I can only imagine what the google-bots are going to throw my way with a post title like that. Want to bet I get some weirdo stuff coming out of Romania, but what the hell...
A tube fly adapter for the Regal Vise made it way to me over Christmas and tying on it is a blast.
I still have a pile of Waddington shanks, but for some reason there's a freedom in throwing up some plastic and junction tubing and having your way with some crazy steelhead materials
One point of interest, or a "tip" for folks who haven't gone down this road yet. When you set up your vice and the adapter, find a pair of pliers to cut off the very end of the mandrel that you tie on. That son is sharp as any hook point and buried into my hand more than once. One quick clip of the point and that situation was remedied.
Currently I am tying on this adapter, but Eumer Products.
Before I went down this road, I had this incorrect thought that tying on tubes was a complicated matter.
Really, that couldnt be farther than the truth. It's simple sheet. Adapter into the vice clips, add tube to mandrel and then wrap, wrap, wrap away.
Now go get tubing...
That adapter and others based on the same or similar principle work OK but sometimes, for certain patterns that have a distinct 'top' and 'bottom', you need to rotate the the fly. Whilst that's not impossible to do with that type of adapter, it's not straightforward unless you are using it in a rotary vice set to pure horizontal rotation.
ReplyDeleteI find it easier to tie even those patterns which do not have a biased dressing by rotating the fly and the vice shown here - http://www.graysofkilsyth.com/needle-tube-vice.htm
- allows you to rotate the fly 360 degrees without releasing it from the vice - very useful IMO.
Nice looking tubes. I've been tying them for years and have changed out my mandrel several times. I've gone to a cheapie like you have, and set aside the HMH. Nice to see more tube content.
ReplyDelete