Fan Displays

[Cove]

The situation: When I killed my bird in CO this past season, I didnt have any borax and couldn't find any (I normally bring a ziplock bag full when flying oos). I tried to save the fan after I returned home with it in my carry on (nice aroma) but the meat at the base had gone bad and now I have the feathers individually laid out on cardboard. Does anyone have any displays with the feathers individually placed? I really dont want to scrap that fan but I'm at a loss as to how to work with it. Thanks for any help.

[timbrhuntr]

Is what you are looking for ?

http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php/topic,149887.0.html

[TRKYHTR]

Our own Hobbes did one similar in the taxidermy section of oldgobbler. The only thing he did different is that he used bondo instead of hotglue. I would recommend bondo. I've used both and the hotglue can get sticky after awhile. Especially if it gets warm.

TRKYHTR

[barry]

When I did fan mounts years ago I would separate  each individual feather from the meat and glue them one by one - primary then secondary layer - into the top of a plaque that I had routed a trough in. After gluing I would weight down the entire fan with books and weights to flatten it out and they turned out awesome.

[hobbes]

Use bondo like I show in the Taxidermy forum here.  Don't mix it too hot and you'll have plenty of working time.

[timbrhuntr]

Not to start a war or anything but the reason I posted the link is because he stated he had all the feathers individual. I am guessing no attachment. I found that it is easier to work with the hot glue when doing each feather one at a time and keeping them from moving around. Maybe I did it wrong but with bondo it seemed harder to keep all the feathers in the right spot while I tried to put the lump of bondo on them all. With hot glue you can do one it sticks then you do the next in order and the first one doesn't move. When I do the fan I usually have cleaned it but the feathers are still attached to each other at the base and one lump of bondo on the whole thing works great.

[hobbes]

No war with me, but I'd suggest setting the "lump of bondo" on plastic and then arranging the feathers into the bondo.  That was the reason for not mixing it hot, so there would be more working time. 

If I was worried that I couldn't work fast enough, then I may hot glue into place with one line of hot glue and follow up with the bondo.

There is no right or wrong way, just a preference.

[Cove]

Thanks guys. . . . I'll have to get to work.