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Two Tap Tips
Dennis Han and Dave Meduna

We received two very similar tips for keeping your field tip or broadhead on your wooden arrow shaft.

Dennis' viewpoint


I always use at least two steps to prepare any points and broadheads in this manner before gluing them on my arrow shafts.

The first and most important step is to clean the inside of the ferrule with acetone or denatured alcohol to remove any oils and dirt that may prevent the glue from adhering to it. Second, I take a machine screw tap and screw it into the ferrule. This scores the metal so it has a more roughened surface for the glue to stick to. For 5/16" ferrules I use a 1/4-20 tap and for 11/32" ferrules I use a 5/16-32 tap. On some hardwoods I will even go another step by cutting a shallow groove in the taper of the shaft. I very seldom have a point or broadhead come off of an arrow after this preparation.

David's viewpoint



I shoot 11/32 glue on field points and broadheads on my arrows and I've tried different glues to hold them on but for some reason they kept pulling off in 3D targets so I got to thinking. I purchased a 5/16 course tap and tapped out the field points and broadheads. Now all I have to do is taper the end of the arrow and screw the tip on. I can shoot through anything. As long as the arrow doesn't break the tip stays intact. That way when I shoot an animal I just unscrew the broadhead from the arrow and screw it onto a new one and it's ready to go again.

Everything I shoot with my longbow I keep the arrow. I put a piece of blue painter's tape on the shaft and write the time and date and what animal it was and the weight. It's like a diary. I make my own arrow shafts from scratch so I don't have to worry about the cost of the shaft.

I just take the field point or broadhead and stick it in a vise or hold it with a plier. Put the tap into a cordless drill and run it in and out until the tap bottoms out and you're ready to put it on an arrow. No more need for heating up the glue and the shaft anymore. Saves time and money.

Happy hunting. Long live the brotherhood of the bow.

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