Fly Head Cement prices!?!?!?

[DWSmith 0]

<rant>

After just barely looking I've seen up to $7.49 an ounce for lacquer based head cement and $5.99 an ounce for thinner???  Seriously?  Come on!

A. K. Best says to go to the hardware store or paint store and buy a quart of clear, glassy lacquer and a pint of lacquer thinner for less than $10 (probably more than that now but you get the point).

I'm getting back into tying a fly now-and-then after years of not tying.  My old bottle of head cement has thickened a bit over the years so I poured some Parks Lacquer Thinner I have from a big box store into the bottle and it's good as new.

I'm amazed at some of the ridiculous prices out there but thank goodness there are some more reasonably priced vendors online.  But it's still crazy.

This hobby seems like a do-it-yourselfer's dream for seeing how many ways you can do things just as well but much cheaper than buying commercially made products.

</rant>

Just saying although I don't meant to be preaching to the choir.

Some of you collect fur or feathers from road kills.  Some have listed hobby/craft store items to use for tying.  I've seen homemade dubbing wax videos and fly floatant videos.

After all, tying your own fishing flies is a DIY activity.

This is a really good hobby for someone to express their creativity and imagination.  I wish I had known of this website when I tied a few flies years ago.  Maybe I wouldn't have stopped tying.

[chugbug27 0]

99 cent store or dollar store has clear nail polish (topcoat). Use that. Cut the bristles off the brush except for five or so  Don't bother with buying thinners. (Many don't use it at all any more and just double whip.)

[DWSmith 0]

Thanks!  That's the type of stuff lots of us need to share.

I do have a bottle of clear nail polish next to my fly head cement.  The cement came with my fly tying kit and I bought the nail polish later when I heard it would work.

Looks like on this site many people do share this type of information but for the beginner who doesn't know any better I feel sorry.

Do you think the Beginner's Corner should have a pinned thread of tips and tricks like this?

[SilverCreek 0]

As I posted before, head cement is clear nail polish and head cement thinner is nail polish thinner.

Buy Sally Hansen clear nail polish and Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Thinner.

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?/topic/93330-what-type-of-head-cement/

[Jaydub 0]

A small bottle of head cement lasts me a long, long time. If I had the lacquer already for other projects I would use it. Otherwise, I don't see the economy in buying a quart of lacquer, most of which I will never use. 

[SilverCreek 0]

Like Chugbug wrote, buy a bottle of clear nail polish at the dollar store.

[flytire 0]

[niveker 0]

Yup. Clear nail polish, small container of toluene for when it gets too thick, and you'll never buy fly store head cement again. 

I have lacquer I sometimes use to coat wings before tying them in for certain patterns like hoppers

[gadabout 0]

I think you have to pick your battles when it comes to trying to save money on fly tying supplies.  The things that you can source from craft stores tend to be things that aren’t all that expensive to begin with, and you will probably end up with 10 times as much as you’re going need in your lifetime.  A bottle  of head cement is around $5 and will probably last me three years or so.   A bag of dubbing is less than $3, and I know that once I’ve bought it, I’ll never have to buy another of that color.

On the other hand, hooks and hackle are the heavy hitters.  The cost of hooks has gotten ridiculous.  It seems it wasn’t all that long ago when you could get a box of 100 Mustad hooks for around $5.  Now it’s more like twice that much for only a dozen or two.  The cost of a bag of strung saddle hackles is approaching $10.  It seems like you’re getting a lot out of a bag, but tying up some Deceivers recently, six Deceivers used up almost a whole bag.  About $6 for a pack of 20 fake Jungle Cock nails.  That’s only 10 flies worth. $.60 per fly.

[SilverCreek 0]

30 minutes ago, gadabout said:

I think you have to pick your battles when it comes to trying to save money on fly tying supplies.  The things that you can source from craft stores tend to be things that aren’t all that expensive to begin with, and you will probably end up with 10 times as much as you’re going need in your lifetime.  A bottle  of head cement is around $5 and will probably last me three years or so.   A bag of dubbing is less than $3, and I know that once I’ve bought it, I’ll never have to buy another of that color.

On the other hand, hooks and hackle are the heavy hitters.  The cost of hooks has gotten ridiculous.  It seems it wasn’t all that long ago when you could get a box of 100 Mustad hooks for around $5.  Now it’s more like twice that much for only a dozen or two.  The cost of a bag of strung saddle hackles is approaching $10.  It seems like you’re getting a lot out of a bag, but tying up some Deceivers recently, six Deceivers used up almost a whole bag.  About $6 for a pack of 20 fake Jungle Cock nails.  That’s only 10 flies worth. $.60 per fly.

I buy Saber hooks which is the "house brand" at The Fly Shack. they are about $7 for a box of 100 hooks,

Try a box and I think you will be satisfied.

https://www.flyshack.com/DisplayCategory.aspx?CatID=640&src=gaw&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6cKiBhD5ARIsAKXUdyb2SC5JYG35ksla89AEQFKP2Bl6vMs54Ou6Qw-LMVjYOS_wEWHqobYaAiNkEALw_wcB

 

 

[gadabout 0]

Yes, I’ve been buying them recently as well.  So far, so good. :)

[DWSmith 0]

I didn't make my point very well.  Sorry!

I'm not saying anything is wrong with these products, it's the prices, especially for someone looking to start tying.

For a beginner to think he/she needs to spend $7.49 for $0.69 worth of head cement and another $5.99 for $0.50 worth of thinner is getting a bit ridiculous.

Someone may think they need to start out with UV cured epoxy for head cement and spend $60 for a UV flashlight.

$14.95 for a tube of dubbing wax???

Some of these fly tying stations are nearly $1,000 and many are well over $250 and they're nice (I'd like to have one) but unnecessary.

Vises? Seems to be the sky is the limit on prices.

And so on ...

IMHO, there's no shame in using a used Thompson vise acquired from an auction site for $9.99 plus shipping and there are several good enough vises that can be bought new for less than $50.  Taking some scrap lumber to make a tool organizer, spool organizer, etc. works too.  Using craft store materials can really cut cost for the beginner and the advanced.  Cheap finger nail polish can work as a good head cement.  Acquiring feathers and fur from road kills may be 'on the edge' for some people but it will work and the price is right.  And so on ...

A beginner looking around may easily get the initial impression that he/she needs $1,000+ to get started and give up on the idea when really it can be a matter of $100 +/-.  And if they look around here more they can find tidbits of information on how to save a bundle of cash.

Perhaps there should be a pinned thread here in Beginner's Corner with these types of ideas useful to the Beginner collected together.  Just saying.

Anyway, this should clarify my point so I'll shut up now because I just looked in the barn and the horse is still dead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiPOC9Wwb6U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceXoNDKtYdg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6OjaJcdy6E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHUrrhxgEUk

 

 

[Poopdeck 0]

Welcome to fly tying! A place where you can knot yourself all up in the most expensive tools and materials or not. I choose the not. I don’t fret over the fact that my hackle is twice the hook gap when it should be the same or 1 1/2 the gap or the tail is a half a hook shank when it should be a full hook shank. The hook isn’t suppose to be there in the first place. A cream saddle looks the same color as a light Dunn to me and I’m sure the fish can’t see any better than I. I don’t fret errant fibers not being perfectly aligned with its neighbors and I really don’t care if my vise turns or just sits there. God bless America though because I’m free to do exercise enjoyment the way I want and those who enjoy wiz bang get to do what they enjoy. It’s a great thing that makes for great discussions from different points of view. 

[niveker 0]

Well said Poopdeck.  

[DWSmith 0]

Poopdeck,

As long as it can catch a fish I'm okay with it but I do admire the skills of many flytiers here.  I've asked before if some of the flies shown are really used for fishing or are just for display. They are works of art!

But many of the other flies shown here are the products of ingenuity, creativity, knowledge, and experience and show what works well without breaking the bank.  Show me more!  👍

If you haven't noticed from my previous posts I'm a cheapskate and it doesn't take the finest equipment and materials to catch panfish or any other fish that I know of.  (Flies tied on my Sunrise vise do catch fish.  The fish don't know what vise I've used.)  Commercially made lures,  flies,  etc. are mainly designed to catch fishermen in the sporting goods stores and may happen to also catch fish.

"I choose not."  I'm with you!