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dchurch

Another DIY Portable Tying Station

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First, "Thank you" to all the folks here who have shared your own ideas, photos... After much reading I built a laptop type fly tying station, and a few tools to go with it. This is for my older brother who tied flies when we were kids. He's semi-retired now and has recently run into some health issues that may give him some extra hobby time. I wanted to set him up with a portable kit that he could use in an easy chair and also take on trips... Also, last summer I started fly fishing again and figured I might get a few flies from him:)

 

I came up with the design and measurements after much reading here, then making a mock-up out of cardboard and testing. The overall size of this one is 18" x 12" x 3 1/2". My brother is a lefty, but has some right-handers in his family that might want to give this a shot, so I just made it ambidextrous. The spring action vise (not shown) clamps along the blank arm edges at either side.

 

I used oak for the bulk of this project, the spool rack is ipe, backboard is cherry, and sides are incense cedar. I outlined the holes with dark stain using an artist brush. The small holes are all 1/4" or 3/8". The other holes are: 2 @ 1", 2 @ 1 1/8" and 6 @ 1 1/2". The 6 are 1 1/4" deep. The others are through holes, except on the backboard and outer sides that are about 2" deep. The 5 shallow divots are 2". I tested some stick-on magnetic tape and decided to use 1/8" thick stick magnets instead (more powerful). I used a router and chisel to reset the sticks to nearly flush. I cut and pointed the aluminum spindles in one motion by cutting the spinning stock in a drill press using a triangle file.

 

I bought the small green cutting mat from ebay seller "tollybarn". I thought it would also make a handy coaster. The mechanical pencil has a 2" retractable needle instead of lead. The teaser/brush is Velcro glued to one end of aluminum spindle scrap. The hair stacker is 1/2" copper tubing and cap. I had a spare test clip for use as hackle pliers. I included the old type I remember my brother using after adding some heat shrink tubing to the handles for easier squeezing.

 

The vise, tools and materials all fit in the fly tying travel bag from Cabela's. There's room for more stuff that can be added over time.

 

Again, Thanks to everyone at this great website_ I hope this post is partial payback.

 

- Just in case Larry reads this_ I hope you're having fun "flying ties" haha.

 

Photos attached:

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