dying natural turkey feathers for fletching (pics)

[DIY_guy]

I enjoy making my own arrows. Ive been making them for about 35 years. While I enjoy compounds and recurves,, I also make my own longbows and my own broadheads to hunt with. Likewise I make my own cedar arrows. I took a few pictures of the last batch I am working on. This not the ONLY way to make arrows. Its just one way. There is more than one way to skin a cat and while I love cats, I can’t eat a whole one by myself but I digress.

We save the wings from the birds we kill so we can make them fly again.



I like to use the primary feathers but I also use the secondary feathers if they seem fitting for the purpose.



I trim away both ends that are less than useful.



Turkeys are dirty, smelly, oily birds so the feathers need a bath in warm soapy water



Even though this turkey died once, Its gonna get dyed again. This time red but sometimes green or yellow, etc. I use RIT dye, really hot water and a little vinegar.



After a rinse and air drying.



Lots of folks use a razor knife to split their feathers and I have done it that way for years but I find a 14 tooth very thin bandsaw blade offers more control and is a bit easier/safer.





I fabricated a holder that allows me to grind/sand the base and sides of the feathers. Nothing fancy but it works.

 

[DIY_guy]

Then a trip on the drill press against a sanding drum with a wood spacer slightly larger in Diameter than the drum to allow for consistent spacing.









I don’t chop my feather although that is a perfectly fine method to employ. I tend to burn my feathers either in advance of fletching using a simple clamp I made from office supplies and a red hot wire.



Or I burn them after fletching (also using a hot wire)





I like to dip and crest my cedars in colors that match the feathers.



I have a few fletching jigs that date back pretty far but for a bit more helical I use this newer Bohning jig.





Here is another batch.



Couple that with a homemade broadhead and it makes for one very satisfying way to pass the time and a way to increase the level of satisfaction and accomplishment when you take game with a homemade bow and homemade arrows.

 

[Sam1911]

That is just stunning work! You've really got great skill and a fine eye for aesthetics, too!

 

[19-3Ben]

What precision!!!!

 

[lemaymiami]

First rate ! An outstanding tutorial.

For anyone wanting to learn a bit more about dyeing feathers and other natural materials here's the book that was my bible years ago....

Fly-Tying Materials by Eric Leiser, 1973, Crown Publishers

 

[zorro45]

Now that I see how much work is involved, I guess I am just going to make a quill pen out of that turkey feather I just found. That was a superb set of instructions. Can you do one on knifemaking? Your end product looks great and it makes me ashamed of my nasty old arrows from Dick's.