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| daohead |
Had to show someone who would appreciate...Got my first two sets of turkey wings from hunters registering their kills at the range where I shoot... (I don't hunt).
Went to work with sharp knives and sanding blocks and and my new shield cut feather chopper and the used Bitzenburger (from ebay) and fletched my own arrows... here is the first one...
They fly soooooo sweet.... No one around me really understands (or cares).... Knew someone here might appreciate it. |
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| Liam |
One word
Bueatifull 
Lovely job mate |
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| CaptainBeaky |
Top job! Any reason you went for helical fletching rather than straight? AFAIK, you can put feathers on straight, as the natural handedness of the feathers gives you the spin... | ||||||
| Steve B |
Daohead, you have done a great job on those fletches, and the best part as far as I am concerned, you have done them all yourself including the feather chopping and preparation required prior to fletching them.
 Thats worth two thumbs up 
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| Jabberwocky |
Superb Job, I can imagine that it took a little while to get done, but I bet it was far more satisfying than going out to a shop and just buying feathers. | ||||||
| Mjollnir |
They look great!!! Nice Job!!
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| zetabow |
very nice 
so how many useable feathers did you get per wing? |
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| rainmaker |
nice job! I'm just about to have a go at this myself. If I can get this bit sorted, I'll have to get my grandads forge fired up to make some arrow heads, as thats the only finished bit I've bought so far! I know what you mean about making it yourself being more satisfying.
However a moments silence for the swan having its post mortem today that kindly agreed to donate me some feathers... 
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| zetabow |
just a word of caution on this subject, be careful of which type of feathers you use for if it's a protected species or in the case of a Swan (I think a Swan is technically property of the crown) you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law.
I know in the USA you cant use Eagle feathers for fletchings, even if pick them up off the ground. A seriously big fine if your caught. |
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| rainmaker |
A friend of mine works for the wildfowl trust, it's all above board.I'm trying to get some flamingo feathers too! Wouldn't dream of getting anything hooky, but always worth pointing out it's Kosher. | ||||||
| ruthmc |
Very nice fletchings daohead!
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| fred |
LUCKY SOD I HAVE TO CHACE THE SODDING TURKEY ROUND MY MATES FARM OR WAIT FOR HIM KILL ONE FOR SALE | ||||||
| Jabberwocky |
Fred, after the problems you had with Brenda the Basset hound are you sure that you want to take on some angry Turkey?? LOL |
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| Joe(thebow)M |
Nicely done, daohead! 
I really like the look of turkey feathers on arrows, I need to do this myself. I use the store bought feathers but after seeing what you have done with those turkey feathers I am going to have to give that a try sometime! zetabow, You are correct on the Eagle feathers here in the U.S., however it is my understanding that some indian tibes are allowed the usage of Eagle feathers (and other parts of an Eagle) for ceremonial use. I don't know if these tribes would be allowed to actually make ceremonial arrows using Eagle feathers for the purpose of shooting them? I would think not... |
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| fred |
A 3pound lump hammer dose the job nice Fred |
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| rainmaker |
If you cant fix something with a 3 lb lump hammer, you are either not hitting it hard enough, or not hitting it in the right place!
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| segolden |
 naughty boys, you two. back on the subject, beautiful fletching job, especially like the helical which gives the arrow some unusual character. would be great for very heavy, very big arrows.
Kathy |
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| Dawn |
Fantastic job doahead
Thanks for posting the pictures
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| Herbie |
If you've got any left over can I buy them off your for tying fly fishing flies?
Colin |
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| daohead |
Thanks all for your nice comments...
Captain: I used helical because: a) helical seems to be the dominant fletching choice in the U.S.; b) they were recommended in Byron Ferguson's book Become the Arrow which I have come to appreciate and strive to actualize when I have my bow in hand; and, c) it is the clamp that came with my jig when I bought it on eBay.
Zetabow: Usable feathers... 8 primaries per wing (4 of which were long enough to get 2 5-inch fletches out of) I also have about 46 usable secondary feathers (which should provide 2 fletches per feather as the vanes are tall enough on both sides of the quill). Joe: I have been using domestic turkey feathers too (prior to this windfall) and the wild turkey feathers are of considerably better quality... stiffer and much more resilient... It was also interesting to disassemble a wild turkey wing... what a amazing work of physiological engineering! The muscles and tendons were like iron... the difference between roosting in trees and flying versus never leaving terra firma and just having a life of strutting around a barnyard with a genetically-engineered giant suitable-for-roasting breast... Kathy: Yeah, these helical shield fletches do slow down the arrow considerably past 20 yards... took some shots at the 30 yard blocks at the range tonight and it took a little more arcing than when I was shooting with commercial parabolic flights... but the arrows stabilized in flight faster. Colin: I did pluck as many feathers as I could (even ones not usable for fletches)... if we can actually post them to Scotland from the U.S. without either Customs having a canniption, I would be happy to send them... postage should be negligible as they are... well... light as feathers... (boom... TISH!)... PM me if you are interested and I will take some pics of the different types I have... and explore whether it is legal to send them there. Even though I don't hunt, I took the opportunity to make wing bone turkey calls... and have been successful calling in some around my farmette... don't know if I am doing the calls well, but they seemed oddly curious anyway... or perhaps they are just humo(u)ring me... If anyone is interested in making their own fletches... I can share some info/advice (I am by no means an expert... still learning myself) and moral support... Thanks again, all, for your interest and kind words... sometimes, it is nice to find your tribe. I can't recommend making your own fletches enough... it is a great feeling to have your nose brushed by fletches you made just before you loose... and watching them as they rifle and fly to the target... daohead |
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| Bushy |
Daohead they really look stunning i been trying to get hold of some real turkey feathers for ages.
FREEDDDDDDDD Do you keep any turkey feathers in stock |
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| jaselpool |
I bring them in now and again - as a matter of fact I have some on their way from US. You can see pics on my site 
Jase |
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| rainmaker |
Do let us know when they are in....
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| jaselpool |
Will do bud - I usually bring a few hundred in at a time and they are stunning feathers!!
J |
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| Bushy |
Cheers for that Jase i have been looking to get some for ages I really like them and think there far better than some of the imitation ones that are on the market | ||||||
| kirk |
Natural barred that's about as trad as they come, love em.
Thanks for the pics, i'm off to get some new feathers now. |
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| rainmaker |
Daohead maybe you could do a 'how to' on fletching for poor demented souls like me.. 
I've just done my first few arrows and well the results are a bit mixed.... I'm ok with the attaching the fletches, but a bit vague on the prepping and what to do to keep them looking good.. and some other stuff too... 
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| jaselpool |
I'd be happy to put something together for you as soon as I get a minute - or maybe we could do an AR member collaboration? In the meantime here's a little something I put together on cutting horn insert self nocks if you haven't seen it before
Mad busy in the workshop at the moment but as soon as it gets a little quieter I'll put a 'how to' together with illustrations (it's been on my to do list for ages anyway so I need the incentive!). 
Jase |
