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Tools

Started by Traditionalist, October 25, 2011, 04:07:06 PM

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Traditionalist

One of the most frequently asked questions on the various news groups and other forums in the recent past has been "how do I start fly-dressing, should I buy a kit" or "separate materials."

When I started fly-dressing almost forty years ago, there were not many kits on the market, and what was available was of relatively poor quality, and usually full of unsuitable material. I still have most of a kit I was presented with on my eighth birthday I still remember how excited and enthusiastic I was when I received it. I just could not wait to get started. It was not long however before I realized that the tools and materials were not particularly suited to the type of tying I wanted to do, and were of fairly poor quality to boot!

In the meantime fly fishing and fly-dressing, usually referred to as "Fly-tying",  have become so popular that there are many firms catering to the needs of the fisher and tier. Some of the products offered by these firms are of excellent quality, including the fly-dressing kits, this is unfortunately still not much use to a beginner, as he is incapable of deciding what he needs due to lack of knowledge and experience.

I would like to describe another method of getting started tying which has proved its worth over the years I have been teaching classes.

By far the best plan is to go to classes, ask at your local tackle shop, or evening school, many classes are offered nowadays. If you can not get to a class, or do not have the money to pay for one, then read on, this is for you !

Deciding what you want to tie is the first step in the plan, I will assume for the moment you wish to start tying trout flies, as this is what most people want to do when they start.

The first and most important piece of equipment required is a decent vice. There are hundreds of vices on the market now, some good some bad, and in a massive range of prices and quality. I can only give my personal opinion here, and as I have not tried every vice available I cannot comment on the possible merits or demerits of them all. However experience at my dressing classes has shown that most people get away very well with the Thompson model A vice or various clones of it. This is a modestly priced tool which works well and will last a long time. There are cheap Indian variations of this vice available, and they work as well, but are of inferior quality, and will not last so long. If this is not a consideration, then by all means buy one of these. They do work.

Next most important tool to consider is Scissors. You will need two pairs, one fine pair of surgical scissors of the finest quality you can obtain, do not try to save money here, buy the best you can afford, cheap scissors can ruin your day at the tying bench! Buy a second pair of slightly larger scissors of medium quality for cutting wire, Quill stems and other tough materials, do not use your good scissors for this purpose it will ruin them. I also have a small very sharp scalpel or craft knife on my bench for cutting tying thread floss etc off very close to the hook, this has the advantage of only cutting the thread etc when it is held under tension, hackles wings etc are less likely to be cut inadvertently with this tool, a mishap which often plagues beginners when using scissors.

Hackle pliers are next on the list, there is now a bewildering variety of these tools on the market, some good some not so good, many have been designed for specific purposes. I recommend the standard teardrop shaped pliers and I only use medium ones, the small ones are so small that I can not get my finger through the loop which I like to do when winding hackle, and the large ones are invariably too cumbersome. Place a small piece of rubber tube over one or both of the jaws, this helps to hold the hackles firmly, and prevents the jaws from damaging fine hackle enough to break it when winding, a most frustrating experience.

You may start tying simply by cutting off a piece of thread about eighteen inches long and applying this to the hook as later described. During tying pauses or on completion of an operation, simply clip the hackle pliers to the thread letting it hang down from the vice. This method works perfectly well, and many people still use it.

A much better method is to use a bobbin holder. This piece of equipment has several advantages over the aforementioned method. It prevents the thread from getting dirty, it automatically tensions the thread when left hanging, preventing the work from coming undone, it allows much faster and far more precise winding of the thread, and a good ceramic bobbin holder such as the Tiemco will also prevent fraying, another bugbear for the beginning tier.

Last but not least you will need a dubbing needle. Buy a packet of medium sewing needles, and glue one into the end of a piece of dowel, ballpoint pen case or similar. Best is a handle with at least one flat surface, this prevents the needle rolling about on the bench, or even worse rolling off completely, as Murphy´s Law then states that it will fall in such a way that it will stick in your foot! This will suffice for all your needs. Dubbing needles are used for picking out dubbing, which is fur or wool or other material usually applied to the flies body using techniques we will discuss later, applying varnish or dope to the head of a fly to finish it off, splitting feathers to form wings or the like, picking out trapped hackle strands and similar operations.

You may also add a whip finisher to this list, many people use them, but it is possible to just use your fingers. Whip finishers are used for tying the final knot at the head of the fly on completion. I find most beginners prefer to use the tool, as they find it easier than the rather complex manipulation of the fingers required to perform a whip finish on small flies. There are several types, all work, so choose one you fancy. Some people advocate the use of so called "half hitches" to finish the fly, or at pauses between operations to secure the work. I consider this extremely bad practise, and would never advocate it under any circumstances, it makes for poorly tied flies.

A Picture of the tools discussed so far is shown below.



    These are, from left to right:

    Dubbing needle, bobbin threader, fine scissors, bobbin holder, whip finisher, hackle pliers

Some of these tools you can make yourself quite easily, and we will go into this in a later article.

Traditionalist

Various tools are used for manipulating hackle and other things. Rotary pliers gave become quite popular;



Quite a few people prefer rotary hackle pliers for a number of things, here is an easy way to make some. Get one of the small "English" type hackle pliers. Now all you need is a key ring, and a barrel swivel. Slip the barrel swivel over the hackle pliers, and then the other end over the key-ring.

Voila! Rotary hackle pliers:



I have used a "snap-link" here, as the last lot of these I made up were snapped up by people from my fly-dressing class, and I have no barrel swivels to hand right now. The somewhat larger stainless steel barrel swivels as used for sea-fishing etc are the best. Quite a few people get on much better with these pliers than with the "normal" type.

You can use a handle instead of a key ring if you like. If you want "shock absorption" use a small spring between the barrel swivel and the keyring. or handle.

TL
MC

Traditionalist

#2
There are so many types now, that the only way to find what works, and suits you, is to try a few.

"Sets" tend to be expensive, and contain colours you don´t need. I have some pantone pens, some from Letraset, and I also have some others. I just go into the shop, buy one that seems to suit for my intended purpose, and if it is OK, I know I can buy that one , or some from that range in future.

Here are just some examples, ( Scroll down to see the blurb);

The letraset pro-marker twin tip pens are very good for lots of things;
http://www.wharfedaleanglingonline.co.uk/prodtype.asp?strPageHistory=category&numSearchStartRecord=0&strParents=81&CAT_ID=155&numRecordPosition=6

But most artist's shops and similar will have ranges of pens which use alcohol based spirit dye.

They do save a great deal of time, effort , and money. With one grizzly cape and a good set of pens, you can dress hundreds of flies. Of course the same applies to other capes , dubbing, etc etc. Howerver, the same applies as wehn dyeing capes etc, the material must be clean and degreased.

The tips vary widely on these pens, and if you want to put delicate markings on mayfly abdomens, ( I don´t, but many do!), then a 1/4" felt tip is not much use to you. Is however ideal for "stroking" the colour onto a hackle. It is always better to colour your hackles etc before your tie them in, with dubbing, after it is tied in. I have found that stroking hackle on a piece of polythene taped to a sheet of paper gives good results, and wastes less ink/dye.

If you want these pens, then go to an artist´s shop and have a look around. here is just a small selection;

http://www.dickblick.com/search/?q=markers&x=0&y=0&sp_cs=UTF-8

Chartpak are good as well, but expensive here.. Edding is common here I can buy them fairly cheaply at the local supermarket, but not always in the colours I want.

One last point. If you "blend" colours using these, you can not always use different pens to do it, as the solvents are different. Also, you MUST!!! use the lightest pen first, and then move on to the darker pens. If you don´t do this, you will ruin your lighter pens, as they soak up the darker colour on the tips!

TL
MC

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