Straightening Carbons

[DavidHudson]

Hi all

Is it possible to straighten carbon arrows?

I have a set of 540 Navigators 27 inches long and noticed that when I roll them on a flat surface that only a few actually rolled uniformally. Many did not!!!

So some are not straight - not by a lot - but they are not spot on.

Question is, can they be straightened???????

As they have an aluminium tube core around which the carbon is fused will they respond to normal straightening methods???

Anyone out there got any experience in straightening Carbons???

[bimble]

I would say no. The carbon is bonded onto the ali tube and even if you did manage to straighten the arrow so it rolled straight there would be no way to see if the carbon was still bonded in those areas, which in turn would leave you weak spots in your arrow.

[tel]

ditto - you could never be certain there was no stress damage to the carbon.

[geoffretired]

I have tried straightening ACC's. Small bends can be taken out but what happens to the bond?? Serious separation is visible if you look along the arrow as if trying to "see" if it is straight.
If you have long point inserts, and the bend is close to the front, it might be worth checking the insert for straightness. If that is bent the shaft could be straight once the insert is removed.

[Bald Eagle]

I've managed to straighten Nav FMJ's by applying gentle heat to the bend area and then rolling on a flat surface making sure I have a leather glove on! It softens the bond momentarily and seems to work ok but I monitor the arrow and if it bends again I bin it. O.K. for a quick fix but not recommended

[DavidHudson]

Thanks Bald Eagle
What do you mean by gentle heat & how did you apply the heat?

[archer_thom]

Bald Eagle's method sounds like something I heard of a few years back. As I recall the theory went a bit like:

- The carbon is bonded to the alu with a resin like hot melt (point glue)
- Therefore it should be possible to temporarily seperate the two with the sort of heat used in gluing points in.

There were some problems:

- Unless you know exactly how much to straighten the arrow it will cool before it is straightened, or could end up bent the other way.

And the biggie:

- Easton do not recommend direct heat on arrow shafts.

This is because the carbon itself can break down. Try a little experiment: Get a broken A/C arrow, and hold one end into heat for a few minutes (a gas cooker is ideal, something that won't leave soot). When it's cool, look at the carbon with light, and you will probably see some faint discolouration.

Still want to shoot it?

These are just the conclusions of a nutter from Geneva, Bald Eagle's method sounds more practised and may well be worth trying.


Another thought though, are these arrows new out of the box? If so they don't sound like they conform to the excellent tolerances that Easton set themselves and which made them the world leading arrow manufacturer, and you may have a faulty batch - report this!

If they are not new, then I'm afraid it is just how they wear out.

[tel]

Worth noting that BE was talking about FMJs - bit different if the carbon is on the inside.

[archer_thom]

Originally Posted by tel

Worth noting that BE was talking about FMJs - bit different if the carbon is on the inside.

Not really, it just means you can't see the damage. The carbon is bonded via the same process only on the inside, so there is still the danger that if the carbon is overheated it will not work.

[tel]

I was thinking more of the damage being contained within the tube, rather than not occuring.