Since the first one seen on this site, I continue to be in awe of the absolutely gorgeous feather inlays produced by some of you. Lacking confidence in my artistic abilities, I have yet to incorporate feathers in my builds though. While playing and experimenting with thread to escape boredom while staying at home to comply with the present social-distancing, I discovered a thread wrap that immediately reminded me of feathers. It is a simple mutation of a JTOB which could be used anywhere, but I thought it might be especially well suited to complimenting feather inlays as a border. While mine may not be the first, I thought I would share it with all of you in hopes someone liked it enough to employ it on their builds. Please find the two pics in the photo section under “Thread Art”, “Mark’s Thread Feather Inlay”. I will attempt to include a link to the photos as well.
[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Thread inlays are one of my favorite parts of building. Every one is different, the feathers are all beautiful, some designs are great, some just don't look right. But they are not that hard to do and really can dress up a rod. I like to keep them sort of simple because I don't have the patience for a lot of intricate work, and I don't like gaudy looks for rods. I find that laying them out in advance is best, and this can be done quite well by laying a strip of blue masking tape, sticky side up, and taped to a work space. Feathers can be tried, moved and removed easily, just don't press more than necessary to get just a little grip. When putting on the rod have your sequence known up front and proceed in the proper order-it's a layering process. I lay down CP and place the feathers on it, sometimes getting only one feather down, letting it dry, then later repeating.

When it's done, it might not look that showy, but after the epoxy, it will surprise you. I usually end up with 3-4 coats of lite build on them. Stickups can be shaved off between coats, like thread nubbins.

Give it a shot.

Michael, Where do you obtain the feathers. Thank you.

Some from Moonlight Feather [www.moonlightfeather.com]

I also have used a source out west, an aviary, but I can't find them right now , I probably can find it on some feather envelopes, will try and then post. Also, a lot of fly tying feathers will work. Biggest challenge is to get good feathers that are small enough to fit on a rod. Also, feathers should be pretty soft so they will bend around the rod and stay without popping up.

Michael,
Thanks for the confidence boost, or at least the attempt. While I am also guilty of not taking defeat lightly, nothing ventured = nothing gained, don’t cry before being hit and other similar sayings prevail and I will probably attempt fooling around with feathers soon. Thank you also for the link, however they seem to have a limited stock. Are the fly-tying feathers available from Angler’s Workshop adequate for rod building? Even though they have a rather large selection, they seem to lack the wazoo feathers I see from some builders such as Mike Gerome and others.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Mark, some fly tying feathers are fine, but some just don't work out. If they are too stiff, like quills, or too thick, like peacock herl, they don't work well. Guinea fowl are good, many pheasant feathers are good, jungle cock eyes for accent are good. Most hackle feathers are good , especially the long skinny ones. You just have to get into it to get a feel about what to order.

Mark, after decades of rod building, I find feather inlay work to be extremely complimentary to a custom rod build. I have found no quick way to do it well. My feather work needs to be slow, careful and meticulously tampered with with mag glasses and calm music in the background. I have evolved to several specific but fairly simple pieces oh hand made jigs and tools to make it easier. I now set aside the proper amount of time to do an inlay and just thoroughly enjoy watching the custom, uniqueness of each one unfold. Get into it and enjoy it!