New Tying Desk (and question on hackle attempt)

[djs12354]

Picked up a new bench for my tying set-up. (Figured I had pushed Joy's patience long enough with the plastic folding table).
Since I had gotten up at 5:30 this morning, assembled it and tried to arrange materials in some semblance of order. (Which I don't claim to have achieved at all.)

Also looking for feedback on my first attempt at dry fly hackle. Just wanted t play with it and see how it came out. I had difficulty with the initial tie-in. I kept tugging the feather off the hook. Any suggestions for locking it in place better, or do I just need to be more careful about how much pressure I apply as I start to wrap the hackle? If it make a difference, it's a size 18 hook I was working with.

Finally got a warm weekend and this is the closest I got to fishing. Lots of running around Saturday and Joy was sick this morning, so I was not able to go out today. :-(

Thanks for critique on the hackle attempt.

 

[lv2nymph]

Cool tying desk, I wish you many happy hours at the bench. As for the hackle I tie very few dries. My advise would be if you have them is to start on a bigger size fly, say a 12 or a 14 it will be a little easier to cut your teeth with that size.

 

[RCFetter]

That desk is nice. Good luck with it.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

djs12354 wrote:
Also looking for feedback on my first attempt at dry fly hackle. Just wanted t play with it and see how it came out. I had difficulty with the initial tie-in. I kept tugging the feather off the hook. Any suggestions for locking it in place better, or do I just need to be more careful about how much pressure I apply as I start to wrap the hackle? If it make a difference, it's a size 18 hook I was working with.

Yeah, a delicate touch is required.

A face to face tying session would be a good idea....

 

[FrequentTyer]

Nice desk! On the hackle, you do need to be firm with the thread tying it in. I usually try to leave the butt long enough to to tie in behind the wing and then in front up to the eye to really lock it in. Also, when you grab the feather think about how you are pulling it. I try to pull it forward over the eye first to "break" the stem by putting a 90 deg bend in it. This actually pushes against the thread and avoids pulling the stem out.
You can also trim the barbs to leave a comb at the tie in point, or double the stem over as your tying in, but that seems like overkill to me.
Enjoy the new tying bench,
Mike.

 

[jeremymcon]

It's probably a little unorthodox, but when I tie with hackles that have fairly thick stems, I'll often tie them in with a couple wraps, then put on a dab of super glue, then lay down a couple more wraps of thread over that. Seems to hold the hackle pretty well. Lol. I haven't been doing it with the dry fly saddle hackle I bought recently though - the stems are really thin, so tie in easily. Stems seem to be a little thicker on dry fly capes.

I like how you can close up that tying desk. I always feel like a slob when I leave stuff sit out on my desk. Being able to cover it up would be nice.

 

[dc410]

Nice tying desk, Dave. That looks like a great set up for you. Coming from an experienced dry fly guy like Mike, his tips in the post above on tying in your hackle feather for a dry fly are hard to beat. Good luck with your tying!

 

[djs12354]

Thanks everyone!

BTW - desk is from the Just Cabinets chain. Would have liked a little larger one, but this one closed up and the larger one did not.

 

[Stagger_Lee]

That's a nice deak Dave. I like the sectionals to help keep the unorganized ... organized. Good luck and good tying!

 

[GenCon]

Nice looking desk, best of luck with it. The guys above already gave you some good advice on tying in your hackle.

GC

 

[PennKev]

djs12354 wrote:

I had difficulty with the initial tie-in. I kept tugging the feather off the hook. Any suggestions for locking it in place better, or do I just need to be more careful about how much pressure I apply as I start to wrap the hackle? If it make a difference, it's a size 18 hook I was working with.

First off, start learning on larger hooks and work your way down.

With that said, try binding down a longer section of the hackle stem.
When preparing the hackle before tying in, strip the barbs off leaving a long enough stem to work with. Some illustrated instructions show the prepared hackle with just a little stub left to tie in. Don't do that, leave the stem long. Before you tie it in, you should have a solid, continuous layer of thread on the shank where your hackle will tied in and also where it will be wound. This will give your thread and hackle stem better grip when your tie it in. Next, lay the stem across the top of the shank and wrap it with thread. Your thread wraps should cover the hackle stem from the point where your wrapped hackle will meet the body to a point just behind the head. It is at this point just behind the head where the excess hackle stem will protrude. Using a sharp pair of scissors, snip off the excess and make another couple wraps to cover the little nub. Alternately, you can trim the hackle stem earlier in the procedure and make more wraps to finishing tying it in. Either way, the stem should be trimmed at a length where it lays just short of the flies head. If you have wings on you fly, the hackle stem should lay across the top of the shank and between the two split wings. Bind down the stem behind and in front of the wings following the same procedure for trimming the stem.

If you use two hackles (grizzly and brown together for example), follow the same method but tie the hackles in together as if they where one feather. Trying to wrap the stems to the shank individually will be way too bulky, especially on smaller flies.

Kev

 

[afishinado]

djs12354 wrote:
Thanks everyone!

BTW - desk is from the Just Cabinets chain. Would have liked a little larger one, but this one closed up and the larger one did not.

When dubbing, the rule of thumb states pull out the amount you dubbing fur you think you need, and divide by 2 to get the correct amount.

When buying a fly-tying desk, pick out the desk that you feel is big enough to hold all your stuff, and multiply by 2! :lol:

Nice desk. Keep an eye out for an annex, though...sooner than you think.

Good luck with the desk.

 

[djs12354]

Annex is on the floor next to the desk. Part A is a cardboard box, Part B is an old Samsonite briefcase.

 

[blueheron]

You're gonna need a rolling cabinet for underneath, pull it out when your tying and roll under when you're done.