Compass for Fly Tying
Just ran across my old compass. I thought they were called proportional spacers, but I guess not.
It is a drafting tool. Has no pencil, just two metal sharp pointed ends.
Anyway, when I taught fly tying, I suggested the new tiers might get one to check the proportions of their flies. It is great for setting to the size of the shank, for example, and then checking wing length, tail length, etc.
Aren't they also handy for splitting feather barbules.....
not to be critical, but with a degree in mechanical design, thought I'd point out those are actually called "Dividers" the ones with a pencil on one end, are called compass. I use my old drafting tools for fly tying too they do come in handy
Mike
"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of that which is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope" -John Buchan
Mike,
Weren't they used in Naval navigation back in the day? To calculate distances after setting the device to a distance on the map legend?
that could be. but I know in drafting they always referred to them as dividers. But that was over 30 years ago too.
Mike
"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of that which is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope" -John Buchan
I knew they were "proportional" somethings............Looked it up. They are called "proportional dividers".
Anyway, they work well for what I used them for as they maintained the setting for comparison purposes.
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