Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: PrimitiveTim on August 15, 2013, 02:08:54 pm

Title: Fletching Expiriment
Post by: PrimitiveTim on August 15, 2013, 02:08:54 pm
Fletching arrows is not my favorite park of arrow making.  There is almost always something little that is wrong or I mess up the feather as I'm splitting it.  Anyway, there are a lot of things I have to do right to get the fletchings on there well. 

I decided I'd try something new.  It was a bit risky cause if it didn't work I'd basically be messing up an arrow shaft.  I'm not a risk taker so I took an old shaft that I had harvested dead.  With that shaft I don't have much to lose.  I split it right down the middle of the nock to the first node right after the nock.  I took two shorter tail feathers from a turkey and put them face to face and slid veins down into the split.  I wrapped sinew on either side of the feather once it was all the way in.  Threw a small game point on the end this things flies quiet as an owl and straight as an....arrow.  :P

I'll keep shooting it and if it holds up I don't see any reason why I'll ever use a different method.  Heck I didn't trim this one up.

(https://sphotos-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/945808_10151689940589865_597601371_n.jpg)

(https://sphotos-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/1014368_10151689940344865_368284081_n.jpg)

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1157489_10151689940664865_63149195_n.jpg)

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1185891_10151689940244865_1475854049_n.jpg)

There's nothin' to it but to do it!
Title: Re: Fletching Expiriment
Post by: Ed Brooks on August 15, 2013, 02:25:48 pm
Glad to see this, I have thought about doing this also, when I was really low on feathers I tied just one complete feather to the out side of the shaft. It didn't hold up as well as my others, but it will do the job.
Nice arrow. Ed
Title: Re: Fletching Expiriment
Post by: turtle on August 15, 2013, 02:55:10 pm
Nice looking arrow. I dont remember ever seeing it done with two feathers before but i have with one feather.

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,2180.0.html
Title: Re: Fletching Expiriment
Post by: PrimitiveTim on August 15, 2013, 03:21:37 pm
Yeah, with the slight curve and the tail feathers being so soft I though it would be good to have two in there to keep the equilibrium.  Plus they're too short to use for normal fletching.
Title: Re: Fletching Expiriment
Post by: mullet on August 15, 2013, 03:56:13 pm
That's a traditional Seminole fletch. Coowachobee used to fletch all of his that way.
Title: Re: Fletching Expiriment
Post by: PrimitiveTim on August 15, 2013, 04:21:51 pm
Well, seems like i'm gonna have to keep doing them this way cause it's so easy and so effective.
Title: Re: Fletching Expiriment
Post by: Thesquirrelslinger on August 15, 2013, 04:43:17 pm
very cool! I just tried it with goose feathers, little to medium sized... and it works really good minus one thing-
it doesn't seem to have as much drag as normal fletching(it takes longer to correct its flight)