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kfin

Fly Tying Light -- Which one?

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Hey everyone, I am new to this site as I have not tied any flies for a couple of years but am getting back into it now that time permits again. I look forward to getting into some swaps and getting the "rust and dust" off of my tools. :)

 

I am in need of a new light for tying, the eyes are not what they used to be so I will probably need a little magnification also. I have been looking at the Giraffe light and the McKenzie Bright light. Has anybody got any pros / cons for either of these? Any other good choices?

 

I will be using a Renzetti Traveler vice on a pedestal if that matters any.

 

Thanks for any and all help.

 

Keith

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Look at the Ott Lite which is portable and closes in on itself. Sold at any craft store and with 50% off coupon runs $40.It has the natural color floresent bulb and many tyers use it. I have the Mckenzie and prefer the Ott-Lite.

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look around your neighbourhood stores you might find a good daylight desk lamp and or magnifying lamp there. Use a backdrop if you start using a magnifier lamp because the fly will be clearly visible but everything else will be blurry and give you a headache. I use bowth, daylight desk lamp over top and magnifier lamp to view the fly. I also invested in a pair of reading glasses, when preparing or viewing materials flies etc.

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I also prefer the Ott light. They have several models, and are available all over the place (bulbs, too)

 

But I don't use a magnifier as such. I also have found my sight isn't what it used to be, along with my balance, my hiking speed, and several other things. This getting old stuff is not what it's cracked up to be.

 

I've found (and you might want to try this out before you invest in a magnifier) that my depth perceception is all screwed up looking thru a magnifying lens. May just be my eyes are screwy, don't know. I use a pair of drug store reading glasses, the strongest you can find. That solved the depth perception problem.

 

Good luck, have fun with it, and hope to see some of your work here.

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I have the Ott light which I use at home and it works well. I have a Mckenzie bright light I use when I travel and it works well for its purpose. It would depend on where you will do most of your tying. If its at home I would get an Ott light.You can buy one with magnifcation ,but I don't recomend it. They tend to scratch very easy and as Chase Creek said you would do far better with reading glasses.And as FreddyE said Michaels offers a lot of 40% and 50%

coupons and they carry the Ott lights.

Fred

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I have been using the Giraffe system for over twenty years. I have tried most of the other prior and newer lamps and have never found one that is as good. The pros are it takes up to a 100 watt standard lamp base bulb (if your bulb burns out or is broken you can get a serviceable replacement on Sunday morning in bumfart Egypt and anywhere else in the world). With the daylight lamp they sell you not only get proper color rendering you also get white/black contrast enhancement which makes it much easier on your eyes. I have been using the same daylight bulb for twenty years and it is still going strong even after years of being hauled all over the country to demo tie. It uses standard 120 VAC current so you don't have to pack an inverter. It has a massive heat sink so you don't get broiled hands. The goose neck is high quality steel with a high quality elastomer cover mounted over it so it moves independently of the steel neck and therefore doesn't crack or break. Cons: only one, it is a bit bulky to travel with.

I designed the magnifier for Giraffe over twenty years ago and am still using the original prototype. While I am obviously biased I have never before or since found a better magnifier for close work. They are now being used by NOAA map readers and dental technicians makers because it does not cause eye fatigue. One of the design features by the way. And because the magnifier and lamp are mounted separately you can place each exactly where it works best for you without limitations. Also, you can mount using C clamps, table top studs, side mount stud brackets and the metal tying surface made by Giraffe.

The system is not inexpensive but you will never have to replace it.

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Thanks for the tips. I think that I will just need to tye with a couple of different ones. I don't think that I would like the heat produced by the McKenzie but I really like the way that it attaches to the vice...will check out the ott lights. I am not too concerned about the cost as long as it makes tying more comfortable.

 

I have always used a back drop plate and think it helps greatly.

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I use a "book light" that is sold for reading in bed. It clamps to anything, has 2 brightness levels, is on a small gooseneck and since it uses LEDs, batteries last forever.

 

Cost about 10 bucks.

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Don't neglect the overall room lighting too. I have 3 four-banked fluorescent tube lights above my desk. I do use a magnifier with a halogen bulb, which I tie my 24s to 32s with. Getting used to tying with a magnifying lens is a little tricky, but practice solved that, I like it when I need to pick something up off the desk I do not have to peak over the cheaters. I do were a pair of cheaters for normal tying, post 45 years old and the eyes started to change. My main lamp is a desk lamp that architects use; It is 35 years old and uses a 65 watt small spot light and a fluorescent ring. I have wanted an Ott for a while, but the old one works fine. I do not know the total number I have tied under it, but it is in the 6 figures easily. Also take time to regularly blink, especially you young folks, it keeps your eyes moist. I learned that from working at a computer screen every day. Very important.

 

Cheers, Futzer.

 

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I don't think that I would like the heat produced by the McKenzie but I really like the way that it attaches to the vice

 

 

I would suggest that a light on the vise end of the fly is in the wrong place. If the light is on the off hand side of the tyer then the off hand blocks all light to the fly when doing operations such as mounting a wing, mounting a tail, or any other operation requiring the off hand to be on top of the fly. To have the light illuminate the tie in point/thread wrapping area in such circumstances requires the light be on the eye end of the fly. Just a thought.

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I use an Ott Light for several reasons, the primary being it shows the true colors of the materials I'm working with. Not so important when you are tying a black ant, but extremely useful when you are matching dyed materials in a salmon fly.

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I strongly suggest using two lights, one on LH side and another above or to the RH side.

 

Any decent desk top light will do fine, I have used Giraffe system, Ott light and plain old incandesent bulbs.

 

Having too much light is never a problem.

 

Second in importance for eye strain is to have a clean sheet of paper, neutral color (grey, green, blue) for a background this will ease the tension in the eye muscles.

 

Regards,

FK

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