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Steeldrifter

How creative can we tyers be?

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After reading another post were a couple members were discussing a "creative" idea to help out at the bench it got me to thinking ....how many other ideas do people on this site have that some of us haven't yet thought of??? dry.gif

 

So i'm starting this post to get everyone to share some of the more creative things they have come up with at the bench to help make things easier or faster with tying. One of the most neat tricks i have learned was from a member awhile back that told me to take a wooden dowel rod and staple one end of a turkey biot to it then wrap the biot around the dowel and staple the other end down....called a "biot tree".

 

It make the biot stand out so that you can cut them very easy without loosing a good deal of them on the floor.

 

Got any creative stuff you've picked up over the years?

 

SD

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sd,

 

Now thats a good one!!! Heres another one. I go to this fashion accessory shop here in London and buy my head cement. Comes in clear, black and red. Cost: 3 for $5. Way cheaper then the other stuff and does the trick. The hardest part is keeping my daughter out of it!

 

Art

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Well i will jump and Say that i am working on a idea for my floos and thread.Right now i have a plano box with little compartments but want something on bunch or should i say computer desk.

 

Brother gave me idea to take a piece of wood 2"+2" buy 4" thick.

Drill hole for a dowel rod the size center of hole on spools.

Glue dowel into hole and wala,the spools that you are using are stacked on top of eachother on spool out of way and at quick use.

 

If your desk at time looks like mine,you go looking for what you need and for some reason it is gone.I know it was right here DA..........

 

I will call it a spool stand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! biggrin.gif

 

tt

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SOMEBODY STOP ME!!! laugh.gif laugh.gif laugh.gif

 

I use uni thread and thier clear storage boxes. If you can get your hands on a tablesaw, make a vertical filing rack like the one that they sell (for $26CAN ohmy.gif ), out of med density partical board. It took me 10 mins. I have labels on the ends of the trays....6/0, 8/0, floss, tinsel etc. It keeps everything in order, at hand, dust and UV free.

 

sd,

 

Seeings how this is your thread, would roadkill stories fit here?

 

Art

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Well, with the amount of money that I have, and the amount of money that fly tying benches cost, I had to make my own. I had two plano boxes, one of them was full of my hooks, and my long skinny tools, and the other was just filled with different things, like cork, wax, etc. Well, for a golf tournament, I got this pair of golf shoes, and it just happened that I could place the plano boxes inside the shoe box, and then poked a hole and put both paris of scissors, by pliars, and my other tools in it, just like a tying bench. lol. I`ll take some pics and then post them sometime. Tight lines and good tyin!-redneck

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QUOTE (artimus @ Jul 31 2004, 09:52 PM)
SOMEBODY STOP ME!!! laugh.gif laugh.gif laugh.gif
sd,

Seeings how this is your thread, would roadkill stories fit here?

Art

Art anything that could be helpful is always welcome.

 

I know a few members have wanted to put something in the "tip of the day" section before but we try to make it so the new topics in there can only be started by mod's so things dont get double/triple posted,tips that arent that hot,etc,etc....

 

So i figured you guys have to be jam packed full of good ideas that haven't had a chance to be shared yet so i figured i'd give ya a place to "let em fly" wink.gif

 

So post what ever you want man thats what this thread is for...lets see how creative or just down right wierd some of our tips can be laugh.gif

 

SD

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I plan to build a lazy susan type wooden base that would have dowels of various lengths for the stacking of floss, threads and whatever.It will also have a second level to hold scissors, tools and who knows what.

When time permits, this will be my next woodworking project

Have a good one,

Pat Carroll

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Actually, I made a device (now is VERY outdated lol), but was a dubbing twister. Took a piece of dowel (this was like 20 years ago, still have it), cut it a couple inches long. Then put a hook on one end (the small ceiling hooks work well, ones made for very small things, not the heavy industrial). Then I leaded the end of it so it'd spin. The new ballbearing dubbing spinners are outrageous, so much better then my old one. But this was my claim to fame. LOL.

 

But also go to craft shops and buy a thread rack. Only a few bucks (compared to hundreds at fly shops) and holds 40-50 spools of thread/tinsel/floss handy. Also saw a guy who had a rotisserie (sp?) motor hooked up to his rotary vise (had made a fitting where the handle came off and motor hooked in). Had a foot press that made it run. Talk about fast dubbing. LOL. But was really cool to see work (he was production tying).

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wink.gif What I do to hold my flies after applying head cement and do not want the cement to dry in the eye of the hook I place the eye of the hook in a tooth picks that are lined up in a cheap piece of foam. Some thing like this picture. Makes for great display to if you are wanting too for take pictures of flies and need them to stand up at attention.

 

Nicholas

post-2-1091340059.jpg

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Okay, check this out.

 

When I first got into tying, if it had fur it was a fly. I put together a roadkill kit for the car. This in itself is not new (pruning snips, ziplock backs etc). As the fall salmon season approachs, roadkill fever hits. Why in the fall? Roadkill stays fresher! You'll notice that there are not any gloves included in the kit, cause if you need gloves to collect it, your not gonna want to tie with it. Also you want the roadkill that is at the side of the road; you know...Mr. Coon laying on his back or side, like he's sleeping. You DO NOT want the Mr. Coon that is in the middle of the road that looks like a pancake or is puddle of guts (he's not sleeping, he's dead). This is the basics of road kill material collecting.

 

It was another marathon weekend for my wife and I up in the Owen Sound area. After a nice greasy breakfast, we were on the road back to London. I was riding shotgun, trying to get some sleep as I was up most of the night fishing and the early morning. It is like a 3 hr drive back for us, so that gives me the chance to catch a few winks and be somewhat of a human being by the time we get home. So..as I'm settling in cruising down the highway, I keep one one open. I'm hunting for road kill. I spot it a mile away on the opposite side of the road, just kinda curled up taking a nap. My wife is buzzing in my ear about...well thats not important. As we get closer the hunter in me awakens and I start to assess the value of my new prey. It was a procupine!!!! A rare spieces for this hunter at the time. " Pull over and go back!!!" By the time that we got turned around and heading in the right direction I for sure an thinking that someone else has bagged my fur.

 

I reach under my seat and get the tools of the trade out. Bag, check. scissors, check. I jump out as the car comes to a stop and them it hits me. This guy is a little riper then I like. But it's a pine! Not wanting to miss on my prize, I assess the situation to see what I can salvage. Quills and hair thats it without cutting into him. I go back to the car and grab my hemostats from my vest and start plucking this guy on the side of the road. So I'm standing on the side of the highway PICKING this dude up with my hemos, shaking him until the hair and quills come out! My wife is in the car laughing so hard that she has tears running down her face.

 

Now for the best part. I hear a car coming our way over the hill. I continue ravaging this corpse on the side of the road, my wife is crying and I look up as the car goes by with my best lunatic smile. All that I can remember was blue hair, and one of these ohmy.gif !!!

 

laugh.gif laugh.gif laugh.gif

 

In the end the guard hair makes killer tails.

 

Art

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QUOTE (artimus @ Aug 1 2004, 02:35 AM)
Also you want the roadkill that is at the side of the road; you know...Mr. Coon laying on his back or side, like he's sleeping. You DO NOT want the Mr. Coon that is in the middle of the road that looks like a pancake or is puddle of guts (he's not sleeping, he's dead).






lol.gif lol.gif Thats too funny art that line had me rolling laugh.gif

 

 

 

Got some great tips already guys keep them coming

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Two tips, to hold flys while the head cement dries, get a close pin and glue or tape a foam or fleece strip into it. Put the fly in and clip it anywhere (your lamp???) Also for storage of excess flies at the fly desk, I went to bed bath and beyond and picked up some little metal cylindrical containers. They have about a 1.5 inch diameter. The also, conveniently enough, have a magnet on the bottom. I have a bench with a metal frame so it works out well.

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Use a pair of electric hair clippers for trimming and shaping spun deer heads. cuts the job time 10 fold, and allows for eaiser shaping and balancing.

 

Art

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