Tying Thread - Breakage

[martylee 0]

Hi - I am new to fly tying and one of the areas I am having a problem with is breaking the tying thread half way through a newly tied fly. :wallbash:

 

Any suggestions, help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Marty

[flykid 0]

You could be using too thin of thread or simply pulling too hard. You also could be nicking your thread on the hook point. On most trout flies you use a 6/0 thread. On larger streamers you can use 3/0. Then for spinning hair you use very eavy thread. When you get into flies sz. 20 and smaller you can use 8/0-10/0.

[WYKnot 0]

Marty,

 

Breaking thread is frustrating. You probably will break your thread once in a while, I learned how tight to wrap the thread by breaking it off a few times (well, maybe it was a lot of times)

 

Some things to consider:

 

1. Be sure you use the right thread for the job; 6/0 or 8/0 for most flies 12-20, heavier for spinning hair. Yes, there are some very fine tying threads for itty-bitty flies; wait until you master the more common thread sizes before investing in the really thin stuff.

 

2. Check the tension on your bobbin. I spread the bobbin to get a lighter drag, like to palm the spool to control tension. Find the tension you can comfortably control. Just remember, slack thread and loose wraps are your enemy at the tying vise.

 

3. Be careful around the hook point, it will reach out and grab thread when you are not watching.

 

4. Check to see if your bobbin tube has a nick or burr that is eating the thread. The ceramic tips really help keep things smooth.

 

Keep at it. Learning thread tension is important in tying flies; you want to use the fewest number of tight thread wraps you can on a fly.

[Fly Tyer Guy 0]

It also matters how much of a angle you are holding your bobbin. It adds friction to the thread on the tip of the bobbin. You need to somehow find a happy medium that works for you.

[letumgo 0]

Marty,

 

It looks like everyone has given you good advice. I would suggest that you try one more thing to help you get a better feel for the breaking strength of your tying thread. Mount up a hook in your vice and attach the tying thread to the front of the hook. Make 8 to 10 wraps of thread and then slowly pull on the bobbin to INTENTIONALLY break the thread. After the thread breaks off, remove the thread from the hook shank. Repeat this process a number of times, and in different directions (up, down, front, back, etc.). You will quickly get a feeling for the amount of tension the thread can take before breaking. If you have multiple bobbins of thread, repeat the experiment with a couple different spools. I have found some "bad" spools of thread (occasionally threads of exactly the same size and maker will have different breaking strengths) which may also be a source of frustration.

 

When I started out I used a bobbin with a metal tube. I was having a problem with thread breakage with this bobbin, even though the end of the tube looked smooth to the naked eye. I bought a new bobbin with ceramic inserts at both ends and my thread breakage problem was solved (except for the occasional hook-point snag or over enthusiastic pull).

 

Good luck and welcome to the site!

[zip 0]

I used to have this problem as well.

 

When your tying a fly your threads starts to spin and tension(not from your bobbin) but from the constant twisting motion can cause it to break.You can spin your bobbin in the opposite direction your tying and it will take care of the problem.Steven

[letumgo 0]

If you are a right handed tyer, you need to spin the bobbin counter clockwise to remove the twist created during tying. If you are a left handed tyer, spin the bobbin clockwise.

 

If your not sure which way to spin the bobbin, just let the bobbin hang after tying on a material and watch the way it wants to spin. It will naturally rotate to remove the twist in the thread when it is left hanging.

 

By the way, the trick about spinning the bobbin to remove thread twist comes in very handy when you are trying to get really smooth fly bodies or uniform heads on your flies. It's small but important detail. Be sure to remember Zip's tip when you start to do any flies that have floss or silk body work. Removing the tread twist eliminates the lumps and bumps in the body work.

[zip 0]

Thanks for clerifying that.I seem to have left that part out!

[martylee 0]

Thanks All

 

I have some more things to go on and try.

 

Marty

 

[WYKnot 0]

By the way, the trick about spinning the bobbin to remove thread twist comes in very handy when you are trying to get really smooth fly bodies or uniform heads on your flies. It's small but important detail.

Absolutely agree, particularly with Danville flat-waxed nylon thread (my favorite). Very smooth, non-bulky bodies come from keeping the thread counter-spun and flattened.

[JSzymczyk 0]

Don't tie a bunch of deer hair bugs with GSP then instantly try to tie some #12 wets with 6/0 thread......

[James Daly 0]

I've found that thread will do a little singing right before it breaks, the same way fishing line does when you've got a fly stuck in a tree. Oh wait, I'm a great caster so my flies don't get stuck in trees. I've only heard that from other people. Not me, LOL!!! Really that is the hardest part getting started. It's finding that place that you get the absolute maximum pressure to secure material, but still keep it from breaking. It honestly takes practice, everybody has given great advice. The best I can give is tie about 10 dozen flies, then you should have a better idea of the max load your different threads can take. Try tying big flies with small thread as well, this will teach you pretty quick. I may be able to control the thread perfectly in another 20 years! Practice, practice, practice. Later and keep tying!!! -Jamie

[madkasel 0]

I bought a set of cheapo bobbins off of eBay... most of them are great, but a couple will cut the thread every time. So that's where I'd look first.

 

If that's the case, I don't know how you'd fix it, though. I just put wire and lead and such on my bad ones.

[WYKnot 0]

I bought a set of cheapo bobbins off of eBay... most of them are great, but a couple will cut the thread every time. So that's where I'd look first.

 

If that's the case, I don't know how you'd fix it, though. I just put wire and lead and such on my bad ones.

I read that you can run some Kevlar thread through a nicked bobbin, work it back and forth, twirl it around the point where it exits the bobbin, to smooth things out a bit. Have not tried it.

[madkasel 0]

I bought a set of cheapo bobbins off of eBay... most of them are great, but a couple will cut the thread every time. So that's where I'd look first.

 

If that's the case, I don't know how you'd fix it, though. I just put wire and lead and such on my bad ones.

I read that you can run some Kevlar thread through a nicked bobbin, work it back and forth, twirl it around the point where it exits the bobbin, to smooth things out a bit. Have not tried it.

 

 

Thanks for the tip... sounds like it might be worth a try!