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garetjax

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Posts posted by garetjax


  1. I have a set of wing burners for stonefly wingcases, but everything I've tried to burn look terrible (using tyvek paper)....nothing looks symetrical or even and the edges curl up....anyone got any tips on what I might be going wrong.

    I don't understand why you are using Tyvek paper. Your best results will be with with turkey tails. After burning the wing cases, make sure you coat them with flexament so they don't fall apart. I personally don't use wing burners; I find that bending the wings in half and cutting the tips of the feathers diagonally work a lot better. =)


  2. Ott Light has a couple of solutions with light & magnifier combos. I personally prefer the Ott true color type light, it is cooler. You can pick one up at Jo-Anne Fabric when they have their 40% off sale, which is like once a month. The fixture I use came with my Nor-Vise when I bought it but I do use a McKenzie light for travel. You're going to have to try out several magnifiers to see which is best for you. I use a 1.75 but everybody's eyes are different so you're going to figure that out yourself.

    TroutBum, can you give me a quick review of your McKenzie light? Which one do you have? There are two kinds, either the 10 watt version or the round version, I think it's the 12 watt one. Does your McKenize have the optional magnifier with it? I don't plan to travel with my vise, so is this a good choice for me? Should I opt for a bigger/brighter light and magnifier? I generally would like to get your opinion on it.

     

    To everyone else, thank you very much for linking and reccomending different types of lights and magnifiers. A lot of the stuff you guys linked I hadn't even seen before, and I am glad that you did! A lot of it is very affordable and seem to be quality products! =)

     

    If anyone else wants to add their choices for what I am looking for, please do so! =D


  3. I had a couple questions concerning these items.

     

    Magnifiers

    What should I be looking for in a typical, fly tying magnifier? Am I looking for a glass or plastic (polycarbonate) solution, and what power is considered too much, and what is considered not enough? I have seen magnifiers range from 1.5x all the way to 4x. Are there any brands or manufacturers that are make good quality magnifiers?

     

     

    Lighting

    For lighting, I should be looking for what kind of lighting solution? I have heard that florescent lighting is not that great, and halogen can be hot. Any reccomendations or advice in this regard?

     

     

    Also, I have seen some products out there that incorporate both a magnifier and a lighting solution. Are these any good? The ones I am referring to are the McKenzie, Giraffe and Daylight.

     

    All of them use plastic (polycarbonate) lenses for their magnifiers, the Giraffe uses a Tru-Color incandescent bulb, the McKenzie uses a Halogen in their Bright Light, and the Daylight uses a large florescent bult in their model.

     

    Any help or insight to solve my lighting and magnification needs would be appreciated. Thanks! =)


  4. Are there any scissors that comfortably stay on your hands while you tie? I hate having to pick up and lay down my scissors every time I want to use them. I have rather large hands and fingers, so I need something that isnt too tiny for me to hold. Any suggestions? The only scissors I have found so far are the ones that Al Beatty uses in THIS video.

     

    The thread is HERE. It's "The Basics" tying video, first one in the list.


  5. I cut each slip first then use my bodkin to scoop up some flexament. I hold the feather slip over the bottle and dab it with the soaked bodkin. I then preen the feather between thumb and finger a couple of times, usually soaks bowth sides that way. It doesn't take long to dry. All the excess drips back into the bottle. You can just dunk the feather slip in a new bottle and preen or use a small brush. Once its dry you can coat it again and or add some more when it is tied on. I like to add a couple coats of head cement or sally hansen's once it is tied in. It protects the feather/flexament and adds a glossy sheen.

     

    http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?act...amp;showid=4371

     

    I usually put the slips in a bull dog clip or simmilar to hold the feather and let air circulate around it. Like I say flexament does not take long at all to dry

    Thanks for the detailed instructions!

     

    When you say that you preen the feather between thumb and forefinger, you are talking about forming the wing case, correct? Like you would on a stonefly in a V-shape?

     

    Also, is Flexament the same as head cement, and have you ever used wingburners to shape your wingcases, and where do you go to get bulldog clips at? Can you provide a link?

     


  6. As the owner of 6 cats of which I would never consider harming in any way, I am able to gain all the dubbing material I can use in a lifetime by simply brushing them. They all love it and if you use the stainless steel brush type of comb it will produce some excellent material as it also collects the loose under-fur that is so soft it is amazing. If using sizzors to cut the fur, be very, very care as to not nick their skin. They tend to become very unfriendly if you do.

    My cat's belly fur does not have loose hair. I tried with a comb already and got nowhere. That's why I suggested a pair of scissors. =)


  7. Peak Rotary Vise - pedestal version. Awesome.

     

    Things I like about this vise:

    The looks

    The jaws sit higher above the desk than the Renzetti Traveler (my 2nd choice)

    The price.

     

    Just wanted to share my great experience with Kurt Pflock at Peak Fishing. I received a Peak vise for Christmas that we had ordered from Bass Pro Shop. Very nice vise but this one had a little bit of play in the rotating shaft at the front of the brass block on the riser.

     

    I know I probably could have taken it back to Bass Pro Shop but it's about an hour away. So instead I e-mailed Peak Fishing and asked for their assessment of the problem. I received a reply within about an hour with a suggested fix. Unfortunately this did not fix the problem. So after another e-mail or two we determined that the hole in the brass block was a bit out of spec.

     

    Kurt put a replacement part in the mail immediately along with a material clip.

     

    To sum it up, I am happy with the vise and the company which stands behind their product.

    Same story here. I bought my PEAK vise from Bass Pro, took it home and discovered that the brass body housing had really bad gouges in the metal. Stupid me, I didn't bother looking inside the box before I took it home; it was sealed, what can I say? Anyway, I called Kurt Pflock up, told him my problem and he immediately issued an RMA and had a new vise at my house in less than 2 days. I didn't even have to send the first one to him. Once I was satisfied that the second vise that arrived was in great shape (it was, he apparently hand picked it to ensure that I got one that wasn't damaged) I sent the other one back without having to pay the shipping charges.

     

    PEAK has definitely earned my business. There are very few, if any, other fly tying vise companies out there that take care of their customers like PEAK does.


  8. FeathersMC.com had good prices, shipping, and some of the customer service attributes of a local shop.

    I went to this website... HOLY SMOKES. These guys have just about every feather, style, whatever in any color you want that you could imagine. I must have spent nearly three hours looking through that site. Great place! I ended up getting my black turkey feathers there. ;)


  9. You could spay the feather with super 77 spray adhesive. Or coat each slip with flexament. I usually coat tied in shell cases with head cement a few times, or Sally Hansen's hard as nails. Anything simmilar would work, and drop of epoxy, will make it real strong

    Thanks for the reply! When you say coat each slip with flexament, do you mean both sides or just one side? If it's just one side, which side is it? Also, do you coat the slips before removing them from the quill, or do you coat the slips once they are installed on the fly? I apologize for having you elaborate, but I am quite new at this still and want to be sure that I do this right.


  10. At one time I tied my K-Mann Stones with treated turkey tail. I used vinyl cement, inexpensive and easily obtained in stores. Goop would probably work well too. I have also used Krylon Fixatif, but it doesn't hold up as well on flies that spend their time tumbling on the bottom of a river.

     

    Anymore, I mostly use swiss straw. It's cheap, tough, and I don't have to fuss with adhesives. Sure, it lacks the mottling, but it does the job equally well. If you think it makes a difference, you could mottle the swiss straw with markers. :blink:

     

    Check HERE and HERE to see for yourself.

     

    If you use turkey, I don't know if it really matters how you treat the feathers; they're gonna get banged around and torn up in the process.

    I was told that swiss straw works equally as well as turkey tails do. Unfortunately, neither Bass Pro or Gander Mountain had any. Nice flies, by the way. They look really good. Can you tell me how you made your dubbing to obtain the different colors? Is that a Kaufmann Blend from Wapsi, or one of your own making? If it is, could you explain in detail how to do it? =)


  11. I am trying to find a few things needed to make nymphs and stoneflies. I have been to my local Bass Pro Shop and Gander Mountain but neither carry or have in stock what I need. Can anyone reccomend a good, reputable (honest) online retailer that keeps fly tying supplies in stock with a wide variety to choose from? I am trying to locate some Kaufmann blends (black and tan/brown), 5/64" gold beadheads, and dark laquered turkey tails.

     

    I have found plenty of online retailers that sell this stuff, but I've never done business with them. Any suggestions?


  12. My son and i attended last nights fly tying session at the Harrisburg, PA Bass Pro Shop. The sessions run on Thusday nights from early November until Late spring. They are given by Bobby Clouser son of Bob Clouser.

     

    They are geared towards the beginner/novice tyer (last night was the Wooly Bugger) so I took my 8 yr old son to expose him to some quality teaching rather than just dad's teaching.

     

    There were 20+ people there and atleast 7 or 8 were kids in the 8-12 yr old range. All tools and materials are provided by Bass Pro. They set up one table with vises, tools and materials and another table for folks who bring thier own equipment.

     

    At the end we went in to the mall for some casting demonstrations and tips which helped me out too.

     

    All in all it was a great experience and i will probably take my son back again. Next time i will remember to wear my FTF shirt though :)

    I planned to go last Thursday, but I didn't get out of class until late that night. I live about 30 minutes away from Harrisburg and have been meaning to get down there and participate in the activities. Are you on the mailing list? I'd like to perhaps meet up with you when they hold next weeks classes.

     

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