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TAC Vanes

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Discussion starter · #22 ·
JOE PA said:
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.
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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.
 
#25 ·
With the structure and rigidity of the base, I can see how they would work more easily with smaller diameter (vertical compound) arrows.
 
#26 ·
longbow42 said:
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.
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Thanks for the insight, it seems I have a set that has finally stuck. Only step I added was running the clamped vane bases against the rounded aluminum edge of my work bench about 10 times, I really had to lean on them to actually see them lay down some. I also went up in my hold time to 30 seconds and was more aggressive with the hand pressure.

I was already using the TAC primer pen and glue on my previous fail and cleaning the shafts extremely well. I like the small tip on the TAC glue vice the Vibratite bottle. I am able to stay much, much cleaner in my applications. Hope to see how they fly and endure getting buried in my Kinetic 650 target, ruined some Q2i Griff-x vanes earlier today and is why I gave the TAC vanes another shot.
 
#28 ·
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..
 
#29 ·
WWB said:
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..
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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.
 
#30 · (Edited)
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.
 
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#31 · (Edited)
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
 
Discussion starter · #32 ·
JerryR said:
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
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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.
 
#33 ·
longbow42 said:
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.
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I wasn't trying to diminish you method just explaining why losi didn't hold as well for you as the thicker loctite. As you said the loctite you use and your application method is causing just enough adhesive to barely squeeze out yet not enough to wipe off creating the caulking the edge of the vane I referred to above

I have looked for over 24 years for that one adhesive that would barely squeeze out yet not enough to have to wipe off

Losi is almost that adhesive, it barely squeezes out on most vanes. The only vane I dont use losi on is blazers


The problem is in a shop setting there is a ton of different vanes so I have never been able to find that one adhesive that would eliminate squeeze out. So I went to a process that creates squeeze out so I can insure the caulking effect happens 100% of the time
 
Discussion starter · #34 ·
JerryR said:
I wasn't trying to diminish you method just explaining why losi didn't hold as well for you as the thicker loctite. As you said the loctite you use and your application method is causing just enough adhesive to barely squeeze out yet not enough to wipe off creating the caulking the edge of the vane I referred to above
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No offense was taken. I'm very confident in my abilities, but always learning. While I haven't made a million arrows, I have been making my own for 30 years, starting off with cedar and my own turkey feathers. Used to need to dip them in a tube filled with white lacquer. What a difference it is today. I am super anal, hence having all the needed equipment in my basement for my own bows. I've purchased arrows over the years from so-called experts and was frequently disappointed; glue marks on shafts, vanes not correctly aligned, etc. The few people who have purchased arrows from me, have always come back and referred their friends. It's just an occasional hobby but I take great pride in my equipment. Cheers!
 
#36 ·
longbow42 said:
No offense was taken. I'm very confident in my abilities, but always learning. While I haven't made a million arrows, I have been making my own for 30 years, starting off with cedar and my own turkey feathers. Used to need to dip them in a tube filled with white lacquer. What a difference it is today. I am super anal, hence having all the needed equipment in my basement for my own bows. I've purchased arrows over the years from so-called experts and was frequently disappointed; glue marks on shafts, vanes not correctly aligned, etc. The few people who have purchased arrows from me, have always come back and referred their friends. It's just an occasional hobby but I take great pride in my equipment. Cheers!
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Cedar arrows are a regret. I wish I had gotten in to learning how to build them. I was always so busy learning carbon.
 
#39 ·
longbow42 said:
No offense was taken. I'm very confident in my abilities, but always learning. While I haven't made a million arrows, I have been making my own for 30 years, starting off with cedar and my own turkey feathers. Used to need to dip them in a tube filled with white lacquer. What a difference it is today. I am super anal, hence having all the needed equipment in my basement for my own bows. I've purchased arrows over the years from so-called experts and was frequently disappointed; glue marks on shafts, vanes not correctly aligned, etc. The few people who have purchased arrows from me, have always come back and referred their friends. It's just an occasional hobby but I take great pride in my equipment. Cheers!
Click to expand...
I am also very anal with arrow building but when it got so big I couldn't keep up I was forced to hire people. The problem with employees they rarely do work as good as you like but you have to back off a bit.

During my shops busiest years from 2009 to 2016 I had five or 6 employees on staff just to build arrows. They worked 6 days a week most of the year and 10 or more hours a day. So they pumped out a ton of arrows, that is the timeframe most of the huge numbers of arrows were built.

I wish I had started day one taking pictures of all of the arrows and saved all of the pictures customers sent in of animals they harvested. It would have made an interesting book.
 
#40 ·
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.
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