SpokaneDude

flytire: already sold to him; ready to be shipped this am... as already stated above, I'm going to use your Xacto blade handle approach...

flytire: I am selling the Herter's Wing Took and going to use the proceeds to purchase the xacto knife (with some $ left over :-} ); your method couldn't be more simpler, and I don't tie large (> 12) anyway, so it will work perfectly... thanks for showing me... great idea! SD

flytire: that's an interesting way of doing it... unfortunately, I already purchased the Herter's unit, but haven't had time to try it out yet... I played around with it a bit, and must say, it doesn't seem to be that accurate (of course that could be a pilot error on my part too)... SD

Tjm: thank you for the info, especially the Craven article; I learned quite a bit from that article, and I appreciate your time locating it for me. (I didn't even know it existed!) Now I can feel better about tying the original Troth Elk Hair Caddis pattern! SD

So, nowhere do I see the exact (if that's possible) type of elk hair that will not flair, but rather allow it to lie as a tent... can someone please enlighten me? And if there is any tying secret to get it to lie as a tent, that would be appreciated too! SD

Dubs: Nicely tied... what is it? :-} SD

planettrout: got it! SD

Ahhh... thank you so much... in all my years working with websites, etc., I've never seen it where a user has to know HTML... very strange, in my opinion... :-} Again, thank you for spending the time working with me... SD

https://imgur.com/a/WsMQb

paste https://imgur.com/a/WsMQb I think this is what you meant... (I hope)... this is really frustrating... once I get it right, I'll have it! (still can't figure out how to get it inside my reply, but I'll settle for this now)

OK... signed in to imgur, here's what happens: An error occurred - You are not allowed to use that image extension on this community. (it's a .JPG) What do I do now?

mvendon: I never saw Planettrout's response including the link above... it's using dubbing, I am using 6" pieces of Antron yarn... I will try the comb approach and see what happens... thank you... Flytire: I just clicked on the link, (which is a valid URL), you are referring to and was able to see the image I uploaded... don't know why it didn't work for you... How can I include an image in my responses like you did? SD

Flytire: That won't work for the material I have... (see https://ufile.io/4zhwn)... and while you're at it, could you please tell me how I could include my image in my reply? :-} SD

I am trying to figure out how to blend Z-lon (or Antron) and Antron yarns to create the Emergent Sparkle Pupa; I don't want to cut them into small pieces and blend because I need to create the overbody which uses two different colors and proportions of Z-lon (or Antron) and Antron (3/4 Z-lon or Antron with 1/4 Antron). In some places the recipe calls for Z-lon, in other places it uses different colors of Antron blended. Any ideas on how to accomplish the blending of the two different colors without cutting them into tiny pieces? SD

Prybis: so it says... I was relying on the picture, which shows black... thanks for bringing that to my attention... SD

Oops... wrong pattern; I wanted to tie the Peeping Caddis/Eruciform Larvae (I have edited the comments above)

I'm tying the Peeping Caddis/Eruciform Larvae; I am melting the end to simulate the head of a Caddis pupa coming out of it's cocoon under the surface and splits it's pupal shuck...

I have some yellow Antron yarn (from several different brands) that when I heat it with a lighter flame, it melts the end a light brown color; but doing the same with olive, the end turns black. Shouldn't the yellow Antron turn black also? Any ideas why it's not turning black ?

tctrout: I can't tell you how many of your videos I have watched and learned from in the past 2 years! So nice to kinda-sorta meet you! A little background: I'm 75 years old, retired from being involved with computer programming in one way or another for 45 years. Two years ago my wife gave me her very old fly tying vise and a class to learn the basics of fly tying. I was hooked! So I tied many (maybe 50?) flies, not knowing what was what. Last year I stumbled onto Gary LaFontaine's Caddisflies book, and have been hooked on tying nothing but variations of Caddis flies since then. Can't wait for the season to open here in Spokane, WA on June 1st to try some of the flies I tied this winter. I use all natural materials as much as possible in my flies; if a pattern calls for foam or plastic wings, I pass it by. I'm a big fan of Antron, which I learned from Gary's excellent research into trout feeding. Thank you for responding to my question regarding the Herter's Wing Maker; your attachment is the instructions that came with the tool, which I was lucky enough to find on eBay in fairly good shape with four combs which were not in very good shape. But the Herter's tool is very hard to come by these days, so I'm looking for combs now that are not damaged. And thanks for the video... I was wondering exactly how to tie the wings in! Keep up the great tutorials... a lot of folks like me learn from tiers like you... Best Wishes, Spokane Dude (Rolf Marsh)

On the video I watched, the guy was using Fixatif, so that's what I went with... Have 2 Teal wings that I'm going to try (again) this coming week, one at a time using a careful measurement! SD

mvendon: using the Herter's tool, you have to have 2 of the same size combs... which I don't have...yet! flytire: no, you have to have 2 combs of the same size, and cut them one at a time; the only thing that makes you able to do two at the same time (still not cutting at the same time) is setting them up so they are cutting the exact same place on both quills. SD

Thanks everybody... I think I've got it now... :-} SD

In the YouTube video I saw, the demonstrator first sprays the wing with Fixatif and from that point on, the base is out of sight of the camera until he's finished pushing the comb through the wing barbs. However, that doesn't separate the complete wing barbs from each other... that's why I was wondering if you pull the wing out from the comb, while the comb can further separate the barbs so that they are individually connected to the quill... (sure hope that makes sense). This is what I tried to do today, but the wing was a cheap-o that had a curved quill, so it didn't exactly work correctly... or at least the way I thought it should. SD

I found a Herter's Prof Wing Maker on eBay last week; all the parts are there (combs and base) and I tested it on some cheap turkey wings. The instructions are not that clear, and I found only one (1) tutorial on YouTube, which wasn't of much help either. My problem/question is: after you set the wing proper on the base, and then push the comb into the wing, do you pull the wing away from the comb before removing the comb, thereby effectively separating each of the new wings? That is the only way I can see making this work... Any ideas, or am I using it correctly? SD

flytire: thanks for the wonderful diagram... this will really help me with my tying... SD