Tying Waste

[meyer2792 0]

So I been tying for about 6 months. I received my fly tying equipment and materials from a professor of mine. I use the waste catcher that attaches to the vise. Anyways, I seem to collect a lot of waste. Is it really waste? Should I be using this material and be saving it?

 

The photo is only a 3 hours worth of tying.

[Crackaig 0]

Some things you can save and get some use out of. Things like under fur combed out of hair can be used for dubbing. Generally though it is more trouble than it's worth. By the time you have sorted it and bagged everything up you could have tied two or three more flies.

Cheers,

C.

[mikechell 0]

Crack said it ... too much trouble. Even if you're a cheap ass, like me, it's just not worth the time to "salvage" bits and pieces. If you cut something off a fly, and it immediately looks usable, then don't throw it out. If you throw it out, then don't even think about it again.

[williamhj 0]

The only thing I worry about saving is hackle. I won't throw out a dry fly feather if there is enough to tie another fly. Otherwise I don't worry about it much.

[FlaFly 0]

There was a previous thread about this several months ago, and there were some good ideas expressed. For example, when using chenille, and let's say you might actually apply 2 inches to the hook, don't just cut a small piece. If you do, you'll apply your 2 inches and cut off the rest (say 1 inch) and throw it away.

If instead you cut a manageable section of chenille, say 12 inches, then you apply your 2 inches to the hook, tie off, clip off the unused portion, which in this case will be 10 inches long. You can tie five flies before you finally have to waste 1 or 2 inches.

 

You can apply this kind of thought to a lot of the materials you use.

 

And use SEARCH to see if you can find that older thread.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

The only things I attempt to salvage are strips of rabbit fur that are long enough to be re-used and brass or lead eyes or beads from flies that I am "deconstructing" in order to re-use the hooks.

[JSzymczyk 0]

If that is ALL the waste you have after 3 hours, I would say you are doing very well.

 

Some materials just have more cut-offs than others. Spooled wire, very little. Bucktail, huge. It is just part of the reality of fly tying.

[flytire 0]

if you keep carded and spooled materials on the card and spool there will be no wasted material. cutting off ANY length is going to eventually result in waste

 

there seems to be a lot of wasted crystal flash in that photo that could have been used for additional flies

 

you could grind up that waste in a coffee bean grinder and make some spikey dubbing

 

minute pieces of this and that is just not worth saving

 

ive seen tyers pull out 5-6 inches of thread, tie it on the hook and snip/break away the waste end and into the trash. yea thread is cheap but you only need a 1/4 inch to start a fly

[JBOY 0]

I guess you could run it through a coffee grinder and make some kind of dubbing? i dont know!!

[fishingbobnelson 0]

I take mine and put it in an open mesh bag (like the kind onions come in at the grocery store). In the spring I hang it in a tree in my back yard for the birds to use for nesting material. They take it all, feathers, thread, hair. Most of all I get the fun of watching them haul it off to bird houses and nests.

[shoebop 0]

That's a great idea Bob. I bet there are a lot of sparkly nests in your neighborhood.

[ScottK 0]

That's great!

[Jolly Red 0]

I've been saving the "cotton" out of pill bottles for the birds, now I can add other stuff to it. Thanks for the idea, fishingbobnelson.

[meyer2792 0]

Thanks everyone! You all gave me some great ideas that I will use.

I especially like the idea of giving it to the birds!

[hairwing 0]

Hard times and material shortages cause us to make use of what we have to work with and we as fly tyers have always managed to tie flies that will work. You'll never run short for fly matching materials, a fly can be tied from anything you can wrap a hook with, and chances are your fly will catch fish!

 

What's a waste ?......a waste is when you have been tying for many years and have accumulated all the good stuff...... vises, tools, the best of materials, books, hooks and all those great storage boxes et al....you spent a lot of cash.

 

You die....and some guy shows up at your estate sale and offers 20 bucks for your lot. So the deal is made and $3-4000 bucks worth of stuff gets sold, cheap, bummer if you ask me. There is a vintage fly dealer close to me and he won't deal with materials ...it gets trashed.

 

Use your good stuff and tie flies ....get rid of all that junk. Accept the fact that it cost a few bucks to satisfy your habit and carry on. Your goal is to tie a good looking fly you can be proud of and one that catches fish.

 

hw