I'm wanting to start making my own fletchings from turkey wings.  It seems simple enough to split them, cut them to length and then make a template and trim them down.  The two cuts that seem the easiest to do would be banana or parabolic.  I've mostly shot parabolic but I like the look of banana and it would be easy to trim down as well.  I've heard a lot about noise with banana cut.  Could somebody tell me if there are any cons to them?

A lot of people like the banana cut. You are only going to have a noisy arrow if you leave the feathers tall. The more feather you have on the shaft the louder it will be. If you trim them smaller so they are a low profile, they should be dead quite.
It's more of a personal preference on which look you like better. Try a couple of each!

Josh

X2 With above. I made my own feather burner from a post on here from years back. Its just scrap wood and then use propane torch to shape, works great and I only have to make new one once a year or so. I make a low profile 3.5 to 4 inch banna and they are quiet and still provide great control for my arrows.

QuoteOriginally posted by Jack Skinner:
X2 With above. I made my own feather burner from a post on here from years back. Its just scrap wood and then use propane torch to shape, works great and I only have to make new one once a year or so. I make a low profile 3.5 to 4 inch banna and they are quiet and still provide great control for my arrows.

I'll ditto Jack. He's made a few for me and they are lower profile and they are pretty quiet. I've had loud parabolic, and shield  it was all about how tall they were. I have a feather burner now so i make mine to suit.

I modified my Little Chopper to cut a lower profile banana cut. There quiet, and they work just fine. I like the looks of them. Its something a little different.

I use a low profile banana 4" cut on my hunting arrows.  Stabilize great and dead quiet.

Mike

Do I really need a chopper or burner?  Is it not possible to just make a template out of cardboard and use surgical scissors to trim around the edges?

banana

I love the look and sound of a banana cut when im shooting.
I hate the sound of a banana fletch when im hunting !

QuoteOriginally posted by Etter:
Do I really need a chopper or burner?  Is it not possible to just make a template out of cardboard and use surgical scissors to trim around the edges?

Yes you can do that, it just doesn't leave "clean lines" feathers move when you cut them, burning and chopping is a fast action, keeps it cleaner

I prefer the banana cut and have found them to be very quiet. Any cut of fletching will be noisy if you cut it to large. The biggest I burn 'naners is about 3/4" at the tallest point from the shaft.

Would a wood burning pen work?

Probably but a regular burner, either homemade or a Young would be faster.

Matty is right,you can cut with sharp scissors that will work, heck we used to cut with sharp pieces of flint; right! But burning cleans them up. You can make your own with 1/8 and 1/2 inch scrap wood and a flame. If you like I can show in pictures how., on the cheap.

I like the look of banana cut best. I never heard any difference in noise and mine were 5". But possibly lower profile.

I'd love to hear it Jack!

This is just 1/8 or thinner plywood you can get small pieces from any lumber store. The base is just some 1/2 or little bigger scrap wood. I used some heavey paper to draw out the shape I wanted then tranfered to the thin wood and cut out. I have a band saw and belt disc sander I can make these in less than 30 minutes. But you can cut them out with a fine tooth saw and shape with sandpaper or file. Glue one up right like in the picture, I just used wood glue. The loose one that goes on top is sanded slightly smaller because it sits on the quill in this jig.

I use a medium to small cheap spring clamp to hold it all together. Trim up the feather with the sharp scissors you were talking about

Then run thru your flame or torch


This one is fuzzy must be the adult beverage

And your very own fletch in what ever style you want, crafted by you.

Now you may want to make three fletch at first, build an arrow and see how they fly and sound, then adjust if you want. I will just sit at my bench with an adult beverage and spend a hour of so making fletch.
If you have any questions let me know you can ask here or pm me.

I haven't burned fletch myself, but from accounts I have heard, you want to do that OUTSIDE, not inside..
CHuckC

Thanks Jack!  Looks easy enough that eve I might be able to do it.

Welcome. They will last a lot longer than you think also. They get scorched but dont burn.