Frustrating tools

[Partsman]

I have vent a bit, today trying to tie some triple threat caddis I thought I would use some of the tying tools I have to make a nicer looking body and legs. Dubbing loops rather than applying the dubbing to the thread was my first frustration, I have the smhaen dubbing twister and to be honest I should have returned after I received it. It’s a thread cutter, but I thought since I was trying to twist silk thread maybe that was problem, but no 8/0 and 6/0 uni thread also easily popped on the twister. The second tool, hackle pliers had me whispering bad words, two English style and the tyez, both breaking off the tips of partridge hackle several times. I like a good challenge, but after a while it’s nice when things just work. I’m going to shop around a bit and look for some replacements that work, for now a glass of wine or two seems to help.
Mike.

[Mike62]

Dubbing loops are the bane of my existence. About the only thread that I can't break on a regular basis is the Danville 6/0. I have much better luck using my block and making dubbing bodies, as opposed to the more convenient loops. My dubbing twister of choice at the moment is a 1oz. lead egg sinker. I drilled a very small hole in the end of it, and then inserted and epoxied a 3x long, barbless streamer hook. It works. As for hackle pliers, I've tried them all; every damn one of them. The ones that I use exclusively now, are ancient; if they had a manufacturers name on them it has long since been worn off.

Almost nothing seems to work on my homegrown hackle, or the starling; I don't seem to have the feel, or the patience, to tie-in delicate feathers like #18-20 starling. My homegrown stuff, while beautiful to look at, if a little bit funky, is temperamental at best, annoyingly fragile at worst.

I have no answers for you; you've already deduced the right course of action... more wine.

[letumgo]

Mike (Partsman),

I had the exact same experience when I started using the Smhaen dubbing twister. The first several dubbing loops I tried kept having issues with severing the thread loop part way thru the wrapping process. Very frustrating. For a while, I put the tool aside and didn't use it.

Fortunately I found a solution. One day I sat down and grabbed a sheet of 1500 grit emery paper (something I keep handy at my tying desk for such occasions). I tore off a strip a couple inches wide, then using one of my other burnishing tool, rolled the strip into a tight cylinder (diameter needs to be small enough to fit into the curved hook of the dubbing tool). Then I sanded the edges (especially the inner curve) to smooth and round all the edges. BINGO! That solved the issue. No more problems with breaking dubbing loops, even with finer threads.







I've had similar issues with the English hackle pliers. Sharp edges can cut fine hackle stems. Once again 1500 grit sand paper came to the rescue.



Give it a go. Hopefully it works for you too.

[Partsman]

Thanks for letting me vent guys, and Ray I’m going to run into town today and pickup some 1500 grit and give a go.
Thanks, Mike.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

I must be a lucky one. My Smhaen dubbing twister has worked perfectly since day one. It's a favorite on the bench, especially for spinning peacock herl and hackle in a loop.

Like Ray, I do keep a sheet of 1500 wet or dry paper near the desk, but it gets used on safeties and sears on firearms more than fishing gear.

My favorite hackle pliers are by C&F Designs. I keep 2 pair on the desk, in case I misplace one set. Again, never a problem since day one.

[Partsman]

Thanks Ron, I’m going to check out those hackle pliers. I emailed smhean and received a quick response, they suggested maybe some shrink tube which I may try, but I want to give sand paper a try first. I also thought about the brush on liquid electrical tape, what ever I’ll get it.
Mike.

[chugbug]

Partsman, I had the exact same email conversation with probably the same guy, just last week. He's apparently very aware of the issue. Here's the pic he sent me of the "Finnish" (customer from Finland) shrink tube solution

shrink tube~2.jpg (130.79 KiB) Viewed 14331 times

I'm away traveling at the moment, but another thought I had was to wrap some GSP thread around each hook arm. Might slip off or bunch up over time, though.

I tried 400 grit and it worked only somewhat....

Ray, did you give it a heavy or light-touch-only sanding with the 1500? You're the Batman to this Gotham city!!

[Partsman]

Yup, same picture, I sanded some today very lightly, and the I hit with some rogue on a Dremel polishing wheel. It helped some but still popped the thread once. My local hardware did not have small enough shrink tube so I’ll still have look around a bit for that, or I thought about liquid electrical tape or plastic dip all available at Ace hardware. I’ll figure it out eventually .
Mike.

[letumgo]

chugbug - I sanded it pretty hard. Inside and out. Sanded until I could not feel and rough edges when rubbing my fingers over the edges. The tool works as designed, once properly sanded.

[Mike62]

In spite of the problems that folks seem to be having with this piece of equipment, I'm pretty sure I need to buy one. I mean, tinkering with our toys is half the fun.