Safe Material Storage

[Theroe]

vise or not, those are some serious irons......

[Mike62]

Lol, I was wondering how long it would take you to focus in on those hooks! They're like, snecky on steroids...

[Greenwell]

John, great info!

Did Coopers use a vise?

As far as I can determine Cooper didn't use a vise, the use of which was just beginning to come into common use in the last quarter of the 19th Century.

The hooks are actually quite fine in the wire and more delicate than those in common use today.

Sneck bend hooks were common for Spiders at this time. What you can't see from the photos is that none of these flies are larger than a modern size 16.

[bearbutt]

Amazing flies--and materials, John--thanks for sharing. I especially like how the hackle is tied in small bundles--which is easier said than done.

To turn the thread back to its original purpose, can you tell us and show us how you are storing the flies?--and the envelopes too? The envelopes seem quite oxidized, and I am curious about what specific conservation efforts have been developed around fly collections. I'd have to review the AMFF bibliography to see if there's anything there--but offhand, I can't remember seeing anything like this--have you?

bb

[Roadkill]

Condo Safe Material Storage after freezer quarantine...

IMGP9952 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

some of it!

[Roadkill]

When I make up a batch of dubbing in my wet blender I first pour it on my dubbing dryer...

IMGP0022 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

I made the screens to fit quart sized or smaller sealed bags.

Then the felt mat is placed in zip lock baggies and stored in one of my tight storage containers. I note the material on the bag and any proportions of a blend and color information.

IMGP0006 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

IMGP0008 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

Never have had a problem, so far!

[letumgo]

Bill - That drying rack it awesome! I love your ingenuity. Brilliant.

[Roadkill]

Thanks Ray!
It is an improvement from mixing my dubbing (with a little dish soap) by shaking it up in a metal coffee can with a plastic lid and pouring it out on an old wooden expandable window screen as I was taught in 1959. But the results after rinsing are still the same.

[JohnMD1022]

I isolate everything to at least two, and usually three levels. I.E. Clean, DRY material goes into a well sealed zip top bag. Groups of corresponding materials go into a larger zip top bag. Finally, these go into Lock n Lock containers, the very best airtight, stackable, containers on the market.
www.locknlock.com

Good old fashioned glass jars are another way to isolate and preserve materials, especially those that you don't want to crush flat, like wood duck flank feathers. Years ago, we used to go to the local deli and ask for the used glass mayo jars. These gallon size jars and would hold a ton of materials. One of the plusses was that you could see what was inside. Sadly, they have been superseded by plastics and are no longer available. I also like Mason jars and you can get these in uniform sizes.

Paradichlorobenzene and Naphthalene were the standard insect repellent/killers for tying materials for many years but they have been linked to medical problems in humans and animals and are no longer recommended. An old girlfriend, who was a research veterinarian, wouldn't come into my house because I was using Paradichlorobenzene and she told me about Pyrethrin.

Pyrethrins are pesticides found naturally in some chrysanthemum flowers. They are a mixture of six chemicals that are toxic to insects. Pyrethrins are commonly used to control mosquitoes, fleas, flies, moths, ants, and many other pests. ... Whole, crushed flowers are known as pyrethrum powder. (From the internet)

I have been using Pyrethrin powder for many years and I swear by it. It's also safe for humans and animals and is the chemical used in insect repellent clothing. (I buy Pyrethrin spray and treat my fishing cloths with it.) It's available on Amazon for just a few bucks. I dust any suspicious materials with the powder and isolate it in a zip top bag for a week or so before I store it in a Lock n Lock.

Full bird skins may be impressive to look at but it makes sense to remove the feathers that you will actually use and give or throw the rest away. I do this with partridge skins and other birds that I use a lot. The old timers who had neither the modern pesticides or containers we have knew that insects attack the skin and usually plucked off the good feathers, sorted them into envelopes, and tossed the skins out.

I purchased pickles in glass gallon jars. I gave the pickles to my favorite restaurant and kept the jars.


Cost is under $5 per jar.

[JohnMD1022]

I isolate everything to at least two, and usually three levels. I.E. Clean, DRY material goes into a well sealed zip top bag. Groups of corresponding materials go into a larger zip top bag. Finally, these go into Lock n Lock containers, the very best airtight, stackable, containers on the market.
www.locknlock.com

Good old fashioned glass jars are another way to isolate and preserve materials, especially those that you don't want to crush flat, like wood duck flank feathers. Years ago, we used to go to the local deli and ask for the used glass mayo jars. These gallon size jars and would hold a ton of materials. One of the plusses was that you could see what was inside. Sadly, they have been superseded by plastics and are no longer available. I also like Mason jars and you can get these in uniform sizes.

Paradichlorobenzene and Naphthalene were the standard insect repellent/killers for tying materials for many years but they have been linked to medical problems in humans and animals and are no longer recommended. An old girlfriend, who was a research veterinarian, wouldn't come into my house because I was using Paradichlorobenzene and she told me about Pyrethrin.

Pyrethrins are pesticides found naturally in some chrysanthemum flowers. They are a mixture of six chemicals that are toxic to insects. Pyrethrins are commonly used to control mosquitoes, fleas, flies, moths, ants, and many other pests. ... Whole, crushed flowers are known as pyrethrum powder. (From the internet)

I have been using Pyrethrin powder for many years and I swear by it. It's also safe for humans and animals and is the chemical used in insect repellent clothing. (I buy Pyrethrin spray and treat my fishing cloths with it.) It's available on Amazon for just a few bucks. I dust any suspicious materials with the powder and isolate it in a zip top bag for a week or so before I store it in a Lock n Lock.

Full bird skins may be impressive to look at but it makes sense to remove the feathers that you will actually use and give or throw the rest away. I do this with partridge skins and other birds that I use a lot. The old timers who had neither the modern pesticides or containers we have knew that insects attack the skin and usually plucked off the good feathers, sorted them into envelopes, and tossed the skins out.

I purchased pickles in glass gallon jars. I gave the pickles to my favorite restaurant and kept the jars.


Cost is under $5 per jar.