This has stuck with me because I'm curious about how the processing is done.

They way everyone here is talking is that it's stupid to try and repurpose hundreds of dollars of down and that's a problem that just bugs me. It's one that's just begging for a solution.

I've watched a few videos online and it seems to me that a machine like those used to fill those down comforters where they manufacture them could be rigged at home with a small Shop-Vac.

No doubt it wouldn't be as slick as what those comforter manufacturers are using, but it should work.

Same with sorting down. Again, it seems to me that there should be some easy way to rig a contraption at home to do this, and again, a Shop-Vac comes to mind to power it.

Here are some good videos:

This one shows samples of several types and quality down.


This one show a machine used to fill down "Duvets".


This is not as informative, but it shows manufacturing process, so it's worth looking at too:


But I still haven't found one that shows sorting down from feathers...