Spliced first feathers..couple ?'s

[blind one]

I was bored today and decided to try and splice a feather. I found how on here and this is what I ended up with. I used a black parobolic and yellow shield. I know they arent the same on all 3 but I will figure that out as I go. ?#1..How do I keep the splice together when I use full right helical? When I glued the feather to the shaft it seperates at the very top edge of the feather. Top feather shows this. ?#2. Can I scrape the edge of the quil so its white at the shaft the full length?..Thanks Roy
 

[DEATHMASTER]

Nice combination. Will be waiting for replys.
DEATHMASTER

[bowmaster12]

sorry i cant help with your ?'s but for first time looks really sharp

[toot]

2. Can I scrape the edge of the quil so its white at the shaft the full length?..

That's an interesting question to a newbie arrow builder.. I just fletched some and was wondering if a person could "cut/trim" the white part of the quil off.. I guess if the white part was uniform looking it would make a difference. Mine isn't..

Toot

[blind one]

The reason for the scraping is that when I spliced the feathers you can see the splice on the base. The yellow was all white and the black was spotted black. If I can make the black all white it would be harder to see the splice.

[rbbhunt]

I clamp the feathers to be spliced in a straight clamp I made and then lightly sand the bases of the feathers so they are even.  I use a stationary belt sander and it just takes a touch.  Also, try to match the feathers angle.  Depending on where they are cut out of the fetather, some have fibers that are straight and some are curved.

[blind one]

Thank you rbbhunt.I didnt match the angles on the first ones. This is fun. Anybody have odds and ends of fearthers they want to get rid of? These matched up better at the top.
 

[aromakr]

Feather splicing is an art!!! you don't just glue a bunch of scraps together.

To get a splice that looks really good you need to match the angle of the veins, the thickness and curvature of the veins plus their length. Otherwise they will not cling to each other. If you look at a vein under a microscope they are "C" shaped and hold on too each other to make the feather rigid. Unless the size and shape are correct they will come apart as described.
Bob

[blind one]

Feather splicing is an art!!! you don't just glue a bunch of scraps together....

I'm finding that out. When you really look close they are so different from each other. I always thought a feather was just a feather. Boy was I wrong. This is going to harder than I first thought to do it correct. When you do get the correct match they stick together like glue.

[snag]

Does anyone splice natural turkey feathers? It would seem to be easier to splice the "processed" feathers from fletching makers because they are more uniform at the quill.....?

[DaveBriner]

Originally posted by blind one:
?#1..How do I keep the splice together when I use full right helical? When I glued the feather to the shaft it seperates at the very top edge of the feather.

Hi there!  So ironic, I just finished my first attempt at splicing two nights ago.  No pics yet.  I spliced red ends onto my 4" shield cuts and I had the same problem as you.  At the top of the fletching the splice junction is not smooth in transition from the front splice to the back splice.  I haven't confirmed yet, but am pretty sure this is due to the angles of the bases for each piece of feather.  If we try the splice method where one removes the feather and membrane from the base, then glues the new feathers onto the existing base, I bet the feathers will meet much better at the top.
Best,
Dave