As a result of the generosity of other Rodbuilding.org members, I was exposed to some great examples of feather inlays. So, after doing some experimentation on scrap blank sections, I did my first inlay this past week. I had read a lot of advice from those with experience, regarding things like the medium used to hold the feather in place prior to coating with thread epoxy.

I experimented with Permagloss and Minwax Polyurethane and ended up using polyurethane. The working time was more than adequate, and I was able to remove excess around the feather inlay easily before it began to harden. I allowed the polyurethane to harden for 24 hours. Two coats of light epoxy later I had my first inlay.

For those of you who haven’t tried it yet, give it a try. I will post a picture to Fishingphotos.net.

Thanks to all who shared their feather inlay experience on the board.

Jeff Shafer

Jeff,

I viewed your inlay and have to say you did a great job on it. I have been using CP to hod mine down but I'm thinking I'll give the Polyurethane a try. Keep up with the inlays. There are so many different thins you can do with them.

Regards
Mark

I looked at your feather inlay also; great job (very disappointed in Mr. Anonymous AGAIN-this guys gotta go, Tom!!). Sky's the limit with feathers. Your rod with the feather inlay is quite a prize!

Putter

Nice Job, Jeff! I'm building my first fly rod and plan on trying a feather inlay on it!!

Mike

Looks really nice Jeff. Is there a tutorial or an article written on how to do this somewhere?

Thanks John,
I haven't seen any. Most of what I learned resulted from rodbuilding forum searches. I also searched on fishingphotos.net. Basically you're wetting your surface with something like color preserver, permagloss, polyurethane, etc. and laying down the feathers which are locked in place by your wetting agent. Then, epoxy coat over the inlay. I did some practice on old rod sections.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff, what feather did you use? are some eaiser then others?

John,
The under feather is a tip section from a wood duck flank feather. A jungle cock is over-laid at the base of the wood duck. This was my first attempt at this type of accent on a rod. I practiced with wood duck then added this inlay to a rod I build last summer. Visit Fishingphotos.net and do a search on feather inlay and you will see that various feathers have been used. I would imagine that a flat profile feather would work best, and you would want something that is pliable enough to flex around the surface of the rod blank. I'll be practicing with other feathers from my fly tying material cabinet.

Good Luck,
Jeff