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DonAndersen

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Posts posted by DonAndersen

    What A Great Idea

    in Fly Tying Bench

    Posted

    Guys,

     

    To make the dubbing or herl last longer, I use a twister I built utilizing a Matterelli hackle plier that broke. I placed a Sunrise Hackle plier into the chrome loop and pinched just enough to hold it there. The Sunrise hackle plier has crappy jaws. To repair, I slid a piece of small heat shrink tubing onto each jaw and shrank using a heat gun. The shrink tubing is available from Radio Shack.

    The bodkin is make from pieces of cane rod that didn't make the grade. A decent length of needle + 30 minute epoxy finished it off.

     

    catch ya'

     

     

    Don

    post-206-1198945819.jpg

    What A Great Idea

    in Fly Tying Bench

    Posted

    Guys,

     

    The plan was to make a fly that floated and lasted. Both were accomplished. Hence the name 100 fish fly. [ C is roman numeral for 100, F is for fish and second F is for fly]

    If you really want dubbing to hold, use a loop of thread + the herl [ or dubbing] + a stand of light wire. Twist together. Pheasant Tail nymphs really work well using this technique. Similarly, I've added loops of Flashabou into the thread loop as well.

    Tough flies are GOOD!

     

    catch ya'

     

     

    Don

    Is Hentry David Thoreau Right?

    in General Chat - Fishing Related

    Posted

    Ya' But!!!

     

    Nearly all the talk on this web site and other FF sites is about gear, how-to & where to. What we say is important and is NOT reflected in the postings generally.

     

    I don't know about you guys, but I fish to catch fish. Often said by anglers " I had a great day" which in angler speak means - I haven't caught anything If the object of the fishing is really to get away from it all, how 'bout choosing some out of the way place and quit mucking up the water for the rest of us.

     

    I fish 'cause I like the challenge - the game if you will. Certainly the experience is heightened by friends or location, but the object of the game is to catch fish.

     

    Now if I could just get a big hug from you all, maybe I'd really get into the Xmas spirit.

     

    catch ya'

     

     

    Don

    Bastard Adams Recipe

    in Fly Tying Bench

    Posted

    Rick,

     

    The denier on Phentex is much finer than some Macrame yarns. Some flower pot holders [where macrame was supposed to be used was really phentex] And the crap you buy @ Walmart is made in China. Not the original stuff @ all.

    The macrame store's bonnie braid is what I use. Don't get me wrong. I have a number of colors of Phentex that I use for various things - mostly dubbing.

     

    catch ya'

     

     

    Don

    The Mystery Of Cripple Creek

    in General Chat - Fishing Related

    Posted

    Smitty,

     

    My experience somewhat mirrors yours. I've fished it from the N. Ram upstream with little luck and from where it leaves the FTR downstream for a couple of klicks. No much luck there either. But, above the FRT, caught a sack of fish as well as along the road. Whoops - there goes the theory of easy access makes lousy fishing.

     

    catch ya'

     

    Don

    Thread For Split Dubbing Loops

    in Fly Tying Bench

    Posted

    sirocco,

     

    The thread you chose must be of the flat filament type. I use Danville's 6/0. You should stroke the thread against your finger and thumb nail to get the twists out while leaving your bobbin spin. This is done prior to splitting the thread.

    Note: most threads are left hand twist meaning right hand tiers put more and more twists into the thread each turn you take. Leaving your bobbin spin will remove most of them. [ Go lefties]

    You also need a very sharp needle to separate the threads into even bundles.

    The methods works well for small denier hydrocarbon dubbing materials like Fly Rite etc. Heavier denier materials [like seal fur] are much tougher to capture.

     

    catch ya'

     

     

    Don

    Attempt At A Detached Body

    in Fly Tying Bench

    Posted

    Din,

     

    I'd suspect that it will sink like a stone [not a golden - like a rock]. It appears like you used deer hair for detached tail. When wrapped tightly, the air capsules within the deerhair collapse and the fly won't float well if at all. The hackle is too small to lend support to the body of the fly. The wing to too long and will cause the fly to lay on it's side. Further, detached bodies, while looking good rarely fish well as the body is just stiff enough to force the fly out of the mouth of the fish. If you wish to make detached bodies, use some type of yarn material. Take a strand, tie it in @ the bend of the hook, rotate it a number of times and tie it again @ the bend of the hook. The yarn is soft and the hooking misses tend to disappear, the yarn will soak up floatant, the yarn is less weight than deer hair. A lot of problems disappear when using yarn for detached tails. Mind you, you won't get the tailing fibers w/o a lot of effort. The only mayfly imitation that may require a detached body are brown drakes and Hexs. Either of which are late night hatches and rarely require the guile of daylight ties.

     

    catch ya'

     

     

    Don

    Czech Nymph Revisited

    in Fly Tying Bench

    Posted

    Guys,

     

    Watched the Czech nymph thing with interest. Am I mistaken here but few of the flies offered are truly Czech nymphs. They must be very heavily weighted. None of the offerings appear to be. The Czech nymph is both a nymph and a fly presentation. Czech nymphing cannot be done with W/O heavily weighted flies.

    Maybe you should have renamed the contest - lightly weighted Caddis nymphs.

     

    regards,

     

     

    Don

    Bamboo

    in General Chat - Fishing Related

    Posted

    Conor,

     

    Want some cane to try? Got a couple of hundred spline left over from rod building. Give a shout.

    For a plane, like CD says, get it from Lee Valley tools. http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=...amp;cat=1,41182

    The Stanley planes are going down hill fast. Plane steel is not great but will work.

    For sharping & tuning a plane see http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00003.asp

    + look for Scary Sharp

    Build the rest of the stuff - see Todd's site above.

     

    Don

    Bamboo

    in General Chat - Fishing Related

    Posted

    nickt,

     

    Thought I might pass along an "introduction" that was posted to Rodmakers this AM and a response by another builder to the newbie. The response is critical. You learn by doing. By doing a lot of things wrong and working out the problem. Don't let the absence of tooling stop you. Built my first rod using forms I made from laminated hockey sticks, a single plane, no binder, a Benzomatic Propane torch and a lot of time.

    Building cane rods well takes some time and a lot of splinters, cuts, ruined cane, lousy casting rods, learning a new language [cussing] and on and on. It's a journey much like FFing. It just never ends.

     

    Still trying to figure out the road map.

     

    Don

     

     

     

    The intro:

     

    Hi, my name is Mike Shelton and I have been reading "Rodmakers" for about a month. I have been restoring old bamboo fly rods and decided to take the next step - make them. I recently ordered a Bellinger Planing Form, their Bamboo Strip Wrapper, and depth gauge. I also bought a Lie Nielson 9 1/2 block planer and 212 scraper. I went to Woodcraft and purchased diamond sharpeners, a wooden mallet, #7 gouge, sand paper, a Black in Decker heat gun, a small brass caliper, and a digital caliper. What other tools do you feel I need to make hex fly rods. I was thinking about ordering other equipment from The Golden Witch. Would that be a good company to order from? I live in Midlothian, Virginia and I have been teaching 7th grade Life Science for 26 years. I would greatly appreciate your input and help. I am sure I will be asking a lot of questions in the future as I start this journey. Thank you all ahead of time for any information.

     

    Sincerely,

    Mike Shelton

     

    The response:

     

    Michael,

     

    Like all good questions, the answer to your's is the same. It depends! You have more then enough tools to get started. I would encourage you to do just that. Get started. Go ahead and start. If you find you need a tool, buy it when this realty sets in.

     

    You are fortunate to have excellent tools. You have all of the tools required, in fact you have more than that required, but that might not be the same thing as having all you might find helpful or that you might want. Dave Norling, who is active on this list, taught a class last August to six worthy students in Minneapolis with just basic tools, not even all that you already have. I stood around and watched most of the time when I was not digging graves for the few that died along the way. Most of the students actually lived through the experience. I wish you had taken part. We really demystified the process by applying good doses of reality. While not perfect, many produced beautiful rods that should make them proud. So, it can be done. The class never used calipers, or a gouge. It did use a froe, which is not on you list, but an old sheath knife will do just as well. You might find glue helpful. You probably figured that out, but you sorta need to make a decision in that regard. You might find a healthy supply of single-edged razor blades, straight edge of some sort, colored markers, pencils, pencil sharpener, rags, paper towels, fresh masking tape, cotton cord larger than you would use in a binder, and large bastard file helpful. I don't know if these fall into the classification of supplies or tools. I see no obvious provision for heat treatment, so I'd encourage you to consider your options. Propane torch, large ones are easier to use, will do nicely. That's about it except for you to work with an eye on safety, and a large supply of bandages wouldn't hurt. Don't over look the tool that sits on top of your shoulders. Without out that one in good working order, you are sure to fail.

     

    None of these supply items are hard to come-by, and you might not have intended an answer to go in this direction because you already know or have this stuff. Of course, you do need bamboo and a taper; I guess these go without mentioning.

     

    > From that point, gee there are some neat gadgets that might make the phases

    of the process you find boring, frustrating, tiring, whatever, more enjoyable and faster. You don't need such things, but they are nice. Only you can really know which they are.

     

    Good luck. How about keeping us posted on your process?

     

    Russell

    Bamboo

    in General Chat - Fishing Related

    Posted

    nickt,

     

    And from the "Rodmakers List" this AM comes:

     

    One nice thing about this list is that up until recently it was never used to promote any personal gain in any direct or indirect way. People and there products were recommended to help seekers, not give someone a profit from their sales. People asked rodmaking questions and gave information, advice, answers, and opinions based on their own needs or knowledge. The whole concept as I saw this list was to further the tradition of split bamboo rod making amongst those who could and had, and those who wanted to. I never saw a person on here that wouldn’t share his tapers, ideas, advise, techniques, experiences, and/or anyone else’s that had been publicly posted. It seems like the best makers past and present give the most with their advice and sharing information on this list that others only want to sell you a class. This list and its members are and have been to help each other and I know I have received more help here than I could have bought in any class. Several people have always helped the newbies even if the same question was posted the day before. I really enjoy the list and its members. Let’s promote those who help others with so much valuable information. Where else can you find a person who sells something help you make it yourself and truly support rodmaking and romakers? You could take all the magazines, websites, and lessons, put them in a bucket and this list would still have better makers and information to help others than twice the contents in that bucket. This list is the place for those to learn and carry on the tradition for traditions sake, not a profit or story about tradition. Sorry too much coffee! I’m not opposed to classes or lessons; I’m just saying the true supporters of this tradition rather help you than help themselves. You take this LIST and PowerFibers, and you have every resource a person could want except the hands-on and experience of doing some making yourself.

     

    LONG LIVE THE LIST and ITS TRADITION, POWERFIBERS TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     

    Web address is: http://smtp.goldrush.com/mailman/listinfo/rodmakers

     

     

    CDone,

     

    Isn't quite that bad yet. Only 1/3 of the way there - to $100,00 this is.

     

    catch ya'

     

     

    Don

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