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sidako

building fly bench

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Hey Guys!

 

Hope everyone's keeping busy tyin' and fishin,, fishin' and tyin'.

 

I've been feeling ambitious lately and want to build a fly tying bench (just a tabletop version, not the whole shootin' match). I've only been able to find one set of plans on-line...sooooooo, I was wonderin' if any of you fine lads and lasses happen to know where I could find different plans.

 

Many Thanks in advance!

 

By the way...

 

Here is the decsription for the plans I do have. Unfortunately, I can not give credit as I did not get the name of the creator...

 

I was walking though my local * Mart store when I found a Maple Carving board set -- 3 different sized carving boards for $9.99 That's when I developed my plan and set out to build. At the same store, in the craft aisle, I bought a 1/4" x 36" dowell and a 7/16" x 36"dowell for less than $1 each and then some 1/2" magnet strip for about $2.00.

 

The exact measurements of the board are not important, however, the larger board measures 17 3/4" x 11 1/2". The two smaller boards measure 9" x 11 1/2" and 6 3/4" x 8 3/4". In my design, I wanted space to mount my tying vice, and space for tools or various sizes, and some recessed cups for holding things

 

I also wanted pegs to hold spools of thread. To do all this, the first thing I did was saw the two smaller cutting boards in half length wise. The longer of the boards would become the left and right bench arms, and the smaller would become the thread rack and the small compartments.

 

After cutting the boards, I sanded the cut edges smooth and the laid out each board in the properr place on the large cutting board. All three of these boards have blood groove to catch the juices while slicing. I left that groove up on the large board and down on the smaller ones , but ts a matter of choice and style.

 

Once I had my placement, I clamped the boards with simple c -clamps and then drilled the holes for the dowells. A drill press would make this a snap, but I had no trouble drilling straight holes with a handheld drill.

 

Then came the dry fit. The thread dowels are 3 inches, the supporting 7/16" dowels are 4 inches and 6 inches.

 

Once I was happy with the fit, I used 5 minute epoxy to glue up the bench. You could use Gorilla Glue, Wood Glue, or any other craft glue for wood I suppose.

 

The finished bench. I added two strips of magnet, one to each arm, to hold hooks in place before putting them in the vice. The holes drilled through the lower shelf in the rear rest ont he base board, creating a compartment for glue, a spool of lead wire, or anything else. I left the bench arm (left) flat and it holds a fly box with foar to let the fies dry if needed. Finally, the tob back shelf holds 24 spools of thread.

 

The blood groove on the base should slow down the amount of things that get dropped to the floor, and make a good place to rest an X-acto knife. The arms are set slightly forward, which also means there is room in the back to drill or clamp an extension arm lamp or magnifier.

 

I think you are only limited by your imagination in these designs. This could easly to refitted to be a rod building bench or a reloading bench. It might even work for a pouring area for home poured jigs.

 

 

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