[phearless]

Anybody ever do feather inlays on their rods?
I would like to try on my next spey rod.
Jungle cock seems to be the bomb right now.
I was thinking something very steelhead.
Maybe dyed over grizzly saddles or something.
The other thing I was wondering,do you put the finish on in two coats?
Or just stick them and then recoat?
Any ideas for feathers?

 

[professori]

I have used goldedn pheasant tippet and also Guinea fowl. Did one rod with the Guinea overlaid on the gokden pheasant. looked great. I wet the feather in alcohol and stick it to the rod while it is wet. I then adjust it until I like the placement and apply the finish coat over it. After the finish is hardened I usually find I need another thick coat to smooth out the rod. Another thing I often do at this point is to put a band of tying thread (I usually tie with an accent thread on the wraps), about 1/4" wide, exactly 16" from the rod butt. This way I have a convenient measuring stick to make my size estimates more accurate and less like a lie. On 7 wt and up I put a second band at 20".

 

[phearless]

inlays

Thanks Prof.
I do the band of thread at intervals as well for a measuring stick.
Quick and easy.

 

[SalaR]

Golden Pheasant

Just had some Golden Pheasant (Natural red) inlaid on a Beulah 12'7" Spey Rod and inspires me greatly...although next time I will make sure it is placed on the Right reel side for Pictures,and will likely border it with several bands of copper thread to high light it's presence.
C
On some of my travel rods I have inlaid size14 or 16 nymphs

 

[phearless]

inlay feathers

I found a Kingfisher skin tucked away.
Looks like I might get some very nice feathers for the inlays.
Subtle.

 

[Sparky]

What do you use to stick the feather on? I'm assuming the feather is tacked onto the rod before finish is added?
Sparky

 

[professori]

What do you use to stick the feather on? I'm assuming the feather is tacked onto the rod before finish is added?
Sparky

I usually use a drop of methyl alcohol to wet the feather. It dries rapidly and once dried the feather stays in place. If it isn't completely dry, it won't discolour or otherwise affect the rod finish. I was reading that some builders use colour preserver, so I'm going to give it a try on the rod I'm currently buildiing.

 

[professori]

I just did a multiple-feather inlay on a new rod I am working on and used Gudebrod colour preserver. It worked great!! Hold the feather in a pair of tweezers and put a drop of colour preserver on the underside of the feather. Then just lay the feather on the rod. Smooth down with the edge of the tweezers or a bodkin. The colour preserver will dry in a couple of minutes and you can add another feather, etc. Epoxy and let dry.

 

[phearless]

Good idea

What a great idea Prof.
That way you will get the true colour of the feather.
I will try it and let you know how I do.
Thanks for sharing.