Feather Fletches

[Bertie]

I have just bought some feathers for the first time. When I took them out of the packet they are all curved. Now I guess that this is the way that they all come; so do you have to heat them to get them straight for fletching or what? Any tips would be gratefully recieved. Thanks Bertie

[Kae]

Yes, this is the way they all come.
No, you can't straighten them.

Just glue them to your shafts as you would any other fletching, but leave them in the jig for 20 minutes. This will make sure the fletchings are stuck to the shaft straight, and they will stay that way.
If you take them out of the jig too soon, then they will unsitck themselves and curl back up.

Kae.

[greydog]

Hi Bertie, that's just the natural curve of the feather, when you put it in the clamp and glue it to the shaft it will be straight. To get it to curve you need a helical clamp, but most people just go with a little off set, which is, instead of putting it straight in line with the arrow shaft, you go across the shaft very slightly (about 1 - 2 degrees is enough).

[Mick]

Yup leave em in the jig for twenty minutes, takes about an hour per arrow.

OR do as I do get a roll of double sided fletching tape from Quicks (Big roll for around a fiver) and do the whole set in a fraction of the time. Bit fiddley but it sticks instantly, no waiting.

[Schme1440]

Originally Posted by Kae

Yes, this is the way they all come.
No, you can't straighten them.

Just glue them to your shafts as you would any other fletching, but leave them in the jig for 20 minutes. This will make sure the fletchings are stuck to the shaft straight, and they will stay that way.
If you take them out of the jig too soon, then they will unsitck themselves and curl back up.

Kae.

I can confirm that.

[Bladsey]

that's the way they come all right. when you put them in the gig (the bit that holds the fletch) they will straighten out.

[Good Sir Pete]

Originally Posted by greydog

Hi Bertie, that's just the natural curve of the feather, when you put it in the clamp and glue it to the shaft it will be straight. To get it to curve you need a helical clamp, but most people just go with a little off set, which is, instead of putting it straight in line with the arrow shaft, you go across the shaft very slightly (about 1 - 2 degrees is enough).

do you find that there is any benefit to having them offset?

[William P]

Natural feathers for fletching come from turkey or goose wings. They have a natural left or right curve to them dependant upon which wing they came from. Thats good advice to leave them in the clamp for 20 minutes if you are using a straight clamp.

If you want a helical twist you have to have a left helical clamp to use left wing feathers and right helical clamp for right wing feathers.

[Eaglearcher]

Yup.
Im in agreement there.
Just leave them in the jig for 20 mins.

I tried Fletching tape once and found that the fletchings started to pull the adhesive on the tape and the curve came back. Some people swear by this tape. I just swore at it!
Any tips for making it work?