Another take on the dubbing block

[jong4029]

Wow.
Very cool. So much for my first dubbing block. To the fire place it goes. Did you cyr a groove in the block or is it just the diferance of the iron on material. Was just showing the guys at round table the dubbing block technique the other night. There were questions and the fur is somewhat slipery on the bare wood. Most of them want to dub while tieing which this will give them what they ask.
Thanks

[William Anderson]

Jon, if you get a chance to try an elevated block I'd like to see what you come up with. You're crew might also like to see the split thread method. That's a crowd pleaser. It's surprising how many people outside the soft hackle nuts aren't aware of it. Also, Ray made a block, I believe it was a sweeping block. It's in the tutorials. Another interesting take on making the bodies and a unique result. Within that thread there is a post of a block I made with a concave groove. It's an idea Dick Clark used on his personal block. I failed to really see the advantage. If the silk lacks the proper tacky wax on the silk, a misguided exhale will scatter your dubbing same as on a level block. It's all about the wax to secure the dubbing in place before it's trapped by the second length. This is also critical to creating the solid cord of silk and dubbing after twisted and rested under tension. There are times with longer staple or stiffer dubbing that the groove can keep the dubbing fibers from resting on the silk creating more issues. If you'd like some wax please send me your address and I'll get some to you. I also have a link to Jim Slattery's Jim's fly co to get authentic Keene wax. Still the best for pre spinning bodies but impossible to use if the silk is mounted to the fly already. There's always more than one way to skin a squirrel and they all work with nuanced differences.

I just received a very cool photo pedestal to allow good macro shots of the dubbed bodies on cards. On the block as well. Maybe an illustration of the variances I've been waiting for months to get this thing and I hope to use it soon. Me techniques have settled down to a point where I believe they are worth sharing. Much better than previous bodies and far beyond the crappy scanned images I managed from my printer/scanner.

Excellent to see a group looking for further refinement to find new angles on the method.

[Tom Smithwick]

Jon - I did not see your earlier question. There is a groove in my block, only because I tried it first with no fabric. I also found it was too easy for the fur to move around. The fabric gap would have been enough. Since my block is free to spin, the groove and the tension from the hanging bobbin keep the block from moving while you are tying. That's why I said a heavier bobbin is best. The fabric has enough tack to prevent the fur from moving around while you are teasing the fur into place. Originally, my intent was to use the adhesive backed synthetic moleskin that traditional archers stick on their bows in strategic places to keep the arrow from clattering against the bow and spooking deer. That stuff is like sub miniature velcro, and would really hold the fur in place. I have a sheet of that around here someplace, but, of course, could not find it when I wanted it. The iron on patch works quite well.