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Thanks! Any other "tricks". For example are you trying to get it all the way to the base or just contact with the surface of the fly? Do you use a bodkin to open up the deer hair to insert the feather?

Pretty straight forward question. How are the fins and "mohawk" attached? I assume they are glued into place after the body is trimmed. If so, any special process or glue involved? If the process already is published feel free to direct me to it. Just looks like a fun way to spend the upcoming winter months. Thanks in advance for any information.

Looking for people's favorites that involve orange bead heads in sizes 14 and smaller. Anybody have any successful patterns they can reference? Thanks

Some of the best things I have done to save money is listen to experienced tiers. Unfortunately I listened to late and went overboard in the beginning. However some things I know now ….. Find some patterns that work and stick with them. Those that use crossover materials are better. If you are on a tight budget the only thread you really only need is white. Sharpies to color what shows is what's important Free materials from hunters are great Hooks purchased in larger quantities are a better deal. Refer to find some patterns you like and stick with them for the sizes you should buy in bulk Beads are the same way Craft stores save some money. However only if you know exactly what you need and they have it. If not it's nothing more then an experiment that may , or may not save you money. Dubbings made by hand are more economical. However again , only if you know that the material you need will work Make as many tying tools as you can. You really only need to purchase a handful of dependable ones. However make those the best you can afford Wire and rubber from cords and such are free. Purchase fly's that are a good value instead of tying them. No way I would spend a $1.50 for a San Juan worm. However there is a place in town that sells some bass bugs for $3.00. That's a barging compared to the materials ( and time) it would take to tie them.

I keep mine in the packages and file them by color in a recipe file type system . I also have tried dubbing dispensers. I like the by package approach better for the following reasons …. 1) I only need to keep the color(s) by my vice that I need at the time. Not the whole dubbing dispenser full of colors that I may not need 2) As I use dubbing I don't have empty spaces in a dispenser taking up space in storage or on the desktop 3) If I'm traveling I only need to make room for the colors I want to take , and being in individual packages they pack better

There as decent as any other vice in that price range. The accessories come off and on easy so you can tie plain Jane or with all the bells and whistles attached if you like. The rotary base is real smooth, heavy and solid.

Here is how I do it... Go find a leather punch. The ones with a handle and different size screw in tips. A whole set can run between 9.00-19.00 dollars Your choice holographic prism tape. Frequently found at auto stores. I use silver and gold a lot. Same tape in solid , non prism, colors for the pupil. Black is common. Punch out the appropriate size eye from the prism tape and the appropriate size for the pupil from the solid color. Place one on top of each. Now you can apply it to the fly if you plan on coating it. If not , or you want the 3-d effect, place the newly made eye on some wax paper and apply some clear epoxy or your choice of UV cure glue. Now you have a prism domed shape 3-D eye

If you use Allen Fly Fishing supply make sure you stay on top of your order. I just got done getting a 60 day run around. wow.... Thats crazy.... Hooks being played like the hackle game... Not really. My order went to New York. When they realized the mistake many weeks later they said they would send it out NEXT DAY minus some sizes they were out of and they would refund me the difference. Some weeks later no hooks no refund. I was told they were waiting for the order to come back from New York. However since it never showed they would NOW send the order and they did. However still no refund. Then I was told I was refunded though PayPal. However I was not. Then I was told it was sent in the mail but once again I never received it. Finally I was refunded the money though PayPal just a little shy of 60 days from my original order. They ended up refunding the entire amount of the order which I can appreciate. However I’m a what’s right is right kind of guy and only want what is owed to me. Personally I believed they refunded the whole amount because the order was so messed up they had no idea what they owed me and personally I had long since lost track myself!

If you use Allen Fly Fishing supply make sure you stay on top of your order. I just got done getting a 60 day run around.

Well.... after some research I think what Wapsi sells may be a product that has been injected into a mould using a 2 part polyurethane "plastic" foam" If true a mould would have to be created or purchased. A company by the name of Hilt used to have those moulds but apparently they were purchased by another company. I'm not sure if they offer them or not. I would be curios if you could just cast the foam into square blanks and then turn/sand that to shape? The foam product is still available by several different names. Might have to make it a winter project!

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUEB8&P=FR http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXYVK0&P=FR These are more in line with what I seen today . Cheap enough if anybody wanted a try.

Those looked pretty good! Just want to play with something I could "turn" myself for some custom profiles. All I need is white for some custom paint as well

The one I seen allowed you to use the testors paint in the jar it's sold in. Remove that jar ( put the original cap back on)twist on a new jar and your ready to go. From what instructiosn I could see is you simply gave it a spay at a sheet of paper to make sure the new color was coming through and you were good to go. The only clean up appeared to be the "cap" that you swapped the paint jars on when you were done. At the store they were selling them in a kit with hot colors and stencils for model cars and another kit with dull colors for military models. The replacement air can was huge compared to the Copic at was $7.95 Sad thing is right next to it they had 1 copic system left that they were blowing out for $50.99 ( normally $90.00) and the 2 large air cans left for $7.95 ( normally $12.95) I was not looking to purchase either one but at that price , and one left, I had to pull the trigger.

The Wapsi style popper heads are nice. However it would be fun to form your own. Anybody know were to secure any of the raw high density foam that they use for these?

Seen these at the hobby store today. Looks like a great way to do poppers and such. Some of these kits run on the compressed air can like the Copic System. Some of them run right off a bottle of testor model paint. Just twist on a new bottle for a new color . What I was looking at was $30.00 with http://www.testors.com/category/136949/Airbrushes