cap) just enough to lightly wet the vane base. Clamp and hold tight for 10 seconds. I have the recommended TAC primer pen on the way, but read that it is 99% acetone.

 

I have the 2.75” Drivers. They were more consistent than blazers for me with broadheads. Not real extensive testing though.

 

I’ve had good luck with them so far shoot well and very durable. Biggest downfall is they are not real easy to fletch.

 

Built TomOnTheRun a dozen. With the 2.25 on 9mm shafts. Tested them and very accurate. He killed a Muley at 70 yards with one this year. I think Heat vanes are stiffer and they are preprimed. Tac need a primer.

 

You are correct, the Loctite is just a tad thicker than Losi.
I only make arrows for myself and maybe 2-4 requests a week, so can take more time. Personally, I hated having to wipe off excess glue and main reason I tried brush.

 

You are correct, the Loctite is just a tad thicker than Losi.
I only make arrows for myself and maybe 2-4 requests a week, so can take more time. Personally, I hated having to wipe off excess glue and main reason I tried brush.
View attachment 248701

I use the Loctite gel and it’s one of the best glues I have tried. Three small drops spaced out on the vane then run a toothpick over it and put it on.

 

Kevin, what brush do you use? Thanks.

 

I use the brush from a bottle of Gorilla Glue that comes with a brush applicator (yellow), but any nail polish brush will work. Just clean it good with acetone.

 

I dip a toothpick about 1/3 of the way then lay in the vane channel and pull while spinning. Gets it very even.

 

Tac vane adhesion? You gotta use Tac primer pen and glue. Next to impossible to come off. I've been down this road. My all-time favorite vane if you use recommended accessories. I've busted nocks at 60 yards with them more than once. Good luck.

 

FYI: Tac Vanes do not come pre primed for glue.

 

The only vanes I ever found that were on better then the ones I fletched up.

Came on arrows I got from jerry.

Outside of that I use gorilla glue gel on all my vanes and its holds great.

 

Observations: TAC vanes have the most rigid base of any vane I have used. That concave area for the glue is very tough, perhaps why longbow presses the base on a table/bench edge. I do very low volume, so firmly squeeze the bitz clamp down with index finger and thumb of both hands for a 30 count. With the TAC primer and glue, it seems to work well enough. Perhaps a Firenock jig has strong enough magnets to hold the vane down. They are far too rich for my blood, so I will never know. I can see how some would think them difficult to fletch. They are very stiff, and quite a bit lighter than similar size vanetec or fusions, so there’s the appeal. When my Burky Toxin gets here, I will fletch up some arrows for it with the TACs and see how it goes.

 

WWB gave me the tip to run the bases along table edge. I also hit with fine sandpaper, which may be overkill. Acetone has worked well for me, but I have the TAC primer pen being delivered today. MTD Driver 2.25 only weigh 4.5 grains compared to my Vanetec HD 2.25, which weigh 7 grains; most likely irrelevant, but will aid in FOC albeit minimally.

 

Primer is a must for TAC vanes. JoePA you nailed it.

 

How did your arrow and Tac vanes hold up after punching that muley Tom?( One degree left fletched.)

 

 

With the structure and rigidity of the base, I can see how they would work more easily with smaller diameter (vertical compound) arrows.

 

Many times when fletching a problem will appear and folks will blame the adhesive when a simply tuning of the clamp will fix the issue

 

As far as Durability goes I have buried the same arrow into a Extreme 500 twice and shot 2 deer with that same arrow and it is in my quiver now the vanes are unscathed which is by far more durable then any other vane I have used to date..

 

A single thread from my Kinetic 650 target face is what started to cut 2 of my Q2i vanes off and the third was just crumpled beyond heat repair. I have yet to have any arrow fletching survive getting buried and then removed from a target. I dont try to bury my arrows but Im hopeful for these TAC vanes claim to durability, glad I finally got them to stick.

 

I’ve been shooting TAC vanes 2.25 and 2.75 vanes for almost a year on my Easton 9MM. Also, I have buried them in targets numerous times. To me they are bullet proof. I’ve had them bend occasionally, let rest overnight and most times the vanes return back to original condition. If not heat gun works instantly. Best vane I’ve ever used. Heat vane is a close second. Subjectively I prefer looks of TAC. Heat vane is more durable. Weight I think about the same. I use TAC primer pen and glue. No way can I pull them off.

 

I was kind of involved when tac first started. A guy that ran Q2I was brought in to get it up and running. He tried to use the fusion method that Q2I had but they kind of had a patent so they floundered for a time. I lost interest and the guy from Q2I was let go.

I lost interest and moved on because the vanes were terrible

Then they changed some things in the process and got Levi Morgan to join the team and the rest is history

From a production shop fletcher point of view I still hated them because of the difficulty getting them to stick. But in time I worked out a process

I know longbow42 prefers a loctite product and I fully intend to test it but for now Losi is still my go too

He stated they came off easier but I believe that is because of his process

He does not like squeeze out but I firmly believe squeeze out is a necessary attribute of consistent adhesion

When adhesive squeezes out and you wipe it the area between the vane and shaft is filled with a thin line of adhesive

This line act like caulk on a window to the frame, it completes the bond

Super glue has amazing tensile strength but it's sheer strength is not as good. So if you don't have squeeze out to fill the weak point where the shaft meets the vane the sheer bond it no where near the tensil bond

With that said tac is not my first choice but I no longer hate them.

George and I will offer them when we get going in the next week or so

 

I was kind of involved when tac first started. A guy that ran Q2I was brought in to get it up and running. He tried to use the fusion method that Q2I had but they kind of had a patent so they floundered for a time. I lost interest and the guy from Q2I was let go.

I lost interest and moved on because the vanes were terrible

Then sometime they changed some things in the process and got Levi Morgan to join the team and the rest is history

From a production shop fletcher point of view I still hated them because of the difficulty getting them to stick. But in time I worked out a process

I know longbow42 prefers a loctite product and I fully intend to test it but for now Losi is still my go too

He stated they came off easier but I believe that is because of his process

He does not like squeeze out but I firmly believe squeeze out is a necessary attribute of consistent adhesion

When adhesive squeezes out and you wipe it the area between the vane and shaft is filled with a thin line of adhesive

This line act like caulk on a window to the frame, it completes the bond

Super glue has amazing tensile strength but it's sheer strength is not as good. So if you don't have squeeze out to fill the weak point where the shaft meets the vane the sheer bond it no where near the tensil bond

With that said tac is not my first choice but I no longer hate them.

George and I will offer them when we get going in the next week or so

The method I use to test vane adhesive strength is not scientific but adequate for my purposes. I firmly grasp the vane with a pliers and aggressively try to pull off. With Vanetec and Fusion, the vane rips near the base, leaving the entire base attached to the shaft, requiring removal with a razor. With Tac, the vane would not rip, but the shaft was bending significantly without coming off. That was good enough for me to determine they were firmly attached. I still get a very small amount of "squeeze out", but it is so small that it rarely requires me to wipe off excess.

 

We can't all be Burky and build xbows but being able to build your own arrows is kinda cool.

 

Tested out my new WWB Zombies fletched with Tac 2.25 out of my TP Nitro 505. Shot them out to 50 yards with a slight crosswind. These are absolutely my best flying arrows ever IMO. Had to move my aim around to either side of each dot on the target to avoid hitting the same hole. No wind drift at all. IMO fly much better than my Zombies with either vantec 2.25 or Aero2. Total weight 495gr.

 

Excellent to hear Jim Thanks for the great feedback It is appreciated.