Bobbin for wire?

[Deuterium]

Watched a Davie McPhail video and he used a ceramic bobbin for spooled wire. I haven't tried this. Anyone do this? How well does it work?

 

[jayL]

I use one of my cheap non-ceramic bobbins for wire. Don't see why I'd waste one of my good bobbins on it. Works like a charm, but I find that when I tie my ribbing in, it's best to just cut a length off rather than using the bobbin. It's too heavy, makes rotary awkward to impossible, and gets in the way. It's convenient for storage and dispensing.

 

[Deuterium]

Thanks. I was surprised, but he whip finished the wire. New technique to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORK-eDbWQbk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[midnightangler]

I have one bobbin that I use for wire. It's really no different from using thread. It keeps you from wasting wire, and it's certainly faster if you want to tie a bunch of copper johns or something.

 

[Crotalus]

I use my old cheapo bobbins for both copper wire and lead wire.

With a little practice it really cuts down on waste.

 

[flytyingfred]

I use the first one I ever bought for my lead.It is a large bobbin with no ceramic insert and it works well for that purpose. It does however put a lot of twists in the lead and makes it a little weaker and breaks off occasionally.

 

[wgmiller]

I was going to ask what people's experiences were with twist. I get a limited number of twists using a bobbin before the lead wire snaps. I do find it easier on some of the smaller flies, but for the bigger stuff it's just as easy to spiral it on by hand.

 

[FrequentTyer]

Deuterium wrote:
Thanks. I was surprised, but he whip finished the wire. New technique to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORK-eDbWQbk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sawyer didn't use thread when he tied the PTN. He also apparently didn't use a bobbin or a whip finish: http://youtu.be/416Os9V84n8

I used bobbins for wire, but never lead wire. Eventually I decided that the fuss wasn't worth the savings. I will use a bobbin for some flys like brassies if I'm tying a bunch, and then I use the rotary feature of the vise, so twist is not a problem. I can't think of a good reason why you would choose a ceramic insert for wire, but I actually have done just that because I have some that I don't use for anything else.

 

[Crotalus]

To minimize twist with the lead you have to feed a small amount of lead at a time. You can't feed out 2" then wrap it all on or it will break, just feed enough for a couple turns. It also varies based on diameter and type of wire so there is some trial and error.

This is one place where a rotary vice is nice. For long streamers I start the wire then use the rotary action to wrap the lead with no twist.