My first try at tying on feathers..

[Roy from Pa]

They fly great RedTx.

[Izzy]

Nice work, classic looking.

[Brian Halbleib]

Very nice buddy.

-Brian
www.bowyersjournal.com

[RGK]

beautiful work.

[Roy from Pa]

Guys, please accept my apology here. It never hit me until Arraflinger said to cheat and glue them on first. Well that is exactly what I did with the first 4 arrow pictures that I posted here, I used fletch tape to attach the feathers to the shaft. Then I wrapped them with the black silk thread. They did look pretty darn nice wrapped that way. But I felt that I Cheated myself and left you guys down, having you all thinking that they were really only wrapped on. I fell in love with Trad Archery, make my own bows and make my own arrows from square stock with a hand plane and sand paper. And I always wanted to take my arrows one step more towards primitive arrows. When I started this thread with the title I just tied on my first feathers, I did do so. But not really in the way I wanted it to be. I guess being an old fart of 58, sometimes the mind doesn't work like it used to:) So after realizing my big mistake, I decide to really tie on the feathers without the aid of any glue or tape. I made a feather holder from the rubber gasket for my dip tube, I wanted this to hold the feathers in the approximate area on the shaft till I got the serving thread started. It worked pretty well, then after I got the serving started, I slid the feather holder towards the back of the feathers and kept on tying them up. Things were going kinda ok, but not as well as I expected. But I kept going and when I got to the rear end of the three feathers, they were not lined up as well as I liked. So I gave it some thought and decided to just push the feathers into the position I wanted them to be in. That worked really well. The thread was holding them tight, but I was able to slide them to where I wanted them to be in alignment. So these two pictures below are the real deal, I promise. No glue, no tape. Nothing but wild turkey feathers attached with black silk thread. And much to my amazement, when I was done, they are the best looking arrows I have ever fletched up. I even shortened up the length of the serving in front and behind the feathers. It just seemed too long on the first 4 arrows. God I am loving this stuff:) Sorry for misleading all you fine gentlemen. Roy  

   

 

[ber643]

All right, Roy - this has got to stop! You go from Outstanding to damned near Perfect in one thread - how do the rest of us stand a chance? Fantasticly beautiful job, my friend. No apologies needed for the others - ol' "fumble fingers me" would have to do them that way probably - and most likely a lot of other folks too.

[Dano]

If our forfathers had had fletch tape they woulda used it, who in their right mind wouldn't?? well excepting Roy  :rolleyes:    :D

[ber643]

You're such a realist, Dano - just one of the things I like about you - LOL.

[DarkeGreen]

I read somewhere they discovered some fletchings with hide glue on them. Heck it's prolly more work that way anyhow. I say if it is in the "spirt of tradition" that's all that maters.

[Roy from Pa]

Dano ya bring up a good point.  

[Luke Vander Vennen]

Nice arrows, but I want your house  :D