Feather burning wire & bending it into shape

[Islandlongbow]

Any one have any tips or can offer help on how to shape a feather burning wire without putting kinks in it?
It's driving me nuts    

Thanks,

Jerry

[frank bullitt]

Jerry, first put the wire in and turn on to heat it up. It will expand. I needs "broken" in.

Then bend to the desired shape of fletch. It does take some practice! You also don't need sharp bends to make work.

I'm sure, folks with more finnesse will post!

[Dan White]

Jerry,
    It is real handy if you have a arrow fletched that has the shape and length you want to use as a model. Say you had some arrows built by someone else that fly well. Other wise there is some trial and error to get the fletching shaped to a efficient and quiet arrow. I make the curved shape at the tail of the fletch first and then use a thin flat piece of steel in a vice to make my other bends.
   This is hard to explain, good luck.

[Dan White]

Jerry,
    Sorry i just took for granted you are burning a shield. Still something for a model is a great help.

[gregk]

I just got a feather burner at Compton and im having the same issues. Feathers are not cheap so i hope i get it figured out relatively quick. The kinks i got in the wire seemed to flatten out pretty good though using a pair of needle nose pliers.

[Steve Clandinin]

Jerry get yourself a set of Vise Grips with the multiple heads that snap on and off .the one tip is about 3" wide it makes the long pieces real nice.for the curves I use differant size dowelling,just bend around those.With a little practice they'll be perfect.When burning feathers on Wood arrows wrap the wood shaft right up to the end of the feather with a 1/2"wide piece of real thin copper,it stops your shafts and paint from burning.

[Islandlongbow]

Frank good tip I didn't know about pre heating the wire. Am I correct when I put the convex side
of the wire toward the feather?
Dan you are right, I like the shield shape  :D  
Greg I'm a frugal archer too!    trying this with peacock feathers.
I'll try the Vise Grips and the copper wrap Steve.....I burnt the cresting on a shaft last night.

Thanks again guys!

Jerry

[moebow]

When I'm sitting in front of the TV, I carve a feather shape out of 1/8" masonite.  Carefully shape it to your desired feather shape then glue it to a broken arrow shaft.  You now have a rigid form to shape your wire around, and it can be used to repeat shapes for new wires.

[joekeith]

Once I finally got the shape just how I wanted.....the dang burner quit working.      Someone here told me to hook up a battery charger to the wires and it will work.  It did....one time.  So now I'm back to cutting them with a scisscors......

[Orion]

Like moebow, I make a wooden template in the feather shape I want and bend the wire around it.  The wire will change a little when it's heated so I do my final adjustment with the wire on the burner.  Turn it on, try a feather, notice where it needs to be moved, flattened, bowed, etc and turn off the power. Make the appropriate changes when the wire cools off and try it again.  May take a feather or two to get it adjusted right, but then it's good to go for as many feathers/arrows as you want.  

Island, I put the concave side of the wire toward the fletch.  Makes a cleaner cut on that side, I think.

[Killdeer]

I draw the shape on a piece of paper. Then I use needlenose pliers to bend the wire. The natural springiness of the wire lends a smooth, pleasing curve to the top of the shield shape, and helps at the rear, also.

Jerry, I wish I had a source for those cinnamon colored primaries, hint, hint.
Killdeer

[Jeff Cooper]

Jerry, I also do as the others using previous feather shapes, dowels, and needlenose pliers, but I use an old arrow to pre-check for clearance to avoid burning...the ribbon will grow when heated, so I'll try to set the gap to about 1/16" inch while the ribbon is cold...trial and error, but it is usually pretty close.

[Islandlongbow]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge everyone. I started making a templet and now I'm all Gung Ho to give it another try, right after I turn my ribbon around.....   !  

Jerry

[Fletcher]

Jerry, the concave side goes toward the feather.

[Islandlongbow]

Thanks Rick, I had it on backwards....  

[Ray Hammond]

I would use my fingers....you'll take the convex shape out of the wire if you use pliers....

lay a feather out on the table...start at the front (narrow end of feather and about 1/4 of the way down the length of the wire just use your thumb as the "stop" and with your other hand push up on the wire- to get the initial bend.

The wire has a springiness to it....you are going to use that to shape the curve by hand...just coax it using the flat of your thumb until it follows the shape of the feather.

Lay the curved wire with the initial front end bend against your feather, pick the spot that matches up with the back of the fletch where it changes direction-whatever shape- shield would be another sharp bend to change direction- a parabolic would just be a more severe curve downward- whatever- and then bend it again where it hits the shaft.

You may need to practice a little but it won't take many wires for you to master it...

"Aaaah, I love the smell of burning feathers in the morning...."

[stringstretcher]

as an alternative, read this

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=090401

[B/W lvr]

I love these sites. Just learned two things I didn't know about my burner. Thanks for the hint on the wire concave side and the copper sheet to keep  the shaft or paint from burning. I have found that the wire will change shape when heated and I have to adjust it a few times to get it right. Frank

[Ray Hammond]

Frank,

I burned quite a few feathers while I had a custom wood arrow business in the late 80's-90's.

It was my feeling that the wire would only change shape if it wasn't getting hot enough to cleanly cut the feather.

That usually meant your unit isn't functioning properly, or you've used the wire too long.

Mind, I only used the old Young style burners and the wires that came with them and have no experience with any of the new stuff if there is anything besides the Young burner.

[Killdeer]

Hi Ray!
I think if you replace the phrase "change shape" with "expand" you will get a more accurate reading. What sits a little high at O-cool-thirty will be flush with the top of the quill when red hot.

No, a shield will not go bananas on you.
Killdeer