So... I ordered a Young Feather Burner!

[Al Kidner]

Thanks for all the tips guys and gals... Now to do some practice shafts up for the big day.

Many thanks,


al.

[alaninoz]

I wrap the shaft with painters masking tape and that seems to stop any discolouration of the finish.

[Flinttim]

As an aside, my burner is from way back. An old friend, now gone, gave me mine. He was 76 when he passed and it had belonged to his father.Anyway, how are they made now ? On mine the part your nock rotates in is in actuality the glass knob from a percolator coffee pot. Do they still use that ?

[lpcjon2]

The one I have has a hard plastic knob style.

[Bldtrailer]

Start with old arrows first get the bugs worked out before you do your good arrows and If you like peace in the house    do it outside or in the garage.  To shape the ribbon take a feather the shape you like & trace onto  ply wood (if you like it)just make it slightly smaller than you want it, the ribbon expands when    hot. With the wood forms you can  change shapes(use a wood rod/arrow to press the ribbon to take the shape of the  wood form)  

[Rob DiStefano]

• i have 3 youngs, two set for the same fletch shape but different shaft diameters (carbon and wood) and one set for a different fletch shape (4 fletch banana) for a carbon shaft.
• yes, burning feathers does stink and smoke a goodly amount ... and i love it, nothing like burnt feathers in the morning.  if it bugs your or your partner, run a fan backwards in a nearby window or do it outdoors.
• need to shape and align the wire to the shaft & feathers - if you have different shaft diameters, the wire will need to be re-aligned, dittos for different fletch locations on the shaft or different fletch lengths!  be forewarned - burning is a one trick pony of sorts, but every resulting fletch will be *perfect*.
• it will take some tweaking of a new wire to find the correct distance from both the shaft and feathers, to make for a perfect burn.  note that the wire will "grow" in size as it heats red hot.
• a "perfect burn" for me means that the feather has been burnt to the exact shape of the wire, both ends are trimmed, and the shaft is not "scorched" by the wire.
• always turn the shaft slowly, never fast - this is a hand's on learning process.
• after the feathers are burnt into fletches, i remove the arrow and run a fingernail down the edge of each fletch to remove most of the burn marks, and add a dab of duco/fletchtite to the fore and after ends of each fletch.

       

[RkyMtn Joe]

I bought mine at least 45 years ago and it was used at that time.  Mine has the glass percolator knob AND it is labeled as a Young Feather TRIMMER---not a burner.

I set my wire not to touch the shaft at all and to just barely touch the quill at front and back of the feather.  I use an X-acto knife to finish trim both the leading and trailing edges of the feather quill after burning the feather to shape.  Then I use fine sandpaper to remove any scorched residue from the feather itself.  I'm sure you already know those things but I guess I got carried away.

Once you start turning the shaft and burning the feather, you must learn for yourself just how fast to turn, but I found that if you ever stop turning, you will likely burn and ruin the feather.