I would be interested as well as being a "Plucker". If no one else is interested in plucking maybe I could work a deal as "Pluck Miester" ? BTW, This is the first e-mail from the "New" house, from the computer setting beside the "New" Tying Bench...8^))) Jimi
>Do this swap through Byard for purchasing the saddles . He can order what >he doesn't have. >He may even be able to divide the necks and send them to the individual >swappers. Mind you, I'm not volunteering him for anything. THANKS DonO...and yes that was stated factitiously...;^) It never fails...a surprise always awaits my return! OK folks here are my suggestions... I get to weasel out of the drudgery due to a contract that I signed with Whiting Farms that forbids the changing of any packaging. For instance, I am not allowed to divide a full cape into a half cape...I must purchase the partial capes from Whiting. So plucking and sorting and dividing is contractually disallowed...<VBG> Since there appears to be quite a bit of interest in a Whiting Co-op Swap I'll use the following numbers scenario. It can of course be adjusted. Twelve swappers join in...six full bronze saddles of different colors are purchased (hopefully from Line's End...<g>). You discuss amongst yourselves which six participants get to do the grunt work. Each of those six receives one of the saddles and twelve long zip-locks. They will pluck out all of the dry fly feathers and divide them equitably among the twelve bags and mail them out to the rest of the group. Those six will be doing all the work but there will be a benefit for their labors...they get to keep the plucked cape which contains some nice webby bugger hackle and fluffy marabou. Each bronze saddle will hackle a minimum of 500 dry flies. I just randomly picked a bronze saddle and counted 220 usable feathers...at a very conservative five flies per feather that actually equates to 1100 flies. But using this as an example you should each get about 18 feathers per color, which exceeds the quantity in a typical 100 pack. The only stumbling block that I foresee is the postal cost from plucker to swapper. It should only cost about sixty cents per mailing...or $6.60 per batch. I guess if you each ante up an extra $4, I could forward a portion of the cash with each of the saddles being sent to the pluckers. The cost for each participant would be $24 (6 saddles @$40 + the extra postage, divided by 12), for which you would each receive the equivalent of six 'fat' 100 packs...a $66 value. Looks like it could work. We are now open for discussion. keep tyin'...byard
