Stickbow Target Archery Forums

From Raw Feather to Completed Arrow Fletch

or, how to grind yer raw feathers for cheap 'n' easy.

a left wing turk feather with the ends cut off


use a sharp blade to strip the feather


stripped and ready to grind the base


resize the stripped feather to best fit yer jig


a pair of .038" thick sheet metal strips that are about 1.5" wide and 8" long


sandwich the stripped feather 'tween the sheet metal strips


leave the feather base exposed and clamp


i use a stationary sanding wheel w/120 grit abrasive to grind down the feather's base

press into the abrasive, leave a thin white base line remaining


now all that's left to grind off is the excess base on the SIDE of the feather


press lightly against the abrasive


a beautious feather fletch with a perfect base, ready for chopper or burner


insert into chopper


and one good whack later


ready to fletch!


fletched!

awesome!

not everyone has a 6" disc sanding wheel - a belt sander clamped on its side or upside works just as good. or do it by hand with a 50 or 60 grit sanding block.

Cool, thanks for sharing! I have a big box of feathers that I have collected, I need to put them to good use!