Mel, I could of not said it any better. Let me add this. When wrapping lead, use it from the spool, Start the lead, wrap the number of turns you want and give the wire a tug. It will break off at the hook shank with a nice flat spot to start the wrap on the next hook. This works best if you use a rotary vise. If wrapping chenille or material that is on a card or spool, don't cut off a length to wrap. Wrap it right from the card and clip it at the tie off point. This saves a lot of material. Loosing an inch for each fly equals a foot of wasted material for a dozen flies. I do the same with tinsel and wire, use it from the spool. When I was tying commercially I would buy my chenille by the skein. Wrap it in a ball and put the ball in a small plastic basket on the floor in front of me when I was tying. Used the chenille right off the ball of material. That basket kept it from rolling all over the place. If you are tying for yourself, take the time to flatten the barbs before tying the fly, I don't have to elaborate here. To get nice clean heads on your flies that have hackle, tie in the hackle before you wrap the bodies. This makes for a nice clean area to wrap the hackle and tie off the head. Yes it all can be done as Mel said, keep the scissors in your hands. I will quit here and let someone else jump in. Let's hear your time saving way of tying ot the way that works for you.. Tony
Mel Hocken wrote: > If anyone is interested in improving their tying speed here are some tips I > picked up from my experience at tying flies commercially. > - Prepare all your materials needed for the pattern you are going to tie, > including counting out the number of hooks required, and have them organized > on your tying desk. > - Keep your tying desk clear of any unnecessary items. THE LESS CLUTTER THE > GREATER THE PRODUCTIVITY > - Set a goal for the number of flies you will tie at a session. Once you > start tying, stay with it until you have reached your goal. Over time this > will help you focus and improve your tying speed. Never stop in the middle > of tying to count how many flies you have tied. > - Only use the minimum. If three wraps of thread will do don't use more. > Each extra turn of thread or other material takes time. The seconds add up > to minutes. Over time you will learn to put the maximum amount of pressure > on you tying thread without breaking it. Most of the time I break a thread > now is when I nick it against the hook point. > - Have extra bobbins strung with tying thread. If a thread breaks in the > middle of tying a fly it is easy to grab another bobbin and continue as > opposed to trying to re thread a single bobbin. > - Have your vise set up so your elbows are held as close to a 90 degree > angle as possible and your hands are not held to high this will help reduce > strain on your shoulders and back. A comfortable chair with back support is > also important. > - If you don't do it already, learn to tie while holding the scissors in > your hand. You are always using them. If you have to take time to pick them > up every time you need them you are wasting valuable time. When I started to > tie commercially this was a tip I got from another commercial tier. It > seemed awkward at first but now I can,t comfortably tie unless the scissors > are in my hand. > - Lighting is a key factor in reducing eye strain and fatigue. I used a > combination of fluorescent and incandescent which I found satisfactory > although I am sure there are some specialized lights which may perform > better. > > These are a few tips that have helped me. I am sure there are other > commercial tiers that can add to this short list. Would like to hear from > them. > Mel > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Allan Fish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 6:33 PM > Subject: [VFB] Selling Flies - WAS Professional Fly tying (was How do > yousupport...) > > > Mark raised an interesting question: > > > > >Haven't most of us sold a fly or two? I'd say so. > > > > Actually, I never have. I've tied many flies for people, but I've > > never sold them to them. > > > > >I tye flies for "FUN" relaxation, to be creative, and simply because > > >it's hugely theraputic. > > > > Me too > > > > >When i'm on a roll and have everything set out and prepared in > > >advance, i can knock off a dozen flies and hour, doing a standard > > >trout fly. > > > > Well, same here, except I get very bored after about four of the same fly. > > > > That's one reason I've been getting into swaps - to force myself to > > tie more than one or two of a fly to see if I can get into a proper > > frame of mind to tie 'commercially'. And after nearly 25 years of > > trying to get into that proper frame, I don't think I ever will. > > > > Of course, all of you who get my flies in the swaps can tell that I'm > > not very good at repetitive tying. > > > > Allan > > -- > > > > Allan Fish > > Greenwood, IN > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
