Probably a really stupid question

[kiltedcelt]

But, I'll ask it anyway. Would you by ANY stretch even consider using a feather burner indoors in the same space that you live in? How about if you could rig a kind of fume hood over it to suck the smell and smoke from burning feathers out to blow it out a nearby window through something like a dryer vent tube? I'm trying to gear up to do production runs of custom arrows and I want to be able to make my own distinctive fletching patterns as well as traditional fletching patterns. It seems like one of the quickest ways to get the feather shapes you want is by using a feather burner. There aren't currently any decent feather choppers on the market, and by decent I mean something like the old Vario Feather Clipper that will allow you to use a variety of feather shapes versus just the most common ones like shield, banana, parabolic which seems to be all that's available in either the Bearpaw (which doesn't seem to be in wide production), or the Little Chopper which I've read some pretty mixed reviews about. I thought about making my own feather chopper based on the Vario design but after wasting a considerable amount of time and money trying to make my own cresting lathe, only to end up buying a Spinrite Crester, I'm loathe to put too much effort into trying to make a decent feather chopper only to find out it doesn't work worth a damn. So, I've been thinking a lot about feather burners. I've been thinking a lot about burners, but I live in an apartment right now, and if I can't devise an exceptional ventilation unit then I'd have to take the burner outside to use it on the balcony thing behind my unit which is really less than practical and by the time winter is really here in force will be bloody uncomfortable to be outside in, even for only as long as it would take to burn the fletches on a dozen arrows. Am I just being totally bone-headed? I've never burnt feathers but from everything I've read, it sounds like the worst smell and definitely not something for indoors. I saw a slick video showing a series of metal fletch templates being used to cut fletching out with a scalpel type blade and it looked pretty cool, but I can't find that it ever went into production.

[le0n]

the smell of burning feathers will offend most significant others, hah hah. but i have to say the odor is rather temporary.

here's a test for you. take a feather and and burn it a few times with a lighter and see how much it offends you. then see how long it takes for the odor to reside.

i very much prefer the odor of burning feathers vs the odor from sanding buffalo horn. horn is a garage or outside thing only.

also, the burners are rather simple to make.

here are the main parts:

• three pieces of wood (base and two 1x2 sections for the arrow supports)
• two carriage bolts with a few nuts and washers
• an old computer power supply with cord
• a rocker switch
• and some stainless piano wire for your elements

i think the most expensive part was the $9 dollar switch because i wanted a blue led

then the tools/material to assemble the wood and drill holes and such.

if you want i can take some better photos of my burner:

[wizardgoat]

Don't do it!
I borrowed my friends once and I'll never do it again!
Very similar to burning hair smell, but worse.
I use scissors, they may not be perfect, but it works just fine

[JoJoDapyro]

For large runs of arrows you really can't beat a burner.

How did you rig up the computer power supply? I have one of those!

[Dakota Kid]

Looks primitive to me. I heard the power supplies and blue LEDs are just about ready to harvest. 


I still can't get used to how some things are soooo taboo on this site(like FG) and others are accepted without a second look(burners and epoxies). I'm with goat. Buy a nice pair of barber's scissors and cut slow. Uneven lines are better than a house that smells like a bird in a bug zapper.

Sorry, nothing personal about my first comment. I had a bit of a frustrating day and I still have another shift to go. I hate doubles.

[JoJoDapyro]

Dakota, please show me some primitive scissors, or how about some primitive glue. Until you only use primitive tools and products, please don't ridicule people for what they use.

[kiltedcelt]

Ya know, I just took some little parabolic cut feathers I'd acquired, but probably was never going to do anything with (ugly brown barred, and small - 4"?) and set a few on fire. It honestly didn't smell too bad while I was doing it and didn't really smoke a whole lot. There's a Youtube video I saw of a guy using a Young feather burner and the only time it smoked really bad was when a bit of feather sort of stuck on the wire instead of falling off. I still wouldn't want to do it without ventilation, but I think with a rigged up overhead fan to exhaust out a window it probably wouldn't be too bad. I'm just balking at the price of the various feather choppers and the extra cutter heads. I know I could probably figure out how to make my own chopper, but it's a matter of how much trouble it will be to manufacture each cutter head for the different fletches I want to make. Some folks have already played the "primitive" card which is fine. I don't make my own bows anymore because it's too much hassle and too much mess without a real workshop. I've got no problem using a feather burner and one of the non-primitive things I want to do is make some "fantasy-style" fletching for the cosplay/LARP type crowd. The only way I'm going to be able to make some really wacky fletching shapes is going to be with a burner or a LOT of time spent cutting die shapes out with a coping saw in acrylic or some other material. A nichrome wire is a heck of a lot easier to shape and judging by what I've seen you can burn all the fletches on a single arrow pretty quickly. Now, the question is whether my wife walks in and says, "What the hell have you been burning?!" She's usually pretty accommodating of my messy hobbies (hell, she collects model horses and has her own airbrush spray booth and compressor for custom painting), but she may draw the line at burning feather stench. Like I said, I was surprised at how nasty it WASN'T! Also - le0n - please post some more photos showing how you wired up the computer power supply. I've seen some plans for DIY burners but most seem to suggest using a 12v model train transformer which seem potentially easier.

[DC]

I think that actually burning, with flames and all, does not smell as bad as "burning" with a hot wire. I just tested one with flames and it wasn't near as bad as wire burning. Kind of like comparing a roaring garbage fire with a smoldering one. Open a window and put a fan behind you. Better to upset the neighbors than the wife, possibly.

[le0n]

Looks primitive to me. I heard the power supplies and blue LEDs are just about ready to harvest. 

haven't seen them in the wild out where i live. they seem to be more indigenous to the asian continent. i believe they breed like rabbits in china.

How did you rig up the computer power supply? I have one of those!

i used one of the 5v (red) power leads. all of the other wires i clipped back and stuffed inside the power supply housing so it wouldn't look messy. afterward i just glued the base to the top of the power supply with liquid nails.

i'll take photos of it later so you guys can see how it's wired up and assembled.

[JW_Halverson]

Save the feather burning for a breezy day and do it outside. 

I love my feather burner, the flexibility (pun intended) that the wire provides is unbeatable.  I literally have an unlimited choice in feather height and shape. 

[kiltedcelt]

I think I'm going to give the burner a whirl. Easiest thing would be like DC said and just set up next to an open window. Even in winter I can crack a window for a few minutes and run a fan blowing out the window to carry the smoke out. If it's not too "booger-freezin'-cold" I could always take the burner out on the back deck. At some point in the future I plan on having a dedicated workshop away from the living space where this won't be an issue. I just can't justify the time, effort, and money involved in either building my own feather chopper or buying someone else's especially considering some of the ideas I've got for various fletching designs. A burner is going to be the only way to get some of those shapes. Oh, and DC I think you're right about flames versus wire. I watched a string of Youtube feather burner videos just now and the bulk of them show the apparatus smoking a LOT more than what I was getting with just burning the feathers with open flame, especially when part of the feather gets stuck on the wire. Still, my wife walked in and didn't smell any burnt feathers. Now I just need to find a train transformer and some nichrome wires.

[le0n]

in regards to the smoldering, i just hit the switch after the fletch burns are complete and knock any lingering pieces off.

off-topic: if needed, a mod can move this to "Around the Campfire" so that we can adhere to the formalities of the forum.

[kiltedcelt]

I don't think this needs to be modded to "Around the Campfire." Guys are gluing up bows all the time with Urac or epoxy. I hardly think making arrows using a feather burner and Ferrel-tite or Duco Cement makes you less "primitive." The spirit of the forum is being adhered to, especially since we're talking about wood arrows and natural feathers here, not carbon shafts and vanes.

[Dakota Kid]

Dakota, please show me some primitive scissors, or how about some primitive glue. Until you only use primitive tools and products, please don't ridicule people for what they use.

Primitive scissors would be a knife and a cutting block or maybe even your teeth and primitive glue would be pitch or hide glue. Neither of which require an electrical outlet. I do understand your point however, and please know that my comments were more for laughs than a serious reprimand.   

I have no problem with how anyone does anything. If your creating something instead of watching TV or checking your FB, you're not wasting the space you occupy and are okay in my book. I was just being a smart a$$ after a long day at work. Personally, I prefer hand tools to power ones simply because I can keep building while camping or if the power goes out. I also feel as though I have more control when I supply the force. To each their own.

A good friend of mine always says, "The only reason the ancestors didn't use super glue, spider wire and duct tape was because they didn't have them, but if they did you better believe they would have used them." I believe this theory would also apply to a feather burner.

Carry on.

[osage outlaw]

I burn all of my feathers outside in the garage.  The smell doesn't bother me.