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Fly Tying
Gene L

Cautery tool

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Yeah, I have one.  I'm "queer for gear".  I only recently got it for cleaning up messy heads.  When I tired to use it, it would catch the hackle on fire, ruining the fly.  So I got to thinking; and to block  the hackle with a head shield, I cut a section of an aluminum can, about an inch or two, pierced it with a bodkin and enlarged it with an old scissors so it just fit over the head.  Voila'. This is a fine shield for the heat of the cautery tool and sure made for a neater head.

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Another trick...use batteries that are damn near dead. The tip doesn't get quite so hot. I learned the hard way as well😎

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2 hours ago, flytire said:

heat up the tip of your bodkin

Good tip, I recently started doing this, but use a large needle in a piece of cork. Previously I used a lighter and makeshift shield.  

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This...Use the guards and either a lighter or the cauterizing tool. Cauterizing tool makes me nervous when I think back to when wife decided our family was big enough.

492d50d1e22c5405131ca080ea89c9cc.png

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Yep, I use both methods, the needle/bodkin and the or the cauterizer, witch-ever I think suitable for the task at the time. Almost always with a guard, sometimes a guard is not needed when using the bodkin, but a steady hand is.

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7 hours ago, vicrider said:

This...Use the guards and either a lighter or the cauterizing tool. Cauterizing tool makes me nervous when I think back to when wife decided our family was big enough.

492d50d1e22c5405131ca080ea89c9cc.png

HaHa hear ya brother.My first wife seemed to really enjoy that procedure a lot more than i did.I had 4 kids with her.Second wife brought 3 with her.I guess tying has kept me sane.

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22 hours ago, flytire said:

heat up the tip of your bodkin with a lighter and singe away the fuzzies

I use this old bobbin threader that came with the inexpensive tool kit I bought back when I fist began tying.  Over the years the wire loop had gotten deformed and it no longer worked well for threading.  I cut it down short which made it more precise in the hand. The low grade wire it is made out of glows red almost instantly when hit with a lighter.  It also only holds the heat for a short time which can be both a blessing and a curse.

tttt.jpg.4493617f3e74c0e693424c07308cd51b.jpg

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I've got hackle guards somewhere in the hurricane scene of my tying room.  I thought about using them but I'm too lazy to look for them.  The tin thing I use works OK so far.

It's comforting to know I'm not the only one who cauterizes messy heads.

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I use the small halfhitch tool to push the hackle back with a half hitch. It keeps the eye clear for a finishing wrap.

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