Question for the fly tying brain trust

[BilletHead]

15 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

We were talking about this this morning. Maybe a couple pieces of lexan 

 

9 minutes ago, tjm said:

That looks like an invention.

I'd have found a chip bag clip easier to locate and would have used masking tape to add grip and soften the bite. Someone on a forum suggested plastic freezer bag clips, but I've never seen those, he had one with ~8" jaws. The slotted foam block was to hold the feather or hair in position for clamping, foam block made from a flipflop, the cdc was inserted with a credit card.

Lexan would be good I think, plexiglass is in my shop.

                Yes have Plexiglas also. I think the trick would be matching with a clamp just right. Kind of got lucky with my first try. Instead of a small point of contact I have grip on the full width of the pop sickle stick. Give with foam helps. Plus give with foam would let me hold hollow hair like deer to put in a loop. 

1 minute ago, Gavin said:

Why don’t you use your fingers? A half hour of practice with someone who knows how and you will never need any of those gizmos. Greg “Sparkleminnow” Coffey taught me how. 

            Nothing wrong with gizmos. 

  The vehicles we drive around every day were once considered a gizmo I am betting. 

  BilletHead

[BilletHead]

            Testing the clamp,

 Took another squirrel hide I just did a stretch on a few years ago. Not tanned so basically it is rawhide with hair on.    Flipped it over and cut some strips. Best way with a good straight edge and one sided razor blade. Just score the skin and then cutting through holding up off cutting board with the grain of the hair. The cut will follow the score and will not cut hair just parting it as you cut.

    Cut a section and put in clamp. Cut to length. The foam between the pop sickle sticks held great.  Took it to the vice, chucked up a wire. Started thread, did a loop and slid hair into loop. Collapsed loop and spun it up. Wrapped the spun up loop on wire and whip finished. 

  Test over and worked great. On a small loop with just a few strands as Gavin said just put in with fingers. One clamp half this size would be great too. I know crappy pictures but this is just a follow up to the clamp. I need to make a bugger and do some open wraps over the body instead of hackle. 

  BilletHead

[fishinwrench]

Nice!

Now to get busy dying squirrel hides. 😊

Cuz natural only works about 20% of the time.

[tjm]

Nice job. Pictures aren't that bad, I can say I've seen a lot worse posted. Thanks for the sbs. I may have to take up hunting again.

[BilletHead]

35 minutes ago, tjm said:

Nice job. Pictures aren't that bad, I can say I've seen a lot worse posted. Thanks for the sbs. I may have to take up hunting again.

              Thanks, 

   Just shot with the cell phone!

  BilletHead

[BilletHead]

        So I did a nice large #4 4X long bugger using a dubbing loop with fox squirrel in place of the hackle. I thought it turned out pretty good. Under the open spiraled squirrel I dubbed the body with craw dub. I like dubbed bodies instead of chenille. If it lasts very long  and I don't loose or hang it up the rattier it becomes the better it looks IMO. A but of flash along the sides. Here it is in the water. The squirrel moves better than hackle. I think a bass at mistake it for a crawdad and a trout might think it is a crawdad or sculpin. Has a bit of the mottled look,

    BilletHead

[Flysmallie]

16 minutes ago, BilletHead said:

        So I did a nice large #4 4X long bugger using a dubbing loop with fox squirrel in place of the hackle. I thought it turned out pretty good. Under the open spiraled squirrel I dubbed the body with craw dub. I like dubbed bodies instead of chenille. If it lasts very long  and I don't loose or hang it up the rattier it becomes the better it looks IMO. A but of flash along the sides. Here it is in the water. The squirrel moves better than hackle. I think a bass at mistake it for a crawdad and a trout might think it is a crawdad or sculpin. Has a bit of the mottled look,

    BilletHead

So why not just cut zonker strips and wrap it up line a pine squirrel sculpin? Sorry, ever since I laid eyes on your fur I've been jonesing to wrap some of it around a shank. 

If I kill some squirrels and shove them in your mailbox will you tan then all up like that for me? 

 

[Flysmallie]

PS: I do like what you are doing!!

[BilletHead]

6 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

So why not just cut zonker strips and wrap it up line a pine squirrel sculpin? Sorry, ever since I laid eyes on your fur I've been jonesing to wrap some of it around a shank. 

If I kill some squirrels and shove them in your mailbox will you tan then all up like that for me? 

 

                   Well here is what we have to work with. These hides are extremely thick and I am not sure how to thin them like the pine squirrel. I am just using alum/salt to tan. Not sure what chemical the commercial operations are using or how the skin part of my hides are going to work? I have been tinkering some with pieces though. Getting wet in water. They do act like a  chamois leather getting wet and very supple, lots of motion. So when I take the piece out to dry it dries hard but I can work it out back to soft or just get wet again to soften. So I am not really sure if we and incorporate the hide itself. Might be just a hide to shave off hair for dubbing?  Time and trial might get a result. As far as field testers . I will do some more hides next fall and winter. Only four days of squirrel season left and the last two I shot had real rubbed crappy coats. I will get some out for some of you guys to try out when I do more. 

  BilletHead

[tjm]

Glycerine will soften the leather, but the leather in a fly is extra weight to cast while not acting as extra weight to sink. I think the under fur would inhibit the hairs action also.  I'd rather weight the shank in the rear third with lead to swim it or use a cone to make it jig. It all works part of the time though.

Eggs can be used as a brain tan and some use ordinary soap to soften the leather. I'm not a tanner but will not use salt, even though Grandpa told me to, it can attract water from the atmosphere and cause rot, as I found out.  For pure fast drying of raw skin and bug prevention 20 Mule Team Borax seems to work. Alum is a pickling agent, and according to what I've read (when I thought of tanning my own furs)  a precursor to the "real tanning" using a chrome or vegetable tanning process.  I think fully tanned leather would have tendency to repel water, so might not be desirable in a fly. 

I did read on a feather producers site that he used no tan at all nor any chemicals on his capes on saddles, said he was concerned that tyers  would lick their fingers after touching the skins or hold feathers in their mouths- two things I have never been tempted to do.

And sand paper on the dry leather side will thin it.