[VFB] Silk gut twister

[John Roth]

Hello everybody.  I've got yet another problem that I'm hoping somebody can give me a hand with.  One of these days, I'm determined to be an expert and I'll come around giving all the advice I can, but in the meantime, I thank everybody who replys and who has replied in the past!   As I've mentioned in a couple of recent posts, I'm trying my hand at tying salmon flies.  I decided I didn't much care for what a loop eye hook was doing to the bodies of my flies, so I moved on along to blind eye hooks with silk gut eyes.  These materials just came in this week, but its all straightforward enough that I don't anticipate any trouble here at all.  I know I can just twist the gut with a couple sets of vise grips if it came down to it - probably not pretty, but I guess it would get the job done.   When the guy at the local fly shop ordered the blind eye hooks and the silk gut for me, he also ordered a silk gut twister which I haven't actually bought because I can't for the LIFE of me figure out what the heck to DO with it.  I'm hoping somebody on the list has some experience using these and can provide me with some idea of how the thing works.  I've talked to a number of people trying to get an answer, but I've yet to hear one.   Let me describe this tool.  Its got to be the most nicely machined fly tying tool I've seen.  It looks somewhat similar to a dubbing twister.  Its got a small diameter brass handle section of about four inches.  At the top of that is a knurled knob which spins on a very nice ball bearing (high-end components, so I have to assume its probably useful or nobody would have gone to all this trouble and expense).  Mounted on top of this knob and fixed so as to rotate along with the knob are three thin, flexible wires with the ends curled over so as to form hooks which I'm guessing hold onto the gut while it's being twisted.   I contacted the maker of the tool and was promised some assistance, but I believe the assistance that's on its way is in regard to the silk gut itself rather than the tool.  I can certainly see how three doubled over strands of gut could be hooked onto the three wires and twisted, resulting in a six strand gut eye, but honestly I've never seen more than three individual strands used on one.  The maker mentioned that the tool could be used to twist from one to six strands together.   Does anybody have any clue about the tool I'm talking about?  I'd be more than happy to take a picture of it and forward that around if anyone is willing to brainstorm with me.  Its been bugging the heck out of me since I saw the tool two days ago because I just can't figure out how it would be used.  Any information would as always be greatly apreciated.  Thanks to anybody who replies!!   John Roth Baltimore, MD