Fine Feathered Finial

[Ed Morgano]

My son is building a new house not far from me. A few weeks ago I was there checking on the progress and found a feather on the ground. It gave me the idea to use it for a finial. To be well stocked up, I went online and ordered about 20.00 worth of feathers. I had no idea what kind I wanted to use but 20.00 worth of feathers is enough to last several lifetimes. Before anyone gets any ideas, I already have a patent on this.....haha. C&C needed and welcome. I'm thinking of doing a series of feathered finials.
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[Bill Wyko]

Ed, I think that is quite a clever idea. The turnings are very attractive and the choice of feathers are on the money. Another door opens in the finial world. Thanks Ed.

[Sid Matheny]

Neat idea Ed! Are you putting anything on the feathers?

Sid

[John Keeton]

Aside from being outside the box, and very color coordinated - they sure are easier to turn!!!!:D

[Scott Hackler]

Neat idea Ed.

[Jon McElwain]

Cool forms! For some reason I thought of Marvin the Martian when i first opened the thread! What are the materials - wood, finish, bird, etc?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really cool pieces Ed and neat idea.

[Ed Morgano]

Neat idea Ed! Are you putting anything on the feathers?

Sid Nothing on the feathers. I thought about spraying them with clear coat but decided to try natural. After all, natural works for the bird.


Cool forms! For some reason I thought of Marvin the Martian when i first opened the thread! What are the materials - wood, finish, bird, etc? The wood is laminated layers of Poplar. I'm really sorry I chose it because some of the sap wood just soaked up the finish and it took forever. The finish is spray on clear enamel from ACE. The feathers are unknown. As I said. I bought several bags of assorted feathers.....some colored and some natural. I also don't know what bird the black and white striped feather that I found comes from.

[Baxter Smith]

Now that is something different! Can't wait to see the peacock one!

[Ed Morgano]

Now that is something different! Can't wait to see the peacock one!
Baxter, funny you should mention that. I did buy a bag of peacock feathers. I had no idea how big they were.....guess I'm going to need someone to turn a really big HF to fit my Peacock finial... :eek:

[David E Keller]

Pretty cool, Ed! I kind of get a burlesque feel from the red one.

Not having ever purchased feathers, it seems like a $20 bag of feathers would be a whole lot of feathers! Looking forward to seeing the colorful array you create to utilize all of them!

[Dan Hintz]

Mind sharing where you got the feather assortments?

[Kathy Marshall]

Neat idea Ed, and nice color coordination!

[Ed Morgano]

Mind sharing where you got the feather assortments?
Dan,
Don't ask me how I found them but the website is:http://www.dickblick.com/categories/feathers/

[Dan Hintz]

Oh, I have Dick Blick's site bookmarked, I just never realized they had feathers... and that's one to grow on. thanks :)

[John Keeton]

Dan, while you are at it, DickBlick is where I order the Procion MX dyes - just in case you want to try some of those when you get that big "new" lathe!!

[Jeff Nicol]

I pick up feathers all the time while I am out and about in the woods, I have a bunch of them stuck in a piece of tin in the shed where my sawmill is stored. Most of them are turkey feathers, but lots of woodpecker, crow, bluejay and who knows what. But with that being said when I first opened it it looked like an old German military helmet!

Great Idea and good luck to your son and the new house,

Jeff

[Dan Forman]

No idea what the barred feather is, but the red ones are Guinea Fowl, dyed red. I used to tie flies, have a ton of feathers!

Dan

[Dan Hintz]

Dan, while you are at it, DickBlick is where I order the Procion MX dyes - just in case you want to try some of those when you get that big "new" lathe!!
Thanks for the reminder, John... I figured that load of Poplar I grabbed late last year would be perfect for some trials at dyeing.

[Michelle Rich]

very unusual vessels on a stick. the black one reminds me of Darth vader..the white spots may be eyes!! yikes! I adore the red color. If I had to choose I would pick the red one, as i like the "thicker" finial and the bright color. WILD!

[Dan Hintz]

I also don't know what bird the black and white striped feather that I found comes from.
Assuming it's not a painted feather, it looks like a ladder-back woodpecker.

[Ed Morgano]

Assuming it's not a painted feather, it looks like a ladder-back woodpecker.

Dan,
You're probably right. We have a lot of woodpeckers here. I'm not fimiliar with the breeds, but we have red headed woodpeckers and some smaller ones that are mostly black. Thanks.