TerryMH

Mouse or yak?

I made a dubbing brush machine last winter. The design incorporates some features I liked on commercial machines and some of the DIY versions I saw on the internet. With regard to the original poster who wanted to make longer brushes, my machine is designed for the option. The base has a T-track and the various components of the machine attach to the base through the T-track. Thus they can be repositioned if one wants to change the length and more importantly, it is a small task to make a much longer base if one wants to make really long brushes.

 

The hook fixture on the left has a spring loaded element that will move inward as the brush shortens. There is a screw knob to adjust the tension on the spring. The rotating head at the right end is crank driven with the shaft mounted on a pair of bearings. So far I haven't felt a need to motorize the thing - the crank works fine.

 

I have found brushes that are around 12" work fine for me. I use them mainly for pike flies.

 

I wish I could find a way to make the pictures show bigger. I've tried resizing them but they still show up the same.

 

 

I saw a bunch a few weeks ago, but the partridges were still wearing them.

Trolls actually, the pre-internet kind.

Just got an idea.

 

 

 

 

I've been told, and it seems true, that Gink is repackaged Albolene... you can get a 12oz tub of Albolene at the drug store for about $13 vs $6 for a small tube of Gink. Plus Albolene has many other uses...

 

 

Have you personally used Albolene as a floatant?

I've had a jar of Albolene kicking around for a few years and after following this thread I finally tried it last week. I couldn't see any difference between it and Aquel, which is what I normally use. Anyway, it looks like I have a lifetime supply of floatant for under $20.

 

Gotta love chironomids.

Amazing that a trout that big would bother with such a small meal.

It's always puzzled me too, but on still water, my largest trout are usually caught with chironomids.

Gotta love chironomids.

Clean hands, washing hands prior to tying makes dubbing much easier!

I agree. Another thing I do to help with dubbing and a few other things is to have a small plastic container with a wet sponge on my desk. A quick touch of the finger tips on the sponge provides just the right amount of moisture and avoids licking the fingers as I often see tiers do. Given all the dead animal parts we deal with, the finger licking is probably not a good idea.

I absolutely find it easier to tie off on the post. I've tried all the different options over many years, and "on the post" is by far the easiest and cleanest. Also, since my vise is on a metal base I can rotate it a bit too as well as rotating the post toward me, so the whip finish is being done on a horizontal axis oriented not very different from a normal whip finish at the eye. Doing it this way is also the easiest way to prevent capturing hackle fibres when finishing. But as I said, you have to do what ever you find most comfortable.

Good video and nice fly.

 

I prefer to tie off on the post. I use a full rotary vise and rotate the fly so that the post is pointing toward me. I guess it's a matter of what works best for one.

If I were doing it, which I almost certainly won't, I'd either wind the ribbing without the gallows and if I wanted to do the post, I'd either use my Renzetti non-rotating tool and finish it off. Plenty of room there. While it was explained to me clearly, subsequent thinking on the subject leaves me still confused. Sorry but I don't see an advantage. Seems clumsy to me. Maybe why Renzetti dropped it 20 years ago.

 

Not sure what you're arguing against. What you've described i.e. "I'd either wind the ribbing without the gallows and if I wanted to do the post, I'd either use my Renzetti non-rotating tool and finish it off," is exactly what I've described several times as being the simplest approach. All I was trying to tell Idaho was that if he really wanted both a gallows and full rotary function at the same time, is that it could be accomplished.

 

Both Idaho and I (and presumably many others) have made nice brass gallows attachments for a couple of bucks worth of brass rod versus spending $60 or whatever Renzetti charged. I'm thinking Renzetti probably figured out nobody was going to pay big bucks for something so simple and of rather limited use, and that's why they dropped it.

It's only if you use the rotary function when winding dubbing and/or ribbing on the abdomen, which like to do. That's why when I'm doing hackle stack flies I'll complete each fly up to the end of where the rotary is useful and then tie it off. After I've done a bunch up to that point, I take the bobbin cradle off, mount the gallows attachment, and then complete each fly. I have no choice to do it this way since my gallows attachment uses the same clamp that the cradle does so I can only have one or the other attached. In Idaho's case, his attachment clamps on the rotary shaft that holds the jaws, so he can have the bobbin cradle and gallows both attached. The only constraint is that the top and bottom portions of the gallows, as shown in his photo, are so long that they won't clear the base if rotated. Hope that clarifies.

If you're really concerned about maintaining full rotary function, you could reduce the height of the gallows attachment by getting rid of the spring and clip. You don't really need them if tying hackle stackers. If you look at my attachment you'll see a hook bend at the end. Loop the thread over the gallows one or more times to form the "post" for the stack. There is enough flex in the gallows to provide tension in the loop. The spring and clip aren't necessary. Obviously if you're doing parachutes, they are, but the question becomes why do you need a gallows for parachutes?

Nicely done, Idaho ... until you want to rotate the vise and fly. That gallows will not allow that!

It doesn't really matter much. When I'm tying hackle stackers, I do a bunch and tie them off before I need the gallows. Then I swap the bobbin cradle for the gallows and finish off each fly - easy peasy.

Perfect! Now let's see some hackle stackers. They are some of my favourite flies and they are lots of fun to tie.

Nice job!

 

Funny you mention that. The hackle stacker flies are exactly what prompted me to check into this. 1/8" rod will fit perfectly in the front hole in the Master Vise. I just need some 1/8 rod. Do you have some more you would be willing to ship? I figured I will give the hardware store a try next week and see if they have and of the rod.

 

Home Depot or Lowes should have it in the section where they have aluminum extrusions, steel rod, etc. If you can't find it there, go to any hobby shop that deals with model building (not Michaels). Actually the brass version was the Mark II version. The first go round was made with a piece of coat hanger wire. It worked fine too, but didn't match the Renzetti quite as nicely.

I've never needed an attachment for parachute flies, but if you're doing hackle stacker flies, and don't have three hands, then a gallows attachment definitely comes in handy. I made one for my old Renzetti simply using some 1/8" brass rod that attaches in the same bracket used for the bobbin cradle.

 

 

Nice video! I love cutties, especially on dries.