Wrapping Lead.

[camocrazy82 0]

It keeps breaking on me. Whats the secret? My ultra wire breaks too. Im thinking I twist it to much when wrapping? :dunno:

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

with .010 lead it is quite delicate you might be putting to much tension on it or like you already stated twisting it as you wrap it if you have a rotary vice try using that to spin your lead on

[David Legg 0]

It keeps breaking on me. Whats the secret? My ultra wire breaks too. Im thinking I twist it to much when wrapping? :dunno:

 

Exactly where does it keep breaking? It could be fatigue. If you pinch it in one place and spin it around the shank, or if you are using a bobbin and just hold it at a fixed extension and keep spinning it, it will nearly always break, because that point is bent at 90 degrees through a 360 degree rotation repeatedly. No wire will hold up to that for many turns.

[blakejd 0]

Based on the fact that your breaking lead and wire I might guess that your using your bobbin to wrap them. Even if your not there are two things that come to mind that may be causing your problem. The first, and most likely, is that your holding it at a fixed point and progressively weakening it till it breaks. Two (less likely) is that your giving too much tension. This could easily be the case with lead but if your breaking wire I doubt it. My suggestion would be to cut off a piece of lead or wire appropriate for the fly (usually around 6-10 in for me) and then wrap it by hand. For lead remember that it only needs to contact the hook shank and anything more than light pressure is more than necessary. For wire a bit more pressure may be needed but its still not necessary to apply any more pressure than is needed to get the wire to sit firmly on its base.

[Firetiger 0]

I agree with blakejd you are better off with wrapping lead and wire by hand; that way you have more control over any twisting and tension.

 

If your problems persist you might wish to consider alternatives to lead wire - by this I mean either bead head or flat lead. Flat lead is wider, so it has more strength at a the same thickness as lead wire. Body wrapped with flat lead is also more dense.

 

J.

[Hairstacker 0]

I agree with the others -- it's breaking because you're holding it in one spot as you wrap. Instead, grasp it closer to the hook shank and let it feed out through your thumb and forefinger as you wrap.

 

-- Mike