I usually burn my feathers, but decided to try something different today. My wife had bought me the fabric board and cutter years ago when we competed in offhand bp rifle matches and used a bunch of patches. I made the template from a paint stir stick. I know you can buy templates, but you can make any size and style for free. Hope someone finds this useful.

Well done. I like this kinda stuff.

Here's the template.

The ones in the photo were dyed w Koolaid. I redid them w food coloring for a deeper blue.

Thank you sir!

I actually use some metal templates that I make to do the same thing. Allows you to try any length or style your heat desires. I don't think I've bought a pre shaped feather in 20 years.

That is neat and a great alternative to chopping/burning. It irritates me to stick a turkey feather in my chopper and chop it only to find that it wasn't in position correctly- and now is a disfigured fletch. My ocd-ness will not let me put that one on an arrow. feather wasted. Thanks for the tip.

Hey,..they look good. I’m going to have to try that. Thanx for the” tip”.

I borrow my wife's Fiskars or OLFA rotary cutter's to do stuff like that, those things are sharp, she also has a sharpener to touch up the edges on them.

They are very handy for a lot of things, like the rifleman says you need the mat which has a little texture to it to help keep things from moving and helps keep the cutter blade sharp.

There are also different size blades.

I hope I am not over stepping John, but I thought I would throw in some info for those who are interested.

I have been using one for 20 years.

I use the exact same fabric cutter to cut my feathers. It works great for me. Thanks for sharing. I just draw a line on the edge on a wood table for the length and angle.

Nice!!

I have one of those cutters that I also use to cut patch strips but it never occurred to me to use it on feathers. Good post I am going to try it. Can't smell as bad as burning! :^)

Do you notice if your feathers run if you get them wet in the field? I was thinking of dying my own this year and was curious. I might use your cutting method too. Thanks

I like it.

I’m going to try this. I hate my chopper and I’ve been making a lot of fletchibgs lately from turkeys ive killed.

Can you show a photo of how you line up the uncut feather with the template? Great post. Thx!

Just me but I like the light blue ones better.

Great tip!! Thanks

Well done...gonna have to try food coloring next go-round on dyeing. I have several rotary cutters that I use on leather. I've cut some feathers using them but I use my feather burner 95%of the time. I don't even mind the smell so much anymore, definitely not as pleasant as working on cedars but all part of making arrows. Even though forewarned, the first time I burned some was on the dining room table and that wasn't pleasant...wife gave orders to go outside and play in the future. :)))

Dendy, I don't know anybody that hasn't had miscuts on choppers, I know I've had my share. Here's an easy fix, take 2 popsicle sticks, glue the top of one to the middle of the other forming a T, then lay the top part of the T on your chopper and bump down the blade to make an indent. Finish that off with a sharp knife and then you'll have something to hold down the feather in place as you chop.

I do the same thing, shapped a 1/4" piece of ply with my pocket knife, tape the feather down with some painter's tape and cut them with the same knife.

Also, i was doing the full fruit and veggie dyes. Colors were awesome but it's a lot of work. I use koolaide with a splash of vinegar now.

Pete here's a photo of a feather in the template and how i hold the quill against the jig. This is a right wing feather.

I have not had colors bleed or fade-- i do degrease them very well in hot water and dawn, rinse very well and then add tbls of vinegar to very hot water and dye and let feathers soak for at least half hour. Then rinse w cold water.

Ready to fly.

I put some feathers in a quart jar to use less water so the dye was fairly strong. 1 pack of koolaid. I forgot them and left over night. The colors were very rich. Then noticed you can regulate the depth to dye 1/2 or 3/4 of the feather. The dye will wick up the feather some for a fade in effect. I like it. I left the rear white for visibility. >>>----> Ken

Like these Ken?

Hi there, I've got a question. As far as I got some of you used rotary cutters to make feathers. Is there really any need to buy one, if I want to make it. Here I found a comparison and considered taking one of them.

I think I’m about to buy myself a few stirring sticks.... that seems a good way to shape the filament for the burner....

I like that fade effect, too.....

Yes, stand the feathers up in a small diameter jar & only pour the solution in to the depth you want. I use koolaid and a little vinegar too.If you want solid color & don't want to thin the solution enough to fill a large jar,just put a lid on it and give it a little roll every time you walk by it. The stronger the solution and the longer you leave it in the more vivid the colors. I have put 3 dozen white and natural barred turkey feathers in at one time. >>>>-------> Ken

For those of you with chopper woes, this is what I did for my chopper. I took a right wing chopper, laid foam down on the base, and turned it into a left-wing chopper. It makes every cut exact. Also make sure there is no side to side play. You can do this by loosening the screws, or by bending the upright slightly. I got the adhesive back foam from Hobby lobby. This is how they came out of the chopper, no trimming, no touchups.

You need about a .040 gap between the phone and the bottom guide for the quill to lay in.

“Foam” not “phone”.

They came out great. Thats a good tip Todd.

Great stuff!

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