But I'm not going to say anything negative about the Bohning jig. Its a very good piece of equipment... simple and, very importantly, inexpensive. It was a great jig to learn to fletch my own arrows and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a light, cheap unit. I've fletched probably 10 dozen arrows with it and never had a problem.
Where the Bitzenburger stands head and shoulders above it though is in many small details that make a significant difference to my fletching. I've only just started using the Bitz (having bought one second hand from Sue & Steve Wallace of Wallace Woods) but the first thing you'll notice about it compared to the Bohning is its weight. It's heavy, solidly build and engineered very well.
For example, where my Bohning allows a bit of movement of shafts when in the jig (something that can be controlled easily with care though), the Bitz holds shafts completely securely. Where the receiver of the Bohning feels a little sloppy, the Bitz feels positive and precise.
The clamp of both the Bohning and Bitzenburger are held in position by magnets. With the Bohning, the magnets are relatively weak which means taking a lot of care with positioning the clamp and that often, the clamp needs to be given additional pressure by hand to keep a fletch on a shaft when gluing.
The magnets on the Bitzenburger are very strong... I wouldn't be surprised if cars passing close by get moved sideways by it! What that means in fletching terms though is that once a fletch is positioned in the clamp against a shaft... it won't move. It applies solid pressure to hold the fletch in place while gluing.
The other feature of the Bitzenburger that has been a big leap forward from the Bohning for me, is the ability of the Bitzenburger to put a much 'stronger' helical in fletches and to work at much more dramatic offset angles than my Bohning.
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5" feathers helical fletched with the Bitzneburger[/FONT]
The Bohning Pro Class jig and the Bitzenburger both have magnets to hold the clamp. The magnets are set into a magnet holder on the jig that is adjustable. Unfortunately on the Bohning, the magnet holder and magnet are constructed in such a way that if too much offset angle is applied, the magnet will end up sitting 'behind' the frame of the jig... the end result is that the frame of the jig interferes with the positioning of the clamp.
The magnet holder can be adjusted to give more clearance to the magnet but then the clamp won't be aligned with arrow shafts as the nock receiver is too close to the frame.
The magnets on the Bitzenburger have heaps of clearance allowing adjustability to any angle you might want.
The clamp of the Bitzenburger seems superior too. It's very difficult to get the clamp of my Bohning to 'follow' the contour of the arrow shaft perfectly from the rear to the tip of a fletch... particularly on longer fletches. It's almost as if the Bohning clamp isn't quite molded at exactly the right angle. Again, it can be managed by applying a bit of extra pressure to the Bohning clamp by hand but the Bitz clamp aligns perfectly.
I've already fletched both some 11/32 wood shafts and some super-skinny Beman Flash carbons with the Bitz so can say it handles different diameter shafts with no problem at all. The Bohning also managed different shaft sizes but the less positive nock receiver means having to be a little careful.
So overall I'd still recommend the Bohning as a good value unit to start out or if you only rarely fletch arrows... but if you want to get a bit more serious about it, make it easier, and get the best result... get a Bitz.
Cheers, Tony
PS... the arrow in the photo is my first Parrot Stick... an oregon shaft from Wallace Woods with Lorikeet fletching, to compliment the polywantsacracker finish on the shafts (as recommended by Sue Wallace)
