Need help making nice head

[Steve P. 0]

Hi all,

Voting for the best flies yesterday reminded me that a crucial part of making a fly look

good is in making a nice head - thread has to be flat, profile smooth, and finish nice looking.

Anybody out there have a "system" for repeatedly making good heads - I'm talking about specifics:

for example, do you

build up the profile you like, then flatten the thread and make close wraps starting at hook eye, go to

body, then back to eye, then do a whip finish, then 2 coats of SHHAN or what?

 

The heads really made a big difference in my voting - big impact on overall appearance...

 

Thanks for any help...

Steve P.

[Hairstacker 0]

I think you've asked a very fair question but it is difficult to answer with specifics because types of heads and their characteristics can vary so much. For example, the head on a Clouser is built up on the bucktail and flash materials that are tied in at the head. Thus it becomes important to pay attention to where you tie in successive bunches of materials at the head and how you trim these materials to ensure a nicely tapered head. Thread choice becomes important as well to ensure a smooth finish, rather than one full of ridges, which is why I, for example, use Danville flat-waxed nylon for all of my Clousers. In other words, it is not just about how you run the thread back and forth to build up the head.

 

In contrast, on a deer hair popper, the "head" is simply thread whip-finished on a bare section of the hook immediately in front of the hook eye. Thus, for a deer hair popper, there is no taper to worry about. Instead, it is critical to make sure you've spun/stacked in deer hair to the point you simply can't get any more on the hook -- otherwise, you end up with an unsightly gap between the body of the fly and the eye of the hook, and the fly may end up appearing loosely packed or even unfinished. You'll also want to ensure your whip finish doesn't begin to build up thread on the hook eye itself, as there's a tendency to do this as you try to avoid trapping hairs in your whip finish. Afterwards, you'll definitely want to spend time ensuring you've completely removed any hairs inadvertently caught in the whip finish.

 

Thus, I strive to recognize these types of characteristics and differences inherent in each of the types of flies I tie and attempt to adapt tactics relevant to each. Universally, though, I particularly focus on ensuring I have left the optimum amount of room for a good head, so I don't end up with unsightly gaps or, just as bad, wraps that start to build up on or even partially obscure the hook eye itself. And it goes without saying to make sure to clip off any fibers, hairs, etc., that might have inadvertently gotten trapped in the whip finish. As you've no doubt noticed, a fully appearing hook eye with no gaps between it and the materials and without trapped materials sticking out of the whip finish do make a difference in the final appearance of the fly, particularly one that will end up in a photo.

 

-- Mike

[ted patlen 0]

Anybody out there have a "system" for repeatedly making good heads - I'm talking about specifics:

 

 

perfection would be each and every turn of thread wound directly next to the previous one .........but i haqven't seen anyone who is perfect ..well... heather locklear but that's a little different...

 

 

some materials will compress easily and smllish heads are simple...while some other materials such as hair or bucktail used in streamers and such need to be experimented with...

 

if the foundation to the head is a square cut , then the thread wrapped on top of this will remain "square" to acheiove a "bullet" shape then the foundation needs to be tapered before wrapping..not difficult...

 

start with this execise...take bunch of bucktail (equal to a normal sized streamer fly size 6) and cut the ends at 90degrees giving a "square" end then tie onto a plain hook and try to form a head......next take the same amount of bucktail and cut teh ends at an angle forming a taper then tie that onto a hook...work to the eye then back most peole find it easy whipping the thread at the back of the head..

 

welcome to the sickness

[MIKE*A 0]

I've known some guys to use "flat" thread or floss for finishing their head....it can make for a neater looking head.

[flytyingscotsman 0]

 

You're going to get 2 radically different answers to this question, based on

whether we're talking display/collector flies versus fishing flies ....

 

[Joe Hard 0]

I like to form the head on flies, and it doesn't always happen, with the thread hanging at the last tie in point. With tags of material cut on an angle as Ted explained. Spiral wrap fairly close toward the eye, A strong tight thread like 8/0 uni will also cut through some of the butt materials of the fly. The wraps can be removed and the debris removed from the thread and head area of the fly. Once again I will spiral wrap closely and tightly toward the eye covering everything.

 

With a flat thread wrapping rearward, with close back to back wraps, I cover the head back to the last tie in point, tightly. Then again with a whip finisher, and flat thread I try to make close flat back to back wraps with the tool toward the eye. . The number of wraps all depends on the thread and how the head looks. I do this as a habit as I have found it security holds everything and most of the time looks good. This is just sort of a general rule I use, sometimes on fishing flies I will make a double whip finnish. The thread wraps can also be burnished like floss to make it real smooth and shinny.

 

For presentation flies, which I dont always do and use the above method. I trim all the butts as close as I can to the last tie in point. Spiral wrap forward and build up the area in front of the butts until the thread will climb on top of them when wrapped rearward. I then wrap over all of the butts just to cover them. Then wrap toward they eye, covering everything and make 2 or 3 half hitches at the last forward thread wrap.

 

Sometimes the last forward wraps are done with a flat thread and whip finnish tool. The head will look sloppy as you will be able to see the thread wraps. One coat of thin head cement, that seeps into everything, dried. Then two or three coats of thicker head cement, high gloss black or thick nail polish will cover everything. I do not find this is a very secure method to hold materials if a fly is to be fished but it is a good method for forming small bullet shaped heads.

[Steve P. 0]

Hi all,

Thanks to all for your responses to a poorly-defined question. Regarding fishing vs display flies, I am referring

to the best looking display flies - after all, almost anything goes on fishing flies. Regarding small vs

big (clouser) flies, I suppose I'm really talking about the bigger flies, where you can really see the difference...

 

Really, to get down to it, let's assume that the head profile is already the way you want it. Now you need

to finish it with thread and cement in a way that makes it look incredibly professional. Joe Hard presented an answer

that included this - thanks for that - I liked the burnishing idea, never thought of that.

 

Just for more background/ideas, one tier visiting our club showed that he wrapped the head with closely

aligned thread wraps till he got the shape he wanted. Then, he backed off 3 or 4 wraps, so that he could

fill in that space with the final whip finish. Another tier mentioned that he always does the final whip

finish so that the wraps are closely aligned and end at the hook eye...

 

Anybody else (maybe a pro like Al Beatty) have a good way to produce a finished incredible looking head?

 

I have always wondered about this. Thanks again for the answers!

 

Steve P.

[flytyingscotsman 0]

 

I never did find a head cement that was worth a damn for this application,

so I don't use it at all unless it's just to get a relatively smooth base to start with.

 

Then, something colored like Loon hard head (black) is next. Red varnish might be worth

considering.

 

After that's dry, one or two coats of Sally Hansen's 'Hard as Nails'.

 

If you're still not happy with the results, polish the head with some mild abrasive on a cotton

bud ('Brasso' the metal cleaner is good for this).