dubbing brushes

[msgtdoug 0]

I'm sure a number of you folks have seen these devices being used to create a long dubbing brush. I'm relatively handy at woodworking, so I know I can build one for a heck of a lot less. My problem.... what in the world would you call the spinning gizmo?

 

I've though about trying a dremel tool, but think even using one with a variable speed its going to spin too quickly and I won't have the control I'd like.

 

One youtube posting showed a guy with an old sewing machine motor driving a flywheel, having the actuator pedal on the floor allows him to control the speed. That's a bit bulky for what I'd want, and unless you're tying for sales, its a bit of overkill.

 

Hope some of you have an idea of what the darn thing is called, the internet's a great tool, but ya have to have a starting point!

 

[flytire 0]

modify a caster wheel

 

 

modified bearing

 

 

simple crank handle

 

 

no spinning knob required

 

[SilverCreek 0]

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?28581-dubbing-brushes

 

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?25384-Dubbing-Brush-Twisters-part-Duex

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=392415

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=69587&hl

[cheech 0]

I just use a drill.

 

[Dave G. 0]

I don't know but my wife has this box of good sized colored paper clips. I took one in a kind of purple color, straightened it all out and then formed an open eye on one end.I spin that by hand but nothing says you couldn't put it in a cordless drill and turn it at what ever speed you wanted to. Well anyway, I don't make a formal dubbing brush, I make a dubbing loop and put my fibers in it at the hook and spin this thing up, it works great for me. My only problem is I can't leave it out on my tying table or the cats run off with it, apparently they like the color.

[mikechell 0]

... used to create a long dubbing brush.

Just an FYI of my experiences ... based on safety wiring nuts and bolts.

Be careful how "long" you intend to make the brushes. Twisting wire is a balancing act between how tight you want the twist and tensile/torsion strengths of the wire being used. Twisting for too long will overcome the torsion strength and you'll break off wires before you have the required number of turns per inch.

If you need 12 turns per inch, and you're doing a 12 inch long brush, that's 144 turns. Most brushes I've seen are about that long. If you are intending to do, say, 24 inches, that doubles the number of twists and the attachment point might not "live" that long.

[Elder 0]

I spin mine by hand.

[flytire 0]

shorter brushes

 

[flytire 0]

shorter brushes

 

 

[RickZieger 0]

Make sure you don't use to much material in the dubbing brush.

Very easy to make them to thick.

 

Rick

[flytire 0]

i'm not much of a woodworker so i'd probably go out a buy one. something like this

 

stonfo (vise is NOT included)

 

 

jan simon (fits either in a pedestal or c-clamp

 

[Poopdeck 0]

Here's the one I made. Cost about two bucks. No motor is required and I call the twister mech a round piece of plywood. It takes less then a minute to twist up a brush. I cannot think of any good reason why a motor is needed.

 

[flytire 0]

this is just one of different ideas to make the spinning knob assembly for a dubbing block. be creative and you may come up with a better idea. do some googling and you may even come up with something already made

 

get a small hand wheel that accepts a shaft (remove the handle if its in the way)

 

 

a piece of threaded or non threaded rod for an axle. drill a hole in the end to accept the cup hook

 

 

bearing sized to fit the axle

 

 

clamp to hold everything to the board

 

 

cup hook for the end of the axle

 

[Brian Myers 0]

Everyone has given you a lot of good ideas to get started. On the next one I make there are 3 things I want to change. 1) A table that drops away from the wire like the ones Cheech and Poopdeck show. This allows you to use longer fiber/materials or they quickly get tightly spun around the wire during the twisting process. Makes more work for you having to brush it out more. 2) Make the side opposite the spinning hook spring loaded. It will cut down on wire breakage but you do quickly learn when to stop. On mine the wires go around a post and then are trapped between 2 washers that are held down by a spring so the wires can slip as the wire tension increases instead of breaking. They still break once in a great while if I get over zealous but the brush still ends up being usable. 3) I have a hand wheel on mine but would like to extend the axle out the back side of the hand wheel so I could attach a drill if I felt like it. Plan out the features you may want now and get it done the first time. I would consider the drop away table very important unless you are only making small brushes to replace using dubbing loops on trout flies like nymphs and such.

You can use a threaded rod , a couple of nuts & washers , 2 bearings and a block of wood if you have a forester bit or spade bit that roughly matches the outside diameter of the bearings. Drill a shallow hole (about the thickness of the bearing) into either side of the wood so you can recess the bearings into the block. Drill a hole for the axle straight through the block. It's easy enough for the average woodworker to make the spinner bearing component . I did mine this way as I was only using what I had on hand at the time.

 

 

Mikechell - Sorry for such a long post that you are once again missing out on the answers to life , the universe and everything. :-p

[Brian Myers 0]

Make sure you don't use to much material in the dubbing brush.

Very easy to make them to thick.

 

Rick

+1 Too thick or too clumpy makes a poor brush and wastes a lot of material.