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AlabamaSwamper

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I am seriously thinking about buying one this spring. Probably get a fletcher also. I've never worked on my own bow but with possibility of buying a new one, I could practice on my old one.

Nothing I hate more than to have to go to a bow shop to get something done and 1/2 the time it isn't done right.

Anyone want to give me some advice on which brands and other things I'll need.
 
I like my Bowmaster press. With the new adapters I can work on anything with limbs up to beyond parallel at rest. Its a small portable press but I have taken one of my bows completely down and changed the limbs with it. As for a fletching jig, the Cadillac of them is the Bitzenberger. They are kinda high but they are worth it. I bought a Bohning Helix jig a while back because I wanted to get a little more helical on Blazers than I could with my bitz, since I just had a straight clamp for it. The Helix does a pretty good job. You can tell its cheap built and its fairly easy to not get the vanes the same lenght from the nock if you are not real careful.
 
I'm also going head over heels for the do-it-yourself thing. The most expensive tools you need are going to be (in my order of importance):

1. Fletching Jigs
2. Arrow Saw
3. Bow Press

I use the jigs more than any piece of equipment that I have, and I've owned a bunch of different styles. I use to think the Bitz jigs were the "cats meow" and they really are if you are shooting fletch over 2". If you are shooting Blazers-Fusions-AAE Max Hunters, Predators, etc...you are going to be better off buying one of the newer jigs made just for them. There are 3 that I know of: Bohning Helix & Helix Tower for Blazers, and the Arizona Archery Mini Fletcher. They all 3 put the same degree offset and helical on the 2" vanes. The new for 2010 Tower does 3 fletches at one time and so does the Arizona Mini. Beware though that both the Helix and Helix Tower will put the vanes on very near the rear of the shaft...too far back IMO.

Arrow saws, there ain't much to choose from. And if I knew then what I know now, I would have just built one and saved a lot of money. I got an Apple Pro Saw 8,000 RPM for my birthday this week and I was rather surprised at what it is, or lack of what it is rather. If you have a way to mount a Dremel tool with thin cutting blade, and a place to mount a ruler...you basically have the Apply Pro saw.

Bow Press -- A must for tweaking the strings/cables and replacing strings/cables and or retying center serving, etc. BUT unless you do this a lot or work on a lot of your friend's bows, I personally can't justify getting a $500+ press for that little amount of work. The bad part about making such an investment is that with bows always changing designs and such...that your press may be obsolete in a couple of years. But if you intented on keeping the same bow for several years then it would be okay. The alternative is one of the cheaper "break down" presses for around $100. They aren't as sturdy or mountable like the more expensive counterparts, but I'm a lot more comfortable spending $100 for doing peep tying/center serving, and such...than I am for spending $500+ to do it.

The rest of the little gadgets you can get here and there and soon you'll have everything you need. You'll need to add little things like the nock & d-loop pliars, butane torch, arrow spinner, arrow squarer/deburring tool, nock gauge/t-square, etc. Not to mention a good supply of fletching and glue. I've used Bohning Platinum fletch glue for years and just recently switched to the Goat Tuff glue. I'm using the Goat Tuff for all my fletching and insert installation now and I highly recommend it. I've fletched 5 dozen arrows and installed inserts in all of them so far with a 1/2 oz bottle and I've still got a half bottle left.
 
I bought the 8000RPM that Bass Pro carries. Good for what it does, but like Crow said they don't do a whole lot.

A buddy of mine built a copy of the Sure-Loc X-Press for himself. Other than the paint job it's nearly identical to the real thing. He built one for me too. That style press is outstanding if you use a press a lot; I do so it's been a good investment for me.

As Air and Crow said, the Bitz is awesome. I bought one new then picked up an extra one used from the AT classifieds. Can't beat a Bitz. You're probably wondering why the 2nd one. After getting one just right for my really skinny target arrows I decided I'd rather not move it ever if I can help it :D
 
I have been going the do it myself route for yrs now. I have all the fore mentioned equipment. As for a saw if you check at FS Discount Arrows they usually have a reasonable priced saw. I think I only gave 45.00 dollars for mine. That has been a few years ago but i think I saw it in there for around 65 bucks. The Bitzenberger jig is the only one you will ever need to buy. It is that good and reliable. I was lucky and ran into a great deal and was able to buy 5 more Bitzs for around 100 dollars . And you can get different clamps for the jig as well but if you do this you will need to get different nock recievers. But the satisfaction gained from doing it all yourself is priceless.
 

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