How to prepare turkey feathers? in Archery

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How to prepare turkey feathers?

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mikekeswick	How to prepare turkey feathers?	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1292 Dec 27 10 10:52 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None I've just managed to get 2 carrier bags full of turkey feathers from a local farmer. I have tried splitting them but with limited sucess! So I'm hoping somebody can give some tips of the full process eg. feather to fletch. Thanks
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fiddler49		#1	[-]
Posts: 3236 Dec 27 10 12:40 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Strip the leading edge off starting from skinny end of quill. Now look at this article - http://www.primitiveways.com/feather_clamp.html cheers fiddler49
honeysucklebowyer		#2	[-]
Posts: 716 Dec 27 10 2:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks Mike. I've had trouble lately with sanding my feather quills down thin enough for them to stay on the shafts. Thanks again.
mikekeswick		#3	[-]
Posts: 1292 Dec 29 10 8:28 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Excellent , just what I needed!
aznboi3644		#4	[-]
Posts: 377 Dec 29 10 9:47 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	nice article...i never sand mine...just strip and fletch...some I wrap all the way others just front and back. just make sure the feather is not too dry when u strip it or it will not strip in one clean pass
Mark in England		#5	[-]
Posts: 1428 Dec 29 10 12:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Mike. For splitting feathers I find a slightly blunt penknife works well as it splits down the centre rather than cutting and running off. One of those situations where blunt is better than sharp in my opinion.
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NordicFletchr		#6	[-]
Posts: 877 Jan 2 11 6:35 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I never could get the feathers to strip cleanly, so I just split and sand them. They are much easier to sand if they are placed in a straight fletching clamp, with the sandpaper on a cutting board. The only difference between a hero and a coward is the direction in which he runs. -- Proverb of the Mongol Horde Men are not lost - they just take the long way. -- Red Green
.		#7	[-]
Posts: 375 Jan 2 11 8:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	somewhere on this forum there is a feather processing Build along.Phillip
Bomberry1117		#8	[-]
Posts: 18 Jan 7 11 5:36 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I use an exacto knife to first split the feather. Just keep scoring the feather down the groove in the quill. Then I cut the feather to a rough length, at this point its a fletching. Put the fletching in a clamp. I use a straight fletching clamp that came with my bitzenburger fletching jig. When I have it clamped, I run a small thumb plane down the feather lengthwise. Repeat this process until the quill is thin and level all the way down the fletching. I then run 150grit sandpaper down the fletching until it is smooth and straight, and I'm happy with how it looks. After all that you can cut it to your final length, leave about an 1/8"inch on either end of the fletching if you intend to wrap it with sinew/thread. The most important part of this process is splitting the feather. Make sure you have a sharpknife and a steady hand. You can easily cut right through a fletching if you're using to much pressure or your knife jumps.
Rod		#9	[-]
Posts: 3972 Jan 13 11 10:30 AM Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I guess hand stripping is something that needs practice. I tend to ruin more than I get to use. Any tips? Is it easier to do with wet or dry feathers? I seem to have a little more luck with wet feathers. Rod. It's meant to be simple, not easy.
Fundin		#10	[-]
Posts: 2226 Jan 18 11 6:46 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have better luck with fresh feathers, its probably the hard part (I dont know the english term) that is more brittle, thus making it more difficult. Perhaps putting them in water for a few days will help if you have noticed a difference between wet and dry. I practice some on the thin side until I get it and then its quite easy. I think stripped feathers looks better on the shaft if they are perfectly applied.
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How to prepare turkey feathers?

How to prepare turkey feathers?