March 02, 2011
By Kathy Etling
Check out these top bow tuning tools that will greatly improve results for tuning your bow.
By Kathy Etling
To perform critical tasks like setting up, stringing and maintaining a bow or crossbow requires a good bow press. Last Chance Archery's Ultimate EZ Press ($698; www.lastchancearchery.info) fills the bill with its heavy-duty components and sturdy engineering that is built to last, even when dealing with high weight bows and crossbows. The drop-pin arm adjusts from 12-52-inches, while bow compression is achieved by turning a hand wheel.
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Mount and fine tune bow accessories in your own home workshop by adding an R.S. Bow-Vise Kit ($129.95; www.rsbowvise.com), which allows hands-free positioning of the bow and easy accessibility even to ordinarily hard-to-reach areas. The vice will securely hold the bow in an upright position, facing either forward or side-to-side, and will lock at an angle of your choosing. The micro-adjust knob aids in nock and sight installation. Each vise includes Nok-EZ arrow and string levels.
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The Apple Archery Pro Saw ($193.99; www.applearchery.com) makes short shrift of cutting arrow shafts -- even carbon shafts -- efficiently, cleanly and with great precision. The saw's high-quality, ball-bearing motor operates at 8,000 rpms to make cutting faster and cooler. Power cord and switch are included with each purchase.
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Bohning has outdone themselves with the Tower Jig ($65.99; www.bohning.com), a fletching jig with three set up options: the Standard Tower accepts press-fit, nock-style shafts and fletches vanes up to 4-inches long on a 2-degree right offset; the Helix accepts the same shafts and fletches vanes up to 2-inches on a 3-degree right helical; and the Pin Nock Tower accepts all standard pin systems while fletching vanes straight up to 4 inches in length. This must-have fletching jig works with all shaft materials, too.
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DoubleTake Archery's BowPlane Laser Alignment Tool ($99.95 with batteries; www.doubletakearchery.com) combines laser and fiber optic technology to create a great bow and accessory alignment system. Simply nock the BowPlane onto your bowstring so that it sits on the rest like an arrow. Activate the device and a visible plane of reference -- a laser light -- is projected around the inside perimeter of the bow. It's now easy to adjust the rest, sight windage and even cam lean so bow and accessories are working in perfect 'sync.' Includes an integrated bow square for precise nock alignment.
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The Carbon Express Universal Nocking Pliers ($15.95; www.carbonexpressarrows.com) feature an extra large grip, opens nock sets without damaging them and has two hole sizes for installing nock sets. The pliers can also be used to pre-stretch D-loops and to permanently attach a D-loop to the string.
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Say good-bye to bowstring wax when you upgrade to a Winner's Choice Weather Tamer String Care Kit with Weatherlock Technology ($17; www.winnerschoicestrings.com), which will maintain, clean and waterproof any bow string. Strings that have been treated with the kit will retain their strength and all but eliminate pesky wear issues such as fuzziness.
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The Bear Paw Serving Jig ($21.30; www.bcyfibers.com) will make serving any bow string much easier, thanks to its efficient, economical design and courtesy of German engineering. There's a slotted entryway for the bow string, tough, stainless steel roller guides which provide quick and easy payout of the serving material and adjustable tension control. And the price won't break the home bowyer's bank account, either.
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Double team necessary chores like fletching arrows and gluing inserts with Pine Ridge Archery's Instant Arrow Glue (1 ounce) & Accelerator (2 ounce) ($17.50; www.pineridgearchery.com). The glue's thicker viscosity means it won't run and leave unsightly streaks. What's more, it is ideal for use with aluminum, carbon and even wood shafts. Brush or spray the ac
celerant to the Instant Arrow Glue to create an instant bond that saves valuable shop time.
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Norway Industries' Duravanes Zip-Strip ($39.95; www.duravanes.com) has a razor-sharp edge that will remove any vane from any shaft, as well as any residual adhesive, quickly, easily and without damage to the shaft.
