I'm just beginning to experiment with feather inlays ... after reading all the great articles. My problem is ... after preparing the surface and soaking the feather in a diluted solution of colorfast the feather does not lay flat on the rod ... I can move the feather around and position it but not get it to lay flat and contour to the rod. How do you get the feather to lay flat on the rod??

Thanks,
Larry

No color fast needed. A coat of clear, let dry. I use CP, put down a coat, this keeps the color, put feather on that. Move to position. Let dry. Recoat, let dry, clear

I use CP also (and it lays flat just fine), but it sure doesn't retain the color of the feather at all. I've tried twice, now, being even more careful the second time with using enough CP. Still turns dark???

Putter

Try spraying it lightly with Krylon Crystal Clear before appying the finish. Works for me.

Bob

That is after the cp that you used to lay it on has dried.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2005 04:37PM by Bob Crook.

I did that after the CP, still turned dark...

Putter

Larry and Randy,

What you are experiencing is just the nature of the beast. Some feathers retain color their real well and others just don't and instead turn dark like ya'll have found. Some of the feathers that I have had real good luck with are Jungle Cock, Atlantic Seabrite, Grizzly Hackle, and a few of the Pheasant feathers.

Later,
Gerald Mc

Here is a copy of an email that Kate sent me a couple years ago re feather inlays. I have been using Flex Coat CP or Varathane water based finish in the blue can thinned per Bob's direction, both work well.


Page 1 of2
Kate Davidson
From: "robert meiser" <[email protected]>
To: "Kate Davidson" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, November 30, 2002 8:36 AM
Subject: Language for Siskiyou Aviary's Seminar section : feather inlays
One of the most effective ways to add a genuinely unique look to your own custom built rod is to personalize it with feather inlays. This is a very simple process, and once you have mastered the basic skills of inlaying a single feather, you will be well on your way to creating your own feather weaves and designs. The following step by step photos and accompanying language should help you master the feather inlay process.
1. Preparing the blank for the inlay is important, as the blank surface may have factory release agents, hand oils, or any variety of contaminants not compatible with epoxies. Thoroughly wipe the blank down with isopropyl alcohol prior to doing any inlays or thread work. No additional preparation is required.
2. For a number of reasons, the choice of feather is also very important. For the sake of
simplicity in explaining the inlay process, I will use a single Jungle Cock Eye feather. They are readily available from most well stocked fly shops in packets of 10 or 12. They will be free of natural oils, and the quality is generally quite good for a reasonable price.
3. I will always use an acrylic based color preservative to set the feathers on the blank prior to epoxy. I prefer to use Guderod 811 color preservative for the following reasons : A. It is crystal clear from the bottle. This allows easy viewing of the feather while placing it on the blank. B. The Guderod can be cut with Isopropyl alcohol to thin it. The thinned C.P. allows full saturation of the feather, and minimizes trapped ah" within the feather's fibers. (This truly becomes an issue when weaving multiple layers of feathers.) I will generally cut my Guderod with approximately 25% to 30% Iso. This will give it a near water hike consistency, perfect for fully penetrating the feather fibers. The Iso. also allows a relatively rapid, but manageable working and curing tune for the C.P. The Guderod will be cured and ready to epoxy within 4 hours air drying time at room temperatures. C. If for some reason, you do not like the look of your feather inlay after curing, you can easily remove it by re-wetting the entire inlay with straight Iso., wipe it clean, and re-do it. No worries !
4. I will completely saturate the feather in the C.P. prior to placing it on the blank. To do this, I will fill the bottom of a Tablespoon size stainless steel measuring spoon with the Guderod. Dip the entire length of the feather in the C.P., and pick it up for placement utilizing a small stiff bristled hobby brush. The feather is placed on the blank to it's approximate final location, and then adjusted to it's final location by nudging it into place with the bristles of the brush. In order to adjust each feather filament into it's proper location, you may have to flood the entire feather, and actually float the fibers into their best location. Once you have the feather placed and arranged exactly where you want it, leave it alone, and set the rod section on a horizontal plane and allow to dry. The C.P. will evaporate, and leave the feather perfectly arranged as placed. To center the feather correctly on the blank, mount the reel. With the reel seated in place, it will automatically locate the blanks center radius.
5. After the inlay is dry, you are ready for your first coat of epoxy coverage. Like the C.P., the epoxy should be applied in such a manner that it will flood the entire inlay.

Pg 2

a stiff bristled hobby brush. With the rod turning, place the brush bristles against the rod at the top of the inlay, and evenly progress down the inlay. The excess epoxy will accumulate, and occasionally drop from the brush as you progress. Leave just enough epoxy behind to very thinly cover the inlay. 'Hie feather (especially multiple feathers) will generate lots of bubbles in your epoxy. Leaving the first coat of epoxy coverage very thin will minimize this problem, but some will appear never the less. Now is the time to remove them. This can be done by lightly brushing the inlay with the grain as it turns. For this, I will use the same type of hobby brush as mentioned earlier. Watch the inlay for a few minutes, if more bubbles appear, brush it again with the grain.. .Repeat as needed. Allow the epoxy covered inlay to turn and dry for 24 hours, and re-coat as needed. Following coats will not generate nearly as many bubbles. The heavier feather weaves will often require 3 or 4 coats of coverage, a single feather will generally require only 2 coats.
6. The inlay can be placed directly to the blank, or it can be applied to a thread background. I will often background the inlay with an opaque thread color that will enhance the color scheme of the feathers. The feathers are placed directly onto the thread, and covered with C.P. in the described fashion, making sure that all of the thread is FULLY saturated as well. This may require two coats of C.P. coverage over the entire inlay and thread area. With the Guderod mixture as described, you will need to wait at least 4 hours between coats.
if you follow these recommendations carefully, 1 absolutely guarantee that you will be on your way to creating your own beautiful feather inlays. 1 have used this process to inlay literally hundreds of rods.
As with all things within the crafts, practice make perfect... Practice, Practice, Practice I Experiment with various feathers, and thread combinations. Be creative, and most importantly: Have Fun II!
If you find that you may require moral support, feel free to contact me. I am usually found in my shop building rods, if not... Fm out fishing!
Bob Meiser.. .R.B. Meiser Fly Rods

Larry-

Try coating the feather with whatever you are using to make it adhere to the blank (CP or finish) and laying it in place and aligning it. Then, wrap the feather with a spaced, spiral wrap of invisible thread (available at the fabric store) or monofilament thread. You could probably use 8X tippet as well. You want about 1/16" between each wrap of mono thread - not touching wraps like you would use to wrap a guide. Tape one end of the invisible thread to the rod with masking tape (I usually do this above the feather inlay on the bare blank), wrap the invisible thread over the feather and then wrap it back the same way you came, forming x-wraps over the feather. This will hold the feather in place and make it contour to the rod. You just need to be careful to ensure that you don't push or pull the feather out of alignment.

When your finish or CP has dried, you simply unwrap the mono thread and proceed tofinish / CP per your usual routine. This is an old FishStix aka Jeff Vadakin technique that also works extremely well for flattening out weaves and making them look 'fuller' and more tightly packed. If this explanation does not make sense, please feel free to email me. For what it's worth, I have done feather inlays for several years using nothing but finish and am very pleased with the results. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Bill

I have played about with different feathers etc and what i did find that if the colour runs from the feather it is usually because the feather has been dyed to a necessary shade and its this colour which moves,the other thing being that lighter colour feathers such as a silver pheasant feather allows the darkness of the blank through.
I also tried differant fixatives and found that although the flexcoat cp is milky white when it goes on you have a better working time with it and it gives good results.
I work in a tackle shop here in the uk therefore on quite days get to play about with these things.Just dont let my boss here this!
Sorry. forgot to mention.
If you need to have a bright feather(dyed) then its best to dye yourself and overdoo the colour fixative(vinegar) as mass produced and dyed feathers tend to stretch the feather to dye ratio..

Cheers All
Bryan

I use fly tying feathers. I rince them in warm water, then let them dry on a paper towel.
Some times a base of a different color thread is helpful to let the color of the feather stand out

All individual feather fibers refract light much as does a prism, this is what gives them their unique brilliance... In fact unique in nature.

Really quite amazing, especially when the human eye views the metallic appearance of many of our bird species.

Unfortunately....With many brilliant feathers, especially the metallics: The refractive characteristics of the feathers individual filaments are enabled when saturated under CP, epoxy, or any liquid for that matter.

Some feathers do fare better with this scenairo then others, and finding the ones that maintain their natural brilliance under epoxy, CP or whatever..... Is simply a matter of trial and error on the part of the builder.

As far as training feathers to conform the the radius of a blank ?

I may pre-soak some feathers in water for a few minutes prior to application.

This will make them more manageable.... Then lay, and train them into place with a brush and flood them with ISO diluted CP.

Bob Meiser