Hi Curt,
I went back and found an old post where I told someone pretty well step by step how I do mine and just cut and pasted it below.
Here it is:
Here's a rundown of how I do mine. For best results read it all before you start.
First, you need to decide what shape you want and bend that shape into your wire right in the middle. You can get fancy and make small plywood or cardboard jigs to get an exact shape but we're not talking rocket science here, just arrows. I just use my fingers and sometimes some needle nose pliers. You really can get as close as you need to by eye. When using the ribbon wire, I always put the concave side towards the shaft. Seems to work better that way.
Anyway, once you have a basically straight wire with a desired fletch shape bent smack in the middle, use the needle nose to bend the wire sharply away from where the shaft will be RIGHT where the fletch shape ends. You don't need to kink the wire double, just make a nice crisp angle or small curve away from the shaft at about a 45 degree angle. The idea is to have as little wire as possible getting close to the shaft.
Once you get it bent away, lay it in front of your burner and eyeball the width between the ribbon holder contacts and bend the wire so that it goes to that width (don't matter if it gets there in a curve or a straight line) but at that point make a bend so that the ribbon ends will point straight at the holders. Stick the ends in the holders and leave them loose. One side should also have a little hockey stick shaped metal piece in it that comes with the burner. Not sure what it does but I think it provides better contact and helps support the wire. It can be removed but I think then it doesn't get as hot. I'm not sure though. Been a long time since I looked at the papers that came with mine. I just leave it in all the time.
Now, with the burner unplugged, take a bare shaft and put the nock in the cone end of the holder and the shaft in the V. You want the wire to miss the shaft by about 3/32" or so. It should just clear the quill of a fletch when you are burning so look at how thick the quills are on your fletch. If the wire does not sit where you want it, move it in and out of the holders for hight setting then tighten them down. Check for movement when you tighten the holders. Sometimes it flexes the wire and causes it to move the whole thing. Minor tweaking where it comes out of the holders should take care of it.
Now lay a fletched shaft in the holder. Burner still unplugged. If the wire is off front to back, loosen the two screws holding the shaft holder to the burner and move it in the slots to position the shaft where you want it so the sharp bends of the wire are right at the ends of the fletch. If you can't get quite enough adjustment there, you can bend the wires to the side where they come out of the holders but you will have to readjust the hight. If you have a strong helical in your fletch, you will have to rotate the shaft to check the front side fit on one fletch and then rotate the other way and check the back end on another fletch from the other side of the wire.
Now, if all looks well, plug the burner in and let the ribbon get red hot. Watch it to see if it distorts from the heat. Sometimes they do that the first time you heat them after bending. Carefully lay a fletched shaft in the holder without touching the wire. Double check your wire fit and see if it tries to burn the shaft anywhere. Adjust as needed. Of course, unplug and let cool first....
Once you are set pick your worst arrow first just as a precaution and with the burner plugged in get ready to burn your first arrow, er fletch... Since the burner ribbon is so thin and any breeze will drop the temperature quite a bit, be sure to do it somewhere calm like the kitchen. Anyway, I like to face the burner away from myself and look over the top as I work. That way I can lightly pull the shaft into the bottom of the holder as I turn it. Be sure the nock is bottomed out in the holder cone and at a medium slow speed rotate the shaft so that one fletch passes through the wire. Lift it out and inspect it for problems. If you have some strands that did not burn, you either rotated too fast or in the wrong direction. They might pull off or you might have to run it past the wire again. Look at the ends for black spots on the shaft. A little bit is normal since the smoke sticks to the shaft but it wipes off. I usually have mine set where the front of the quill gets melted just a tad bit but then I trim it on an angle with my knife to get a smooth transition and add a drop of duco cement. The trimming removes the damaged area. The cut edges of the feather will have dark burnt residue on them but it comes off after shooting a couple times or you can run the ende of a knife blade down them lightly and scrape it off. If you are satisfied, go ahead and burn the other two fletch. Pay attention to how fast you turn the arrow. Too fast doesn't burn it cleanly and too slow can set the whole fletch on fire. By your second or third arrow you should be able to rotate smoothly through all three fletch and get nice clean burns. If crud builds up on the wire, give it a few seconds to turn to ash and wipe it off with a knife tip or the needle nose. Piece of cake!
By now you have probably either figured out that burning feathers smell just like burnt hair and your wife is really ticked off about the smell in her kitchen or else you followed directions and have just read all the above....so I'll tell ya nicely, the part about doing it in the kitchen is sort of an old joke among archers and new guys. Do it outside!
Have fun and enjoy that burner. They are the only way to go in my book.
Topic: Feather Burners...Any Tips? (Read 1023 times)
