I have acquired a very large no. of good goose quills, an un-considered (by that farmer at least) by-product of the annual Christmas slaughter. I now make my own floats for the first time in 35 yrs. I understand that I need to use proper rubber float rubbers, not silicone, not neoprene.

Have bought some rubber tube (wheel-cylinder bleed tube for those who remember such a thing) but the wall-thickness is too great. E-bay has lead me to a variety of enema tubes.......................Mrs. Bonce not amused, can't think why.

Can you help with a source? If anyone can tell me why modern silicone float rubbers (as I will continue to call them until told better) won't do, I will be grateful. Those that I have checked in my local tackle shop are of too small diameter for my floats - they were Drennan.

I will be grateful for a nudge in the right direction.

Thanks.

Old fashioned bicycle shop, two metres of old fashioned brown bicycle valve rubber, sorted for the next thirty years.... 

mind you, first find your old fashioned bicycle shop.

Nothing wrong with silicone as far as I am aware ?  and those tiddly little tiny things are for carbon / wire stem type pole floats, not the real thing.

PS.  Don't goose quills need a good long time 'resting' to dry them out and stiffen the quills a wee bit ?   Will still possibly be a wee big 'green' if they have come from this last Christmas's cull ?.

Primarily in calligraphy use and practice I know (where stiffness really does count), but also good practice for fishing as they can be a wee bit soft unless and until dried out for six months or so. I just shove my quills round the back of the hot water tank in the airing cupboard, tied in loose bundles standing vertically and out of the way of 'er indoors.  Then just forget them until time of need a couple of months or years later or so when the creative float making urge comes upon me again.  By then they are good and stiff and ready to use !

Good luck....

Evan, thanks very much indeed for your helpful guidance. Old-fashioned bike shop found at 4th 'phone call and only a mile away. It even smelled of old-fashioned bike shop - all rubbery! (Unlike 'old-fashioned' tackle shops which only smell of boiled things......) 2ft of old-fashioned valve rubber @ 50p/ft, job done.

Re. 'seasoning' quills in the airing cupboard. Thanks for the tip; I'll do that and see what happens. Mine have been 'air-drying' for just over a month and I've made half a doz.  Thanks again for your help. FM really is a great resource (the best I've found, yet.). Mike