Mixing dubbing?

[MattM]

Has anyone ever tried an old coffee grinder or something similar to mix up custom dubbing blends? I've been tying cased and peeking caddis patterns and I'm looking for a good way to get a nice blend.

 

[fishngun]

Yes. rub the inside of the grinder with a dryer sheet. I don't know if it makes a difference or not but was told by numerous people to do it, so I do. Make sure you write down the recipe or you will never get it the same again, trust me.

 

[InTheMend]

Awesome video, was published yesterday!


http://vimeo.com/64493876

 

[DGC]

Pretty easy to do to fine tune your blends. I suggest a dedicated blender--no borrowing from the kitchen.

 

[lv2nymph]

I been using a bean grinder to blend dubbing for many years. It really blends materials nicely once you get it down you'll be surprised how evenly your blends come out. A couple of tips, When you press the button down to blend don't push it down and hold it for a while this will ball it up and almost melt some synthetics. Give it a tap almost like hitting a key on your key board... tap-pause-tap-pause-tap. have a look at how things are going, repeat if you need to. Once you have achieved the blend you're after write down the different dubbing you used to make the blend and the pattern you tied with it and put it in the container with the blend. You'll find you can use almost anything to make some really custom blends, tan crystal flash w/ tan dubbing to brighten it up, spikey, multiple shades, and on and on. Synthetics that have some length to it you'll want to cut it to shorter lengths depending on what you're after. Enjoy your new venture, let us know how things go.

 

[afishinado]

+1^

It works real well and doesn't take much time to mix.

Matt,

I suggest you buy the smallest and cheapest bean grinder you can find. I bought one for < $10 at Wally World and it has been working well for a few years now. Good luck.

 

[Chaz]

I just pull out the dub colors I want to mix and put the colors together, and start puling and folding them until they are mixed. Never used a coffee grinder or blender.

 

[MKern]

I do the same as Chaz.

Also, writing down to mixture recipes is a good idea, but even the manufacture messes up the mixes and a lot of time they are off from batch to batch and year to year.

 

[MattM]

I've been doing what Chaz and MKern have been doing, but have started to try and mix feather scraps into a mix for caddis cases, to make it look sticky. Thanks for the tips. We have a coffee grinder collecting dust that retired because of the Keurig.

 

[LongLineRelease]

As mentioned grinder works greater. Like the other guys said, keep notes and also keep a permanent sample of a blend you really like. That way you have a reference everytime you mix up new. There are some materials that just won't work, don't let them discourage you. I like to start with a base color of a soft fur like rabbit or muskrat, add the spikey material a little at a time until you reach the correct texture. Then add a lighter/brighter synthetic till you reach the final color. This also lets you blend in scrap material you would otherwise waste. Like fibers from the bases of CDC or partridge.

 

[Pittflyguy]

The other thing that works well is a smoothie blender. I didn't have a coffee grinder and I started using an old bullet smoothie blender and I think it works pretty much the same.

Last night I cut up a rabbit mask with some old flash material I hadn't been using and made a pretty cool blend. I'm still learning to experiment with different materials but I love the unlimited possibilities!

My friends dad hunts small game and has more pelts than he knows what to do with so if you have a friend that does so, it's a great way to get the most out of it. Also, look through your fly tying materials. I found bunches of colored craft fur that I hadn't used in years... blend that in with some natural and some flash and you have some great options!

 

[dubthethorax]

+1 coffee grinder

The $10 Walmart one is fine. Also, the dry sheets are clutch.

I always save all my marabou scraps after tying big streamers and blend them. It works so well for nymph bodies.

 

[osprey]

Chaz.......I do it by hand also , you got it down there. even if you wanna make a pile for maybe even a dozen flies.......maybe if you wanna run a fly shop and need like a pound or something???? When you said pull and fold i knew right then we use the same method.............FOR SALE OR TRADE; 2 SMALL COFFEE GRINDERS , USED (FOR COFFEE) I GOT LAZY GRINDIN MY OWN BEANS N WENT BACK TO FOLGERS CLASSIC BLEND.

 

[FrequentTyer]

Blending by hand works great for simple blends, but I have some dubbing blends that have 5 or six components some with very different staple lengths. I'll usually blend by hand in small batches untill I figure out what I want, and then I'lll make a coffee grinder batch that will last a long time and insure that I'm using the same dubbing every time.
Charlie Craven has a neat trick to blend dubbing in a ziplock bag with a can of compressed air. Just put the mix in the bag, poke some pin holes in the sides, and seal the zip over the straw that attaches to the can. A few blasts of air violently spins the fur around and it works as well as a grinder.
Mike.

 

[Rolf]

Charlie Craven has a neat trick to blend dubbing in a ziplock bag with a can of compressed air. Just put the mix in the bag, poke some pin holes in the sides, and seal the zip over the straw that attaches to the can. A few blasts of air violently spins the fur around and it works as well as a grinder.

I've tried this with Hares Ear and it works really well. It's worth giving it a try.

 

[Leteras]

Here is some dubbing I just made up for some steelhead flies. I also did it in black, rasberry, hot pink, orange, steelhead blue and peach.