Quill Wings

[DOUG STOUT 0]

Lightly spray them with a little clear spray paint.  Makes them WAY more durable. Spray the whole feather, them clip off your wing pieces. 

[WWKimba 0]

4 hours ago, DOUG STOUT said:

Lightly spray them with a little clear spray paint.  Makes them WAY more durable. Spray the whole feather, them clip off your wing pieces. 

One problem with spraying them is that they tend not to marry back together after a fish gets into one.

Kim

[flytire 0]

and the spray eventually dissolves and the wings separate anyway

[Landon P 0]

4 hours ago, flytire said:

and the spray eventually dissolves and the wings separate anyway

Could spray adhesive work? 

 

[WJG 0]

The fish don't mind if the barbules aren't all married.  They just look pretty in your fly box that way when new.

For "fishing flies" I cut my quill wings double wide, from any single feather, and fold in half to get the pair.  You can stroke the barbules to 90 degrees from the shaft and keep them married. Cut this and fold in half.  Curve apart for dries and curve together for wets.  

[Jaydub 0]

I saw Darrell Martin demonstrate this method of tying dry fly quill wings many years ago. The method is credited to UK tier Donald Downs.

1. Cut a pair of wing slips, but instead of cutting the fibers off of the stem, cut through the stem, leaving them attached.

 

2. Measure the desired length against the hook shank.

 

3. Ignore the crappy picture. Pinch a loose loop of thread over the slips. Bring the thread around the hook and tighten by pulling up.

 

4. Secure the wing with a few more wraps.

 

5. Pull the wings into an upright position and wrap the thread to behind the wing. Then pull the butt ends back along each the side of the wing.

 

6. Wrap behind the wing to secure the butt ends.

 

7. Cut the butts on a taper and cover with thread.

 

Note: The wings are only separated by their natural curvature. If you desire a more split wing,  you may be able to separate them with a bodkin and add a drop of cement between them.

[cphubert 0]

Thanks Jaydub that's a  technique I don't remember seeing before will have to give it a whirl for general principles. 

[Mark Knapp 0]

@Jaydub Wow, That's really good, thanks

[WWKimba 0]

Jaydub, been tying and learning tips/tricks for ~50 years now and am STILL learning!  Thanks for a new trick I can share with other tyers!

Kim

[Moshup 0]

@Jaydub Nice series thanks.

[BobHRAH 0]

Try to get copies of Don Bastian's Wet fly DVDs.  Probably the most explicit instructions that I have ever seen.  Besides the pinch loop method, he shows how to get the quill pair in an open loop and take hold of the butts with your wrapping hand and let the weight of the bobbin close the loop.  But the method shown in Jaydub's post is pretty interesting, too.

Thanks, Bob H