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wr1nkles

Homemade Tying Tools

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I thought it would be interesting to see what homemade fly tying tools people have come up with over their years of experience. Things like dubbing brushes/spinners, packers, holders, etc. Or even other useful repurposed items you have on your benches.

 

I ask because I was gifted a bobbin threader that is made with the metal wire. I had just been using a piece of doubled over 10lb tippet to thread it prior to this. After using the metal wired threader I noticed the thread kind of catching inside the bobbin, not enough to snag or cut it but enough to p*ss me off. Maybe I shouldn't have used this kind of threader on a ceramic tubed bobbin?

 

 

Anyway friends...

LETS SEE THEM SHANKS!

 

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This is one of those subjects that comes around every yer or so. I don't make tools, other than bodkins. I've got several now, most of them on bases that stand up on there own. I use the needle point to suspend the fly while finishes dry/cure. I'll see if I can get a picture of them all.

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Guitar string wire+dowel is good for bobbin threader type stuff, gun cleaning brush can pick out hackle, stiff banding wire for English style hackle pliers, shepherd's hook turkey skewer makes heavy point pick and dubbing spinner (similar https://www.amazon.com/Regency-Turkey-Lacers-Trussing-inches/dp/B001B14OC2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1540584383&sr=8-3&keywords=turkey+skewers ) sewing needle & dowel bodkin; bent coat hanger wire and drinking straw?swizzle? bobbin holder; diamond nail file to sharpen hooks; Velcro hooks on Popsicle stick dubbing fluffer; 3/8" pipe and flange on hard maple for vise base; random spring (got two from same source and have no idea where) that was perfect for a materials clip on vise; gallows from ceiling hanger wire; bobbin rest from same wire (both coiled to stay on vise stem); sewing machine bobbins to replace all the odd wood and foam bobbins so that less space is needed; loop of mono attached to dowel to pull thread under for whips on rod guides; fish rod piece hair packer; there are more that I don't recall off the top of my head. Some of these things I made for others also and some have been use for decades. Dowels. metal tubing, pieces of broken rods are good for handles, I've used plastic and rubber tubing for something and cut milk jug collars to hold hair back while tying head.

Anything than can be bought can be made. Some handmade items are better than others.

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I tried to use the bobbin threader that came with my vise & tool kit, but it frustrated me more than it worked. I just started to feed the thread straight into the bobbin tube instead. It works about 95% of the time.

 

:P

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A nice bobbin can be made if you use two stainless cap nuts ( or chrome plated ), as bearings to hold the spool. A little spring type wishbone frame & a thin guide tube. Nothing new. Scissors, see eBay listing below. Iris scissors are so delicate.

Brand New
$9.31
Whenever I have a doctors appointment, I always snag some specimen tubes with the rubber or plastic caps. Just super for little parts - hooks, etc. Easy to label & usually clear. Take a 2 X 4 , drill some holes, to hold the tubes .Rubber & vinyl gloves make for attractive lures if cut into thin strips & added to lures. Any craft store is a fly tying gold mine.

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This is a hearing aid cleaning tool I got from Beltone. The brush bristles are very stiff, I use it too pluck dubbing and brush out the fluff from stacked hair. One end has a really useful small magnet and the other end has a small wire loop. I think you can get one at

any Beltone store-

 

 

 

post-63811-0-39693500-1542035247_thumb.jpgpost-63811-0-16069900-1542035286_thumb.jpg

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post-56714-0-89777200-1543887900_thumb.jpgpost-56714-0-37116400-1543888073_thumb.jpgBead holder - frustrated with trying to hold a small bead between my fingers and too cheap to purchase a tool, I came up with this simple solution. All you need is a pencil, double-sided tape and a hole punch. Punch out a piece of tape and put it on the flat end of a pencil or short dowel. The tape stays tacky for months.

 

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This is a hearing aid cleaning tool I got from Beltone. The brush bristles are very stiff, I use it too pluck dubbing and brush out the fluff from stacked hair. One end has a really useful small magnet and the other end has a small wire loop. I think you can get one at

any Beltone store-

 

 

 

attachicon.gif brush.JPGattachicon.gif sss.JPG

THe Phonak came two of those, they are also good for cleaning the device and the magnet makes handling batteries easy.

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post-48414-0-47433400-1543895162_thumb.jpg

 

Tying desk. Made by my dad. I made a nicer one but couldn't replace my dads so I gave the one I made to a friend.

 

post-48414-0-77452100-1543895230_thumb.jpg

 

Not a tool but a fly fishing lanyard

 

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Not a tool but wading staffs are fun to make

 

post-48414-0-94269900-1543895314_thumb.jpg

 

Rod wrapper

 

post-48414-0-71002000-1543895348_thumb.jpg

 

Brush maker

 

post-48414-0-18889800-1543895398_thumb.jpg

 

The latest, the poopdeck packer

 

That's about all I can come up with.

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attachicon.gif DSCN0626A.jpgattachicon.gif DSCN0648A.jpgBead holder - frustrated with trying to hold a small bead between my fingers and too cheap to purchase a tool, I came up with this simple solution. All you need is a pencil, double-sided tape and a hole punch. Punch out a piece of tape and put it on the flat end of a pencil or short dowel. The tape stays tacky for months.

 

For a bead holder I go even simpler. A bamboo kitchen skewer. Rub the tip, once gently, on your dubbing wax. Bead sticks to the stick.

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I'm a very amateur wood turner. I've made a few things.

 

This is a Teeny-style hook removal tool. Works great on bluegills and panfish.

 

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Deadfly-style packing/half hitch tools, these are really handy for deer hair work and working with hollow tied bucktail. I've made them in multiple sizes to better fit different sized flies.

 

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And this is something new, unfinished here, a "fly bowl" to toss completed flies in after tying. I always end up with piles of flies on my desk and I don't like it. My thought is, with the bowl, toss flies in there before boxing. The smaller area in the middle for smaller bugs, bigger bugs in the bigger/deeper section.

 

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