1.) bluecat - 09/15/2014

Was building some arrows for a neighbor over the weekend. I put some glue (Gorilla Gel) on the insert and attempted to put it in the shaft. For some inexplicable reason it went about half way in and would not go any farther. Any attempt to push or pull was unsuccessful. The glue must have set up almost instantly is the only thing I can think of. Anyway, the arrow was basically ruined if the insert would not come out. We tried everything we could think of to get it out with no success and ended up destroying the insert. The arrow was not compromised.

Finally, my friend suggested some finger nail polish remover (acetone) which I poured down the shaft with insert hole plugged and let it bath the insert for about 5 minutes. After that the insert was loosened and removed. Arrow saved.

Might need this one tip for the future.

2.) Swamp Fox - 09/15/2014

I remember way back when I was just getting started that not using acetone on arrow shafts was one of several big-time do's and don'ts...Maybe it referred to soaking rather than wiping, but it always stuck with me. Over the years, I've heard a lot of people recommend acetone as part of their normal arrow-building procedure, and I believe I've seen one or two heated internet arguments pro vs. con.

I kinda doubt acetone is a problem for wiping (got over that seeing pro shops use it, plus I don't think that particular manufacturers' warning is so prominent these days, though I could be wrong about that) but I wonder what the concensus is for soaking, if there is any such thing as a concensus around here.

3.) bluecat - 09/15/2014

I would never condone the use of acetone, however, the arrow as it sat was worthless. It was a last ditch attempt to render something useless back to life. It worked, but not recommended for normal arrow building or cleaning activities.

4.) Swamp Fox - 09/15/2014

Some folks say the warning is nonsense, that you'd have to soak the shaft endlessly for it to weaken. The inside of the shaft is not coated (on any arrows, as far as I know) so the argument that the arrow finish protects the shaft goes out the window when you're talking about letting acetone get [I]inside[/I] the shaft.

I'm guessing there are some insert glues or adhesives used as insert glues which will not be softened by acetone (or nail polish remover) or any other "solvent"? I always assumed that was true because whenever I wanted to shorten an arrow I had to have it cut far enough back to avoid the insert. If my (former) shop had been using a glue that could be broken down by a solvent, or if there was a safe solvent they could have used, I'm sure we would have tried that. They weren't the type to take shortcuts. ("Ah, just cut it a half-inch farther back than you really want to!")