Tools that you use that ARNT from flytying.

[lytle 0]

I just made up a list for my Dad. Things that I need him to send me so that I can tie up some stuff and that was left out of my goodie box. And it got me to thinking on how resorcefull we as fly tyers can actully be. Esp with the materials but also in the tool department...

Here are some of the Doo Dads that I have accumulated over the years that I use for tying..

 

Sewing needles- If they bend the wont work on the sewing machine...but they are great for applying little drops of head cement.

 

Small craft nails- Making Eyes on Thunder Creek Minnows. Started doing this while making spinner baits. Cut of the sharp parts and i actually have a nice selection of sizes to do various size eyes. have actually used needles also.

 

Emory boards- Ok..mom used to get really hacked when i would take these. great for shaping cork for poppers. I actually would split and glue wine corks on hooks. yup..did it the "Old School" way.

 

Split ring pliers- I never could use a whip finisher. countles ones have ended up being thrown so i just do the half hitch method. if my fingers arent behaving i just grab my small split ring pliers and use the part that has the little nib on them and off i go.

 

The Chopper- One hobby feeds another..This is a tool that is used by model railroaders to cut little peices of wod and plastic while building things. I use it to cut things to the same size..Chennel, floss, lead wire. it uses a single blade razor and it is replaceable.

 

The True Sander- another one of my ummmm rail road toys. I use it for getting the angle just right on poppers that are cork.

 

Guitar String- Ever loose your bobbin threader? I gave up buying them. so I snagged one of my little brothers guitar strings. the smallest one. ( I dont play just use em..lol) I formed a little bend in it. wrap a piece of thread around it and just pull the thing thru. IDK it works...lol..

 

Most of these have come about working really late getting flys done and loosing stuff that was needed...ok..so the cats take off with stuff from the room from time to time..thier way of getting back from the use of clippers and such..Come on..you have done it..lol...but like i said..late nights and WAY to much coffee is what made me do some of this. Most of the time it was like...I wonder if this will work....and when it does u go..dang..thats a lot eisier!!!!

 

So..whats some of your tools?

[Ephemerella 0]

Eyelash brush/comb for brushing out throats on classic streamers and salmon flies. I use saliva to wet down and shape the throat, After a few minutes they dry and a good gentle brushing makes them full again, but in the right shape.

 

Mustache comb for brushing out calf tail and deer hair for Wulff wings and the like on dry flies.

 

Gold-leaf burnisher for polishing silk floss or underbodies.

 

Surgical scissors (from ebay) - I use 4.5" Miltex curved iris scissors, and also 4.5" curved tenotomy scissors, plus the 3.5" miniature spring-type iris scissors.

 

Bodkins made from quilting needles, etc. with small dowels or other wood handles.

 

Cheap wooden toothpicks for applying zap-a-gap. Seems like the wood accelarates the setting. And they are disposable.

 

Tiny dremel-type wire buffing wheel for picking out dubbing bodies on nymphs. Cost me 50 cents at a discount store.

 

Smooth jawed needle-nose pliers, from the same place, for crimping feather stems, debarbing hooks, etc.

 

Pocket machinist's rule- for measuring (duh)

 

-E

[Isonychia 0]

My tool area is a hodgepodge of fly tying-specific items and stuff intended for other purposes. For example:

 

Small, fine-pointed flush-cutting wire cutters for clipping hackle stems;

Mascara brush for combing out hackles;

Eye liner brush for smoothing feathers;

A surgeon's battery-operated cauterizer for shaping heads of salmon flies;

A ball of steel wool for cleaning bodkins;

A gold-leaf burnisher for burnishing silk floss;

A 2-inch vernier caliper for comparing measurements;

Sharpie markers in every color for tinting white tying thread to match the seal fur I'm dubbing on it; and

A modified pair of dental technician's pliers for flattening underbodies of salmon flies.

 

There probably are more; that's just what I see with a quick glance. It's a sickness...

 

John

[SearchingSolitude 0]

Using a wine bottle cork (handle), I jammed a bent paper clip into the end and created a dubing spinner.

I use a childs plastic comb to comb out the under fur in deer hair.

I use the magnetic pad from Tiemco Hooks packs to make a hook pallet for whatever i am tying up at the time. Just set it out in front of the vice.

I use empty DaiRikki hook plastic boxes (simply peel the top label off) for storing finished flies and for giving away to friends as a make shift flybox.

[mouse6196 0]

I use popsicle sticks with small bits of velcro glued on the end. Great for roughing up dubbing. I also use toothbrushes for brushing out fur or fibre on streamers.

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

mascara brush for feathers

mustache comb for fur

butane pencil torch for heating bodkins to shape mono or jnl for legs

sharpie markers acrylic paint artist brushes

 

[Pike-Hunter 0]

• small straight slot screwdrivers for mixing up epoxy- the flat surface mixes the epoxy well and the epoxy chips right off after it cures if you just squeeze it with a pliers
• toothbrush for straightening out EP fibers when they get tangled (I keep one in my tacklebox too for when I catch a fish and the fly looks like a jumbled mess)
• knit picker (a small sewing hook with a gate on it) for tying knots in rubber, hackle stems, and making furled loops on furled leaders
• small exacto knife for cutting foam and cutting anything close to a lot of other fibers that you don't want cut ex. a hackle stem after it has been wrapped and tyed off-just hold the hackle stem tight and touch the exacto knife to it where you want to cut it (it wont cut the hackle fibers that are wrapped on the hook nearby)

[BigDaddyHub 0]

I had never considered a mascara brush....may have to raid the wife's make up bag... :devil:

[DAP 0]

I have been a very lucky man in this area. My father is a dentist so I have all kinds of tools: surgical scissors, spatulas, scalpels, locking tweezers, picks and a hand held cord free UV curing gun light that dries an unlimited supply of special non yellowing clear dental epoxy in a matter of seconds (my favorite).

[BigDaddyHub 0]

My sister was a dentist and used to keep me in all the latex dental dams I could cut up. Great stuff in the medical offices. I use the disposable tips from the scopes to push back hair on bass bugs for whipfinishing

[Fly Tyer Guy 0]

1. My dad works in a machine shop, so he got me a container from one of the cutters, it has a removable bottom, so I use that for a hair stacker.

2. I have a small polished stone glued into the end of a stick, used for burnishing floss.

3. I have a larger polished rock for burnishing thread bodies.

4. A whole bunch of markers (Prismacolor).

5. Homemade bodkins

6. Nail Clippers

7. A bunch of picks (Bascially they are bodkins) from Harbor Freight

8. Multiple pairs of scissors bought at Shipshewana

[smallieFanatic 0]

My father is a dentist

 

Man I bet that was fun growing up! :hyst: :hyst: :hyst: :j_k: :j_k:

[Fred H. 0]

I have been a very lucky man in this area. My father is a dentist so I have all kinds of tools: surgical scissors, spatulas, scalpels, locking tweezers, picks and a hand held cord free UV curing gun light that dries an unlimited supply of special non yellowing clear dental epoxy in a matter of seconds (my favorite).

Same here , except I also own a dental lab and have an affinity for tools . So in addition to the tools

Dap has listed I also have some tools I have customized . I am currently working on a new bobbin in which I will injection mold some of the parts. We use an acetyle resin that is unbreakable and super light. I also have in design a pair of scissors that utilise disposable scalpel blades. I can buy 200 blades thru the lab supply company for about $30.

Fred

[Drath 0]

Basic stuff everyone else uses like hand made bodkins, hand made bobbin threaders, and dubbing brushes.

One thing I really like is my dubbing loop spinner. I took a short piece of a fairly large diameter doll rod and bored out the center from the bottom. I put a small hole in the top and epoxied in a lead sinker with the “eye” sticking out the top. I cut the “eye” to fashion a hook shape. I hang it at the bottom of my dubbing loop and give ‘er a spin. It works great.

 

-D

[utyer 0]

My desk, vise stand, and tool rack are home made. I have 4 or 5 bodkins that are made from needles and old bamboo rod sections. My bobbin threader is made from guitar string and bamboo. I also use sewing needles for tying extend bodies. I have a couple of fine tooth saw blaces glued into old pen blanks for dubbing teasers. Storage boxes made from old tape boxes, and microfilm boxes. Tapistry brush also for teasing out dubbing and mohair. Mustache comb brush combo for deer hair cleaning, and some jumbo rod ferrules used as hair stackers.