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Baron

Trying for proportion

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FliesbyNight - not problem. That's a good tip.  In almost all of the videos I've made I use my scissors as a calipers/dividers. For dries after setting the tail I'll open my scissors like dividers and hold them open with the points matching the length of the shank. Then while holding them firmly so they don't slip I'll check the length of the tail I just set and then reset the tail if it isn't the right length.  Same for wings and such. (I tie with my scissors in my hand so nothing to pick up or set down)

I use the dividers with a setting screw for getting equal sized wing slips off a duck quill when winging wets and dries.  Great tool.

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The Golden Mean Proportion Tool can help with getting those classic "1/3 - 2/3" proportions to look just right.

image.thumb.png.a3b437812aa634138303ce78fe4d23af.png

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Chugbug,

 

Never seen that one before.  I'm guessing it is designed so that when you open it the point are 1/3 and 2/3 aprt?

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2 hours ago, FliesbyNight said:

 

Never seen that one before.  I'm guessing it is designed so that when you open it the point are 1/3 and 2/3 aprt?

More or less. It spreads apart to the phi ratio, a classical theory of nature's grand design, which the 1/3 : 2/3 proportions in fly tying may or may not be meaning to estimate. Fibonacci is another name associated with it. 

Basically, if you use it when tying a fly, your "divine" abdomen : thorax ratio will be 61.8% : 38.2%, just as one example of its uses.

 

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Capt Bob's point is well taken.  If you see a fly that you want to tie, buy it for a pattern.  That is what us less professional tiers do.

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On 4/25/2021 at 8:51 AM, FliesbyNight said:

Rotaryflytyingdotcom,

When I started I also had trouble with proportion and consistency. To solve that, I used a pair of dividers.  For the Clouser Deep Minnow, set the width to where the eyes will be.  You can check against the hook shank, making sure you are set to 1/3 the shank.  Put one point in the hook eye and start your thread base for the dumb bell eyes at the other point and you will always be correct and consistent.  I still use them from time to time to make sure the proportions for other materials such as tails are what they should be.

If you use the ones with the screw wheel or arc and jam wheel, you are assured of consistent measurements.

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Once I have the material (usually bucktail) tied in forward of the eyes with a few wraps, I pull it straight away from the shank and cut parallel to the shank.  This tapers the material when you wrap it down fully.  Makes the head much easier to taper perfectly.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I had been trained a century ago to be a draftsman and I still have an old compass her somewhere to use as a divider. 

I see where lifting the bundles helps taper on both top and bottom.

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On 4/25/2021 at 12:29 PM, chugbug27 said:

The Golden Mean Proportion Tool can help with getting those classic "1/3 - 2/3" proportions to look just right.

image.thumb.png.a3b437812aa634138303ce78fe4d23af.png

It would figure that someone saw me tie and knew I needed one of these, lol.

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On 4/25/2021 at 10:10 AM, RickZieger said:

FliesbyNight.  that would be something else to stick myself with.  Good idea.

 

Rick 

Funny you should mention sticking yourself. I've dropped my bodkin so many times but always missed. Recently I found out that the standard aluminum exacto knife handle perfectly hold sewing needles and so I bought a pack for a couple bucks and they are the most precise that a bodkin can be. I really like it but hope I never drop it on my toes.  

IMG_4968.jpeg

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22 hours ago, Baron said:

Funny you should mention sticking yourself. I've dropped my bodkin so many times but always missed. Recently I found out that the standard aluminum exacto knife handle perfectly hold sewing needles and so I bought a pack for a couple bucks and they are the most precise that a bodkin can be. I really like it but hope I never drop it on my toes.  

IMG_4968.jpeg

That same knife handle can be used as a hook holder out on the water if you need to make a minor repair all the way to tie a quick fly on water. Just put hole in the handle and keep it on a lanyard.

Kim

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Chug,

Could you please show an illustration or photo of how that tool is used.  I googled it and saw that it is actually 2 pieces joined at the rivet, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how it would be implemented.

 

Thanks, Bob H

 

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On 4/28/2021 at 10:59 AM, WWKimba said:

That same knife handle can be used as a hook holder out on the water if you need to make a minor repair all the way to tie a quick fly on water. Just put hole in the handle and keep it on a lanyard.

Kim

Thanks and yes. I was thinking of carrying small vise grips in my luggage for that when I travel. This may be more convenient.

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Photos will have to wait until next week (traveling at the moment), but yes, the flat plastic pointers are riveted together so they swivel apart sort of like a compass. The rivet is off-center, so the two points on top are always farther apart than the two points on the bottom -- and always at the "phi ratio". 

So, for example, you adjust the larger side so the two points hit the hook at the bend and at the crook of the eye. You apply masking tape so the device stays at that measurement. Then you turn it around and use the smaller gap to identify where the abdomen ends and the thorax begins. You can repeat that same process with the thorax and head portion of the fly to identify where the thorax meets the head. You can also use it to gauge hackle length as in proportion to the wing / body length. Positioning the wing is a little different. It comes with detailed instructions.

Pics to follow after I get back home next week.

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