This guide starts where "Feather Preparation" ended. Even if you buy pre-cut (turkey) feathers you will be at the same spot.

Here is the basic material for fletching arrows:

		For shortening alu shafts to appropriate length you should use a pipe cutter. You also see bought turkey feathers, notches and tips in this picture		For shortening carbon shafts, a cutting wheel is your best bet. Everything else might hurt the shafts. Also, tongs are quite useful if you put on tips and notches.

1. Shorten the shafts

It is recommendable to always use arrows of appropriate length. But what is appropriate length?

Short answer: Half of your body's height.

Longer answer: Measure from your throat along your outstrechted left arm to your finger tips and add about 5cm. Then you are on the save side.

Depending on the shaft material, you should use different cutting tools.

Aluminium: Use a pipe cutter.

Carbon: Use a cutting wheel.

Bamboo: Use a fine saw.

2. Preparation of the shafts

Put on the notches and tips by using hotglue. It helps to heat up the tips over a flame to make sure the glue attaches good over the whole shaft. Same is true for the notches. But as they are plastic, you have to be quite careful not to ruin them. You can heat up the shaft instead. Here you have to be careful if you are using carbon shafts. They do not react too well to too much heat.

Note: Aluminium shafts need sanding on the cut side. Otherwise you might encounter problems to put on the notch or tip.

3. Fletching

The first step is to sort your feathers and cut them to appropriate size:

			There are feathers for Haya and for Otoya. You need 3 feathers of the same "direction" for each arrow. If you are making a set of arrows, make sure you have the same amount of Haya as Otoya.
	The feathers above are shortend to the measurements showed in the graphic on the right. The measurements shown are a recommendation only! It is also fine to have  16cm total length and/or only 1cm where now 2cm is written. It depends on the feathers you have available as well as on the length of the arrows etc.
			Here are cut feathers, ready to be put on a shaft. Left: Turkey feathers for Otoya Right: Buzzard feathers for Haya

 For the following you will need a flechting tool. It allows you to put on the feathers straight in line with the shaft and defines the right angle around the shaft. Also, it keeps the feathers savely in place until the glue sticks.

Before you can start glueing, you have to prepare your fletching tool though. The following things need checking:

1. Does the notch of the arrow fit on the notch holding? These tools are made for western archery and these notches are different. Usually, you have to make this holding thiner
2. Most fletching tools have "build in" positions for three- and four-feather-arrow. Make sure you choose the one with three positions!
3. There is a screw fixing the notch holding. With it you can adjust the angle between the notch holding and the (three) feather positions and you can move it back- and forwards.
   
   • Make sure that one feather position is directly above the notch.
     
   • It makes your life easier if you can see the notch. In the picture below, you also see a fine notch in the notch holding. This the position where the notch is vertical. If you fletching tool does not have this notch, mark that position yourself.
     
4. The last thing to check is the position of the "slide" that defines where the feather is put on the shaft (horizontal speaking). Please be aware that this position is not the same for Haya and Otoya. Check this carefully to make sure the feathers are in the middle of the shaft. With the marked screws you can adjust this position.
   

After careful rechecking of all points above, there is one last thing to do: Mark the shaft where to glue the feathers on. For this, you will need the following graphic:

	These are the traditional measurements.You can also go with easier numbers. For instance (left to right): 2.5cm, 2cm, 1cm, 1cm.

Now, put a shaft into the fletching tool and clip a feather into the clamp.

Then put on a good portion of glue along the quill.

And put it onto the fletching tool

To be on the save side, wait about 10 minutes before you carefully take off the clamp and turn the know to the left for the next feather position to put on the next feather.

 When all three feathers are on, you should let this arrow rest for at least 24 hours before going on. During this time the glue will become completely dry.

4. Bindings

The next step requires a fine rasp. One with diamond dust on it is just perfect for that job. You now want to make the quills as thin as possible. The thiner they are, the nice the bindings will look. Remember, there are two sides each feather to grind.

As soon as you are happy with the quills, you have to decide between two basic options to do the bindings:

• Do a real binding with a thin thread
• Glue thin paper around the shaft and put urushi lacquer on it afterwards

Both ways are traditional and equally good. Colourwise, you have more options when using the thread as urushi is only available in black, red and nature (which turns out to be brown). Doing the paper bindings is a bit less work.

As a reminder here the measurements for the bindings again:

These are the traditional measurements.You can also go with easier numbers. For instance (left to right): 2.5cm, 2cm, 1cm, 1cm.

Paper Bindings
Use rice paper or wrapping paper. Glue it on and soak it with wood glue.

Thread Bindings
It is very important to use Viscose (Rayon) thread. Everything else will react badly to glue and lacquer (frazzle).
Always wind to the feather (never away from it).
Never let the thread cross itself.
There are 2 options to fix the ends of the thread

1. just glue it in place (wood glue)
2. take a needle and pull the end through some bindings

When you are done with the winding, soak the whole length with wood glue. As soon as the glue is dry, you should lacquer it as well.
You have two basic possibilities again:

1. nail polish - it is ok but not very durable
2. spar varnish - great material and very durable but expensive as well. The key point is that this lacquer stays flexible.

5. Finishing the feathers

The final step is cutting the feathers. Two points are important:

• You will need very sharp scissors. I can recommend these from Dick.
• Always cut from the back to the front
  
  

Below is the traditional form

Congratulations, you have just finished your own arrows!

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Please leave me a note if there are unclear spots. I will put in a few more pictures when I am done with my two arrow projects (paper bindings on one project, thread bindings on the other).