Rack, some feathers aren't ground real well and have a lot of pith left on the bases. The pith soaks up glue like a sponge, before it can set. That's exactly what sent me to using fletching tape instead of glue.

On the other hand, I've never had it soak through the quill and soak the barbs themselves!

C- Just trying to be helpful, so don't get bent out of shape with me. A little constructive criticism and a hint or so.

I've got a feeling that the glue problems you described - with what sounds like glue getting on everything within a 500' radius[:-] - is more the result of sloppy, rushed technique and disorganized work space than anything else. And repositioning fletches? Shouldn't ever have to reposition a fletch. Once you're ready to go to the jig with that clamp, everything should be 'right'.

Plan out your job. Get out everything you need and no more than what you need.

Organize your work area and keep it organized as you work. When you pick up a pair of scissors and use them, then put them back in the same place when you're done. Five minutes later, the next time you need the scissors, you won't be searching around wondering what the $%^! you did with those #$%! scissors!

Develop hand movements and techniques that you can repeat EXACTLY at each step for each fletch. Remember that each fletch is an entire operation in itself and each operation is 1/3 of the total job. When each step of each operation is consistent, then each operation is consistent with every other operation. When all the operations are consistent, the total job is consistent and professional looking.

Finally, RELAX. Fletching is not a race. Getting in a hurry causes mistakes. A mistake costs you three times the time you would have used by doing it right in the first place. 1) You wasted the time it took to apply the fletch in the first place. 2) While you peel the fletch off, you could have been indexing the jig and loading the clamp with the fletch for the next station. 3) As you're replacing that fletch, you should have been placing the fletch for the next station.

With tape, I can do a dozen arrows in less than an hour - about 45 minutes - when I get my technique going good. When I get in a hurry and try to go fast, I can do a dozen arrows in just over an hour.