supaarcher

I've got a question for you, If I am fletching my arrows with a Right Helical, Do I want the Right wing feathers or the Left wing feathers. I bought some right wing feathers, and they have the little foam lip on the left side on the bottom, and they don't seam just right. Did I buy the wrong ones?

Arthur P

If the 'lip' is on the left side as you look at the feather from the back end, then it's a right wing feather. If it's on the left, looking at it from the leading end, it's a left wing. So, if your feathers have the lip on the left side looking from the back end, you got the correct ones for your right helical clamp.

supaarcher

thanks for clearing that up for me!

The lip is on the left side when you look at it from the back. So it sounds like these are the right ones. I bought some the other day however, that I believe are the wrong ones.

What would happen if you put a left wing feather on a right-helical? What if I put them on with my straight-fletch jig?

Arthur P

If you put on feathers with a clamp made for the opposite hand, they won't lay right on the shaft. They'll be noisy. They'll tend to pull pull apart. They'll wear out pretty quick. They'll work - if the glue bond is strong enough to keep them on the shaft - but they won't work as well as they should.

Using a straight clamp with a little offset to match the natural curve of the feather is fine.

Oh, by the way, never mix left wing and right wing feathers on the same arrow, even fletching them straight. Again, they'll work like that, but not very well.