Varnish application on flshing fly

[jhangfk 0]

I am a beginner fly dresser or fly tier, I am having difficuly to dry the flie after the application of vanish or super glue. Both thing takes a long time to dry out. My problem is spreading on table, loose the space for tying and desk become messy.

[Fred H. 0]

I am a beginner fly dresser or fly tier, I am having difficuly to dry the flie after the application of vanish or super glue. Both thing takes a long time to dry out. My problem is spreading on table, loose the space for tying and desk become messy.

There are many ways to keep your flies in check while drying. One of the best ways is a drying wheel. the drying wheel can be bought through many fly tying suppliers or can be made by yourself (if your handy), from the osilating motor from a fan. The best feature of a drying wheel is that it allows the cement or epoxy to dry level as it constantly rotaes the fly. Before I got a drying wheel I dried many of my flies on a magnet strip that I attached to a shelf above my tying desk. You can get a magnet strip from most craft stores and they come with an adhesive backing .

Hope this helps , Fred

 

[FKROW 0]

Here is my system taught to me by my long time fly tying mentor.

 

It is much better to make multiple thin coats of head cement, you may be applying too much if drying is a problem.

 

We use a piece of balse wood, abouth 1/4" thick x 2" x 5" for storring the flys while the head cement is drying.

 

With the fly in the vise,,,, bring the balsa wood up to the hook point,,,,, press into the balsa,,,, then release the vise jaws,,,, the flys will be lined up in a row down the 5" dimension.

 

The balsa can be placed anywhere on your table with little space wasted,,,,, no dropping of flys or special rigs for drying.

 

Second coat,,,,, repeat above.

 

When the balsa wood is chewed up from use,,,, take your pocket knife and trim away 1/8" and fresh wood is ready for another cycle.

 

Regards,

FK

[Futzer 0]

Hello Jhangfk,

 

I do the same as Fred does; I found a Barbeque rotisserie motor at a local flea market for about $5. It turns about 6 rpm. I mounted a 6-inch diameter, white, 2-inch thick foam circle, which was used as packing material on something I ordered. If you build your own rods you can adapt it with masking tape and a small v shaped stand for the far end of the rod section. Anyway. You can check out these links to see more options.

 

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/cgi-bin/item/O...hing-Motor.html

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=29609

http://globalflyfisher.com/tiebetter/epoxy_rotor

 

Cheers, Futzer.

 

[Old Hat 0]

I don't know what kind of flies you are tying. With that said, a well tied whip finished head with waxed thread should be all you need for trout/panfish flies. I rarely ever put any cement on my fishing flies and don't have a problem with them at all. If you must put on cement, get a water based thin cement that saturates into the thread head. Just a little will do you well. Now if you want a glossy head then you will need to be patient, apply a small coat of thin cement to saturate into the thread (let it dry), then apply 2-4 more thin coats of a glossy head cement or nail polish (allowing it to dry in between coats). I use a small brush to apply the thin cement, and a bodkin to apply the glossy coatings. The emphasis is on patience and small thin coats of cement. Superglue for head cement will work but is messy and hard to control. If you doing a lot of big flies, streamers, salt water, etc. then I would surely recommend getting the fly dryer that others have mentioned because as it turns and dries the cement will slide around the head and give a very nice smooth glossy head without any dripping. Making nice glossy heads usually takes me more time than tying the fly.

[jhangfk 0]

Hi thanks fellas