Wednesday 11 April 2012

Making Traditional Quill Floats

First you’ll need to find a colony of Geese that have moulted.

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Cut it to length and remove all the flights with scissors and a Stanley blade.

Make a loop rind for the line to go through and chamfer the edges for the whipping to pass along.

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Attach the loop to the bottom of the float and it should look like this prior to whipping.

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Whip of the loop and dip the end in white paint. Hang it out to dry and apply another coat when it’s ready. Then after that’s, dry dip into the colour of your choice leaving a small band of white. When dry, whip your desired pattern and colour and apply the first coat or varnish.

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Hang up to dry for 24 hours in-between coats and you will need to apply several to get the desired finish.

The factory……….
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You can also make insert floats this way, find two quills of similar size but with one slightly narrower than the other. Cut the thicker one as far as the hollowness will allow and an inch and a half off the narrower one. Chamfer the edges and fit inside with superglue.

This is what your floats will look like when completed.

The Insert Stalkers….
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Finished Quills……….
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Give it a go…………..

2 comments:

  1. SK, I love the floats, if you wish I have a stock of end float loops made from very lightweight wire, (purpose made for floats) if you want me to post some send me a sign...smoke signals are accepted!

    thetuesdayswim.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cheers Tad

    I'll be in touch mate, much appreciated.

    SK

    ReplyDelete