primeflycompany

Definitely not to just cut wing cases- I know a lot of pike guys who use them to cut custom ultra suede tail shapes- stuff like cohen's tails, kiley's stuff, paccharini, etc. All can be cut on those machines. I think Pat uses a laser cutting machine, but it's a pretty thin materials. Off the top- I would cut foam strips, ultra suede tails, raffia, stencil patterns, -

@FliesbyNight Very nice bench- I'll having a custom desk made next year (I tried a small roll top, but, it's too restrictive for me) and having that garbage feature is really smart. I've been thinking of just making it circular hole so I can hook up a shop vac directly to it.

I would definitely tie up some 239 Flies Megalolipops (tan/pink, chartruese/olive) and some Backwater Fly FC Pinfish.

I've managed to collect and read through a lot of fly fishing and fly tying books, as I'm sure most of you have. Maybe 25% of those will remain in my collection- so I wanted to see if people were interested in a book swap. Outside of rare collector pieces, most tying books are in the $20-40 range so I'd much rather swap a few to have something new to read, and you might have a book I'm interested in. Any new book is better than any book that will just sit in a plastic tote in the attic, or on the low shelf in the corner. My first book that I would like to swap, is Oliver Edward's Flytyers Masterclass. It is a great book, and is in very good shape. but I've had it for a long time now and don't tie a lot of his patterns any more, aside from the Mohican Mayfly and his Freshwater Shrimp. Very nice instruction, albeit for some more complicated patterns. 246 pages, covering 20 patterns. If you have a book you would like to swap, post it below. Once we get a few posted, if someone wants to swap, each pay your own media mail to ship it, and boom- two people with two new books.

hahaha, yea kind of. I'll work on more pics today just to share a few things that might help others. But, all of that started with humble beginnings. This was my first tying bench and my favorite. Sometime in 2016

Here is a photo from two years ago that covers 1/3rd or so of my workshop. Somehow, it has still grown over those two years. Organization is paramount with a beast like this. There have been a few funny moments along the way- losing ALL of my hare's masks for a year, only to find them when looking for my ostrich herl. Immediately to the right is metal slat wall, and to the right of that a pegboard and on the door is all of my flash- I'll grab a photo. To the left of this frame is a giant warehouse shelf that holds bigger tools (foot pedal dubbing brush machine, drying wheels, dubbing blenders, airbrush and compressor, plus excess/bulk materials, an acrylic thread dispenser, an acrylic fly bin, packing materials, etc. To the left of that is 3 more wood slatwalls and a fly tying bookshelf. I'll post more photos when the light is decent

A Ported Popper and a Pike Slider. Check out my latest ties on Instagram @primeflycompany

Nope- I don't do any of this lol. Place hook in vise, tie fly, whip finish- REPEAT.

Prime Fly Paddletail Robo Shad.

Really like this and your rainbow warrior twist. Nice ties. This in black, olive, or mottled of both kindve ed shenk sculpin esque) would be a killer sculpin imitation

That's correct- I didn't go into this part but the other way to make a fly company (I kept it strictly at flies because I see so many guys just doing that on Etsy, Ebay, Instagram) work is to have additional revenue streams. All of which include other variables, costs, etc. Book sales, magazine articles, Patreon (aka charity lol), Youtube revenue, selling other products from 3rd party vendors, branded merchandise, paid fly tying classes, guiding, speaking fees, paid sponsorships, etc. It becomes very complicated and needs even more precision on your understanding because any venture you go into, could takeaway time from another venture that might actually make money.

I put it together pretty quick. I think it's right generally speaking. except it depends how strict you are with considering your Cost of Goods. In general, most people separate indirect costs from COGS and keep it strictly to materials plus labor. Hopefully it gives someone a general idea though. I appreciate it.

Here are some flies I've been tying. Polar Fiber Semper Fleye Bandit Shrimp in two colors 239 Megalolipop 1531234530-654 (1).webp

People like myself lol.