Mainard 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 I want to start making some personal blend dubbing and was wondering what grinders people use . I will be buying one but wondering which ones people use and any that I should stay away from . Than you Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rstaight 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 Put your pieces in a bowl and cover with Saran wrap or something similar and use compressed air. The blades in a grinder will chop your material finer until they are dulled. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gene L 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 I used to use a generic coffee grinder, and it worked fine. On natural furs, I would hesitate to put synthetics in it unless they were finely chopped. Worked well, until I figured I didn't use enough dubbing to justify mixing my own. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaydub 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 Just about any blade type coffee grinder will work fine. I would avoid this one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 get a cheap one from walmart, target or dollar stores brand is irrelevant Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fshng2 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 A tip I learned was to dull the blades to keep from cutting the fibers. I dulled my blades with a sharpening stone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 Shop the Goodwill and other thrift stores before you buy new. I saw one a couple of days ago at the Richmond Goodwill ... $2.00. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rocco 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 The blades will not cut that much if you pulse the grinder rather than put the hammer down and hold it. A little squirel dubbing in your coffee is a cheap price to pay for custom dubbing. Rocco Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjm 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 This thread was educational, in that previously I had never heard of blade type coffee grinders, though if I saw one I would have called it a blender. I'm still not sure how the two differentiated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SBPatt 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 Get the cheapest one you can find. If you're using synthetics (I make lots of my dubbing from acrylic yarn) pulse it; otherwise, the friction from the blades can make it funky. Regards, Scott Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rocco 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 Mixing a dash of acrylics with natural dubbing is good too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mainard 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 Ok thanks for the input . I'll first go to goodwill then in nothing off to Wally World . I have a munch of different squirrel that I want to make usable . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NohackleHS 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 I've been tying for over 30 years and have never used a coffee grinder. I've probably tied a couple of thousand flies. When I want to blend dubbing, I take the two or three dubbing colors I want to blend and put them on top of each other. I then pull the dubbing apart into two portions. I then stack the two portions on top of each other and pull them apart again. By repeating this process I can make the color i want. Sometimes rotating one portion over the other speeds up the blending process. With this hand process I can add or subtract dubbing colors to make the exact color I want. I've been using this process so long it only takes me a few minutes to blend the dubbing. Granted this process won't chop the dubbing into shorter pieces if this is desired but if your main purpose is just to blend dubbing, it works fine. Just pointing out that there is more than one way to blend dubbing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjm 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2019 NohackleHS. that works here too. long time ago I read in a magazine about using a blender to mix custom dubbing, went looking for a yardsale or thrift store blender and tried the process a few times; my conclusion was that hand mixing is much faster and easier for me. Saw a mixing system in a catalog that uses combs like carding wool that would suit me better, maybe, if wanting large quantities. Then, why would I want large quantities of a "special" blend? it doesn't take much for a dozen flies. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites