Like the title says, how do I get heads off adapters if they were not put on with hot melt?

Soak them in Acetone.

I use an old aluminum shaft and heat the adapter with a propane torch, you need to be careful on how hot you get them, but usually they come off just as easy as hot melt.  I have removed screw in adapters from Zwickey heads to put them on woods shafts and have not had any issues.


Jason

We'll see if fingernail polish works.

Are you sure it was superglue and not epoxy? If put in by the folks that made the heads it's unlikely it was superglue. If epoxy you can heat the heads in a kitchen oven - I don't recall temp- but I bet you could find it with Google. The epoxy will release and you will be well below the temperature that would take the temper out of the steel. Careful with a propane torch....if you get carried away you will end up with soft heads...

R

Thanks, it is about 140 degrees.  If acetone doesn't do the trick, I'll wash them up and try the oven.

Do you mean 140C? I don't think 140F would do much to epoxy. If I recall you can start losing temper on simple carbon steel around 400F.  I'd try one head and stay below that. I was thinking Dad used to say 350F Iin the oven a couple or several hours maybe, and the epoxy turns to powder.  You can test with a file to be sure you didn't lose temper before committing all your broadheads.

Oh, if you eat all the paint off of the centaurs with acetone rustoleum black in the spray can works great!  That's all we ever used on Snuffers. 😀

R

Not fun however, I have removed over 100 by inserting a near maximum diameter drill from the nock end yet, with enough clearance for the bit to slide freely.  Then whipping the arrow down numerous times until the centrifugal force imparted by the drill bit dislodges the insert. Once establishing an effective technique, an insert on most shafts may be removed quickly. There are those few out of each dozen that are most challenging.

It may have been 340, I can't find the link again.

As a knifemaker you are looking at a few options depending on what specifically has been used to glue it up.  Every chemical glue/epoxy is a bit different and requires a different approach. That said in general your options would include one or more of the following with a little experimentation to see what works for your particular situation:

• Chemical breakdown of the bond - use a solvent such as acetone, BSI Debonder, etc
• Heat breakdown of the bond - oven, lighter, torch, etc to heat the head and break the glue bond.  I personally would use an alcohol burner or lighter.  Work quick and don't let the heat transfer into the bladed portions if at all possible.  Keep water handy to dunk them immediatly
• Mechanical breakdown/removal - torque and a vise, bolt out devise on a hammer drill, drilling it out, etc

If you are certain that it is a superglue bond, or any cyanoacrylate based glue, then my recommendation would be soak it in BSI Debonder available from Hobby Lobby or online.

Not certain of anything other than one was hot melt and the remaining 8 are not.  Soaked in fingernail remover (Acetone) with little result.  Tomorrow I'll try to bake them.  Found a reference to 300-500 degrees.

Try a heatgun and a couple pair of pliers. Piece of leather between insert and pliers to avoid scratching it up.

Or a propane/butane torch. Heat will usually make the glue come loose.

Tried torch and it didn't work with moderate time to heat up, so as not to effect blade temper.  Soaked in Fingernail polish (acetone), no die.  Going in oven shortly.

Do what Ryan suggested -350 degrees for a couple of hours in the oven.  The heat needs to be applied over some time.  Much more difficult to do with a heat gun or propane torch. 

Oven at 350-375 for about two hours did the trick.  Thanks Ryan.  Now have 10 Centaur Battle Axes to mount on tapered woodies.  Have enough screw-in VPA heads, if I ever slip to the skinny arrows.  Really looking forward to putting these on footed tapered Woodies!!!  Yummy!!

I saw you got em out in the oven 😀

Before you glue em on your woodies get the epoxy powder out. I use a screw in adaptor with sandpaper wrapped on it, twist it around inside,  they sell small wire brushes with the right taper too.


Best of luck with em!

R

I plan to clean them up first, that will probably get my grain weights about equal.  Thanks for the tip.

I have some factory 125 Snuffers.  100 grain heads with inserts.  They are glued with epoxy.

Got my group ready for cleaning and mounting on footed tapered arrows.  Sans adapters, thinking they'll be 165-170 grains.  Double bevel so easier for ME to sharpen.  Yeehaw!!!

To remove adapters I use the burner on my stove top. Only take a min or so and they remove easy. I epoxy my heads instead of hot melt. No real reason other than that's just what I could find locally and very durable. I then clean them with a small round file to remove any residue and to score the inside for better retention.