DIY Gallows Tool

[ScottP]

More of a dry fly thing, I know, but there are some wet applications where this be useful (I'm working on a Quigley wet fly, but it's still in the test stage).

Since I started tying Hacklestackers, I tried a bunch of different ways to hold the post loop while wrapping the hackle (never did get the hang of the mono loop on the finger like Mr. Quigley tied it). DIdn't feel like buying a gallows so I tried everything from bent coat-hangers to rubber bands on the Ott light that hangs over my vise. Rooting through the bins at Home Depot for another project, I found some nylon spacers that fit the vise shaft and figured they'd work as the base; just needed the right material for the hook part. Coat hangers are a bit thick and really don't have that much spring to them, same with all the spooled wire I could find. Thought about stuff like 304 spring steel wire, music wire, etc, then remembered the wire on those cheapy marker flags might work (grabbed one from the neighbor's yard - I'm sure they won't have any trouble finding those buried cables they're going to start digging around). The stuff is perfect - flexible, doesn't seem to have much memory, provides the right amount of tension, and is long enough that when it's bent and attached to the post loop, there's plenty of room to wrap the hackle without banging into it.

base - nylon spacer 3/8" I.D. x 1" x 3/8"
arm - 1/6" wire (from marker flag)
glue - 5 min epoxy

spacer; drill 1/16" hole






flag (pull the flag off and clean up the wire with a little steel wool)




bend end of the wire into a hook




epoxy other end into the spacer




slide it on the vise shaft and Bob's your uncle










plenty of clearance for wrapping hackle




finished product




a better shot of the setup; the wire's about 20" long so it describes a decent-sized arc.





total cost - $.50 for the spacer


Regards,
Scott

[letumgo]

I love these little DIY projects. Very resourceful and funtional gallows. Great tutorial Scott. Thank you.

[tie2fish]

Very clever and well explained, Scott.

[William Anderson]

Scott, that's a nice rig with plenty of room to work without it being in the way. Beautiful hackle stacker technique.

w

[hankaye]

ScottP. Howdy;

With the imagination that you've displayed with your tying it's not surprising
that you were able to concoct the devise that you so aptly created. Good stuff!
I'm curious as to how you ended up with your 'stacked' hackle only covering
about 30°of the top. Trim it in the barber shop or is it a special wrapping technique?

hank

[ScottP]

Hank,

One of the cool things about Hacklestackers is that Bob Quigley came up with an ingenious way to double the hackle density without having to trim it out of the bottom. Here's a few pics of the hackling sequence for a Quigley Film Critic green drake I tied up:

tie in loop of Uni-stretch, wrap to wing butt




tie in hackle




attach loop to gallows




wrap hackle up & down post (length of thorax); tie off at base of post/trim






after dubbing the head, moisten fingers, sweep hackle fibers back




pull hackle forward over thorax, tie off at base of wing (trim off tag end of post)




pull wing up and back, set angle with thread wraps




half hitch x 2, SHHAN; trim wing (a bit longer than shank)








Regards,
Scott

[letumgo]

Incredible! What a terrific emerger pattern. Kudos Scott, on another valuable contribution.

[hankaye]

ScottP. Howdy;

Dang! Thanks for the stop-action (so-to-speak), of how that goes together.
Still far beyond my skill-sets, but Something that, even for me, is easy to follow
and understand at the same time. Amazzzing!
Thank you very much for taking the time to go into such detail, you left nothing
to be either confusing or misunderstood.

hank