l put down feathers on a blank today with 50\50 cp. T hey were pheasant feathers .they laid down real nice but when they dried the barbels[i think thats what they call them]all pulled apart and had to tear them all off. Anybody ever have the problem?

Hi Mark, I've only had this problem when I've played around a little to much trying to get them as perfect as possible. Get them down and into position and then leave them alone until dry. When you first start, apply only one at a time and leave it to dry. If you start applyng too many you can end up with a sticky horrible mess. I've been there!

Hi, Mark, I'm a dummy that doesn't know what a barbel is at all, but I've put some feathers down with CP a time or two. Were these giving you a bit of trouble before you put the CP on them? I've had troubles with them splitting but it also was split before I applied the CP. I pretty much had to hold them in place until the CP dried with a dental pick when this happened. If they dried in that split position, I just added a bit of alcohol on a brush and went back over them, then held the edges down until dry. Sometimes they still had a tad of a split when done, but not bad for the human eye (dog gone camera catches it, though!).

I don't quite go 50/50 on the mix and my CP is VERY thick to start with...

Putter

Try giving the feathers a wash in warm water

I have never done a feather inlay. I like many of the pictures and I would like to try it . So what is the other 50%? Water? Thanks Steve

The other 50% depends on the CP you use. If you use Flex Coat then it's water, if you use Gudebrod, its alcohol. It all depends on what the manufacturer says to thin it with.

Don't thin the cp. Try wrapping the errant "barbies" with thread and just enough tension to hold them in place. I usually space the wraps about 1/8th inch, and wrap the entire feather. When the cp dries remove the thread.

Enjoy,
Bob

Thanks for the information. I"m going to head out to put it to good use.Maybe I can keep from pulling my hair out today Mark

Couple of things I do that work well for me
I keep a little stem on the feather just to hold it.
Wash them to get junk off.
Thicken the CP maybe only 20% or less, I found full streagh it tends to whiten
I scoff the blank with a fine pad for a little grip.
After I lay the feather on and it is in place, I heat " lightly " with a low hair drier to set the CP, then it is in place
Hope this helps

I dilute 811 CP with isoproal about 30% , wet the area on the blank where you want the feather , and lay it in using the stem that Bill mentioned . It's a good idea to wash the feathers before , I let them dry before I use them ,(if I wash them at all). While the feather is lying in the wet CP you can move it around a bit with a stiff , small brush .The little stem can be trimmed after everything is dry ( it usualy is sticking up anyhow ) . I have never tried the hair dryer on inlays , but it sounds like it sounds like it could work out nicely.........thanks Bill . Have fun , JD

Got Fish ?

The hair dryer just speeds up the setting so you don't have to baby sit it to long, Also for adding more feathers

Thanks again,You guys are a wealth of information Mark