Dubbing Machine

[willky1 0]

I was at a fly fishing trade show recently, and I came across something that I had not seen before. It was a machine that you could load a piece of wire (I think), put clumps of dubbing on the wire, turn it on, and you would get a piece of wire that was perfectly dubbed. I am pretty sure that I am remembering this correctly, but I have no idea what it actually was. It seemed to turn the wire and thereby "dub" the wire. Then the guy tied in the dubbed wire, wrapped it on the hook, whip finished with thread at the head, and was finished tying his fly. I must admit, I am relatively new to fly tying, but this seems like an incredible way to tie many dubbed flies (i.e. scuds). The machine was mainly made of wood but also had some mechanical parts. It was about 10-12 inches long. Has anybody seen anything like this? And if so, where can I get one?!

 

 

This is kind of what it looked like, but the one I saw was motorized and dubbed the wire VERY fast.

 

Thanks for the help y'all!

 

ALSO, what are these exactly used for? I'm sure I could come up with some applications for it, but why were these created? What was their original purpose?

Edited August 5, 2011 by willky1

[rstout 0]

It is called a dubbing block. You attach wire to one end, string it to the other end and then back to the starting end. You then put dubbing material between the strands and turn on the motor or turn it by hand which twists the wire and dubbing material together to make a dubbing "brush". You then attach the wire to a hook and dub a body. They are used so you do not have to dub material onto your thread.

[RickZieger 0]

There was an article in "Fly Tyer" a few years ago on how to build these.

Several fokks have made them.

 

Rick

[flytire 0]

watch the video on how its used

 

[flytire 0]

They are used so you do not have to dub material onto your thread.

 

that's not entirely true. a dubbing block is basically used to create a "dubbing brush" which can also be created using a simple "dubbing loop"

 

a dubbing block or twister doesn't necessarily replace the method of dubbing material onto the thread by hand.

[flytyinfreak 0]

I use one. In fact I use my brushes quite a bit. Wire/ dubbing is used for wets, and waxed thread(a little tricky)and CDC for dry/emergers. The uses for the machine are pretty open ended.. I've put feathers between extra fine wire for hackles, marabou for fluffy bodies, Fur etc etc etc. You get the idea. Experiment and go crazy. It helps with steelhead flies alot. Intruder brushes are so much easier to do bbefore hand instead of doing dubbing loops.

[creekhound 0]

I have one just like the one flytire posted in the video, you can make your own or do a search on ebay thats were i got mine.

[oatka 0]

My friend made a battery powered one. It takes a second or two to twist it up.

 

Here's a post with the photos of it. http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=26807

[streamcaddis 0]

watch the video on how its used

 

 

I got one of those dubbing brush makers and I love it.This thing is habit forming!!!. I have spent almost a whole morning turning out brushes. This thing is a "MUST HAVE" tool....

[MuddlerDaddy 0]

I made one of these a few years back and had fun with it for a while . Stopped using it but may start again since I just retired and have a lot more time to tie now !!

[Ardster 0]

Hello,

 

I tie many styles of fly, from size 8 on standard hooks up to Intruders on cut shanks. Are the strands of material (the brush) flexable enough to tie on smaller salmon & trout flies. I'm talking about wet and streamer flies here not dries.

 

Thanks for your replies,

 

Ard

[Crotalus 0]

The Enricro Puglisi brushes that I have used could easily work on size 8 flies. For homemade brushes you could use a smaller diameter of wire and less material for smaller flies.

[petelangevin 0]

You can use 34-36 gauge for those brushes. If you have an electric motor repair company around you may even be able to get 40 gauge

[SilverCreek 0]

I have a dubbing block made by James Smith. It is the one on the video by Curtis Fry. Jim does not make them anymore, but when he did, they were about $30. Here is mine.

 

 

 

Here are some helpful links:

 

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/tyingtips/part361.php

 

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?28581-dubbing-brushes

 

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=392415

 

http://fish.diverseworx.com/pat/dubbin.htm

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=69587&hl

 

Video on making your own dubbing block:

 

https://vimeo.com/3207607

[Gene L 0]

Mine is like that one above, except it has an "insert" in the slot. I guess so you can remove it and tie in larger brushes. Also, it's made of oak.

 

They're very helpful. An electrician gave me a quarter pound of extremely fine copper wire, about like a human hair thickness or (in reality, slightly larger.) The gauge isn't on the spool.

 

I got some good wire, heavier, from an electric fan. So I'm fixed up with enough free wire to do me the rest of my life.