I am about to from my first ribbon. Do you guys have tips or gotcha's you can warn me about?
I was also thinking of cutting my pattern out on a piece of wood for shaping the ribbon. What do you guys do?

I don't use mine very often but I just did a set of Korean style bamboo arrows on it. I couldn't get the right feather shape any other way.
Biggest thing I found was that the ribbon expands a bit when it heats up. When it's cold it needs to be further from the shaft than you expect. After it's hot it gets a lot closer.
Be sure to test on scrap feathers and shafts before committing the good stuff to the knife.

Guy

I just bend it in my hands.  Just take your time and use your thumbs on the inside of the ribbon and fingers on the outside.
Make sure you use the middle of the ribbon so you have enough at the ends to slip through the slots in the nuts.  Just hand tighten.

Rick

I have formed lots of ribbons,although a wood form is a good idea,I think you would be better off with a piece of poster board shaped the way you want it,and gently form your ribbon to that.I don't know what shafts you have but I always set-up about half-way through the quill as to not scorch the shaft. Burt

Wood forms are good. That's what I use, .............repeatability and smooth shaping to what you want. Label them and keep on hand. Use the ribbon with the "cup" towards the feather (formed with the two edges of the wire lying against the wood form).

you need to bend your ribbon just a little oversized . When it burns the feather you lose about  1/16 "

do a few practice runs on an old shaft sacrifice a feather or two . You can always re-bend it and burn a little more off if it comes out too big ........... but ya cant put it back on if its too little ..........  LOL ...... ask me how I know    

Thank you guys this is all great advise!!!!!

I drew the pattern I wanted on a board and used small nails where the ribbon bends.  Have fun with your burner, I have two that were passed down to me.  They are from the 50's and still work great.

QuoteI drew the pattern I wanted on a board and used small nails where the ribbon bends.  

Do you have a picture you can share?

I use a piece of wood cut to the shape I want and then I burnish it flat to the shape with a screwdriver to ensure a perfectly smooth bend.

I also just use my fingers.  Some good advice here.