Have you ever bought a product that just wasn't... right?

[Willie the Duck]

Here's the real kicker. After much back & forth with the arrow manufacturer, I decided that I was just going to strip and refletch the arrows myself. The cost of the fletching jig, flights, stripping knife, and glue was more than the original cost for the arrows. Everything arrived yesterday and I got to work.

... only to find out that the fletching jig, from a proudly Michigan based archery company (made in China), incorrectly fletched the arrows in the same way that they had originally been. I had to disassemble it, rotate the locking plate 180 degrees, and then reassemble it in order to make it align correctly. Having two things that are exactly the opposite of what you think they should be can certainly make you doubt yourself.

Well, that is a good question. Is this just an alternate configuration?

As to the question of goods that seem made by someone unfamiliar with their function -- I cycle and camp, and both hobbies have huge accessory markets, especially for clothing and similar. I'd swear about half of them have things that will come off (with potential to be lost) during normal performance of the given activity, or have seems which will cause friction or the like during normal performance of the given activity. Nothing quite like having completed a simple 10 mile ride only to have a blister worn into your inner thigh or something like that.

 

[jdrakeh]

At a used book store, I once saw a copy of Greyhawk Adventures with all of the pages bound in upside down and backwards. It didn't look like a rebind, but a genuine printer mishap.

 

[Ryujin]

Well, that is a good question. Is this just an alternate configuration?

As to the question of goods that seem made by someone unfamiliar with their function -- I cycle and camp, and both hobbies have huge accessory markets, especially for clothing and similar. I'd swear about half of them have things that will come off (with potential to be lost) during normal performance of the given activity, or have seems which will cause friction or the like during normal performance of the given activity. Nothing quite like having completed a simple 10 mile ride only to have a blister worn into your inner thigh or something like that.

Nope, definitely not an alternate config. When you fit an arrow to the bowstring one flight, known as the cock feather, should point perpendicularly away from the bow. In a 3 flight configuration the flights are at 120 degrees from each other, which means that the other two flights will be at the most shallow possible angle to the bow when they pass it. Minimal contact = minimal disruption to the direction of flight = most accuracy. Putting the slot in the nock in parallel with one of the flights, as with the arrows that I purchased and how the incorrectly assembled fletching jig had them, would result in one of the flights striking the bow at a pretty steep angle. I'm a leftie for archery (long story), so this pic is from a leftie's POV.

 

[Mannahnin]

Yup. I did a little archery when I was younger, and for a second I started to think "could this be a lefty thing?", then remembered "No, duh; it's purely about the relation of the nock to the placement of the fletching." Left vs. right handed just means the exact same arrow is held in a flipped orientation. The relation of the flights to the string is the same, just mirrored.

 

[Janx]

that is weird. I've had some stuff arrive that was flimsier than expected, but nothing I can recall being just as good as the real thing but uselessly wrong.

 

[Ryujin]

Yup. I did a little archery when I was younger, and for a second I started to think "could this be a lefty thing?", then remembered "No, duh; it's purely about the relation of the nock to the placement of the fletching." Left vs. right handed just means the exact same arrow is held in a flipped orientation. The relation of the flights to the string is the same, just mirrored.

Exactly. Though I didn't really make things any clearer by showing a diagram for a leftie who uses a thumb ring, which would be the same orientation as someone using a western style bow right-handed

As you say, relative position of the cock flight to the bow is unchanged; just flipped.

 

[Ulfgeir]

Nope, definitely not an alternate config. When you fit an arrow to the bowstring one flight, known as the cock feather, should point perpendicularly away from the bow. In a 3 flight configuration the flights are at 120 degrees from each other, which means that the other two flights will be at the most shallow possible angle to the bow when they pass it. Minimal contact = minimal disruption to the direction of flight = most accuracy. Putting the slot in the nock in parallel with one of the flights, as with the arrows that I purchased and how the incorrectly assembled fletching jig had them, would result in one of the flights striking the bow at a pretty steep angle. I'm a leftie for archery (long story), so this pic is from a leftie's POV.

Could it be that the arrows and the jig was made for center-shooting compound bows? Instead of a recurve/barebow. As far as I recall they do their fletchings differently as their arrow-rest comes up from beneath instead of being fixed to one side.

And that illustration you provided, for me that is a "right-hand archer", as in holding the bow in the left hand, and the string in the right hand, which is the most common. Here in Sweden, a "leftie" would be holding the bow in the right hand, and the string in the left.

 

[Ryujin]

Could it be that the arrows and the jig was made for center-shooting compound bows? Instead of a recurve/barebow. As far as I recall they do their fletchings differently as their arrow-rest comes up from beneath instead of being fixed to one side.

And that illustration you provided, for me that is a "right-hand archer", as in holding the bow in the left hand, and the string in the right hand, which is the most common. Here in Sweden, a "leftie" would be holding the bow in the right hand, and the string in the left.

If so, then none of that was stated in the original material. In fact the original information explicitly states "Carbon Arrows Archery Targeting Practice Hunting for Compound & Recurve Bow and Longbow."

And you are correct about the orientation in the image I provided. I explain that in a later post. After all of that mess it's now a non issue, but took money and time to correct.

 

[Bohandas]

Im sure I have, just nothing comes to mind. This does remind me of an episode of A.P. Bio where a guy orders a vintage air pop popcorn maker and it arrives as a tiny miniature for a doll house.

That in turn reminds me of the scene in Spinal Tap where they accidentally order a 12 inch tall stonehenge set piece instead of a 12 foot tall one

 

[Rune]

At a used book store, I once saw a copy of Greyhawk Adventures with all of the pages bound in upside down and backwards. It didn't look like a rebind, but a genuine printer mishap.

I bought a second print run 5e PHB from the local Hastings (before they went out of business) that was bound with pages upside down and backwards. Or the cover was. At least they were in order.

This was not an unexpected surprise, though. They had a bunch of them bound that way, and I really wanted one. I was happy they were still there when I went back for it.