xvigauge 0 Report post Posted September 7, 2017 This has probably been talked about before, but I thought I would ask my fellow fly tiers. While cleaning the lint filter on the dryer today, I thought how much the lint felt like some of the synthetic dubbing I have used. The colors vary from off white to dark grey depending on what has been run through the dryer. Seems like the stuff would make adequate dubbing material. I may just give it a try this winter while I am tying flies as my winter project as I do every year. Has anyone used dryer lint for dubbing? Does it work? Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gene L 0 Report post Posted September 7, 2017 I suppose it COULD be done, but drier lint is very mixed and therefore absorbent. At least from my drier, which is a lot of cotton lint. Dubbing is cheap and I don't see a reason to substitute for it, and unless you dry a lot of polyester clothes and get a lot of poly lint, I don't see much of an advantage to using it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted September 7, 2017 Does it work? Joe give it a try experiment Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whatfly 0 Report post Posted September 7, 2017 Amazing how often this question comes up. Use the search function to find previous discussions. Short answer: cotton does not make a great dubbing, but it does work. Not sure why one would bother, however. It is not as if dubbing is a particularly expensive product. YMMV. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted September 7, 2017 http://globalflyfisher.com/tie-better/wash-n-dry-dubbing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted September 8, 2017 After a recent thread about this, I had the opportunity to try lint. I'd run a cheap, green towel through the wash, and it produced a large amount of green lint. I rolled it up, and was examining it for possible use as dubbing. I never did use it. My examination revealed two things to me. First, and foremost, dryer lint isn't made of fibers. It's made of cloth "dust". All of my purchased dubbing is fibrous enough to be trapped by the thread, I truly doubt if the dryer lint could be. I believe, as soon as the fly got wet, most of the lint would wash off and all you'd have would be the thread. Of course, I suppose you could UV it for buzzers and stuff. However ... Second, the color was ... unremarkable. After looking at it closely, I realized that it wasn't really a color I'd use, even if it WAS usable fibers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gene L 0 Report post Posted September 8, 2017 A simple solution is to toss your cat inside the drier. Turn the heat down, of course. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xvigauge 0 Report post Posted September 8, 2017 OK, so I guess it can be done. I really don't care about the water logging as I would use it only for nymphs anyway. The suggestion from whatfly tells me nothing as I used the search function and nothing came up. So what should I type into the search, whatfly? The article posted by SilverCreek is great and it not only says that it can be done, but that it is a good idea to use the dryer lint for dubbing. I won't be in tying mode until winter so I will experiment then. Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whatfly 0 Report post Posted September 8, 2017 Oh I don't know, maybe "lint"? Or your could try "lint for dubbing" on google and get even more information. Hard to believe you managed to find nothing... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xvigauge 0 Report post Posted September 8, 2017 Oh I don't know, maybe "lint"? Or your could try "lint for dubbing" on google and get even more information. Hard to believe you managed to find nothing... I'm talking about the search on this forum. Yes, I found nothing. Try it and if you find what works, let me know. Now google is a different story. I can find stuff on google, but I was asking guys on this forum who might have a little first hand knowledge. In fact, I thought you were implying that I would find info on this forum, which I didn't. Maybe you can and then relate it to us. Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ben bell 0 Report post Posted September 8, 2017 gotta be good for something..maybe mix it with cigar ashes and use it for snuff. lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lesg 0 Report post Posted September 8, 2017 Soak it in vaseline and put it in a watertight container. Makes a great fire starter. Don't know about using it for dubbing though. At about $1.50 per bag I don't worry about it. Les Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gene L 0 Report post Posted September 8, 2017 I've seen paper made out of lint. Rough paper, I suppose bonded with some sort of glue. Or maybe it was felted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bugsy 0 Report post Posted September 8, 2017 Oh I don't know, maybe "lint"? Or your could try "lint for dubbing" on google and get even more information. Hard to believe you managed to find nothing... I'm talking about the search on this forum. Yes, I found nothing. Try it and if you find what works, let me know. Now google is a different story. I can find stuff on google, but I was asking guys on this forum who might have a little first hand knowledge. In fact, I thought you were implying that I would find info on this forum, which I didn't. Maybe you can and then relate it to us. Joe It has been discussed here and elsewhere. The forum has always rejected 3-letter word searches, but now it's showing zilch on 4-letter searches. "Hook," "reel," "fish," and "bass" are examples of words commonly used here, yet the search finds nothing. It's apparently a more recent issue with the forum, and probably few here are aware of the problem, including whatfly who has contributed solid info here for many years. Good luck with your experiment. Lint dubbing isn't for me, but if you get the results you want, good for you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xvigauge 0 Report post Posted September 9, 2017 OK, Bugsy. No problem. Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
