What is a good dubbing wax?

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

I was at the local flyfishers club fly tie night . No one seemed to have a brand of dubbing that they felt comfortable with a lot of them said they used to be able to get good wax but not recently . One fellow uses toilet bowl wax and swears by it . I just want a good wax . I have access to some bees wax , is it ok ?

[Hans Weilenmann]

Gnu Bee Flyer,

Rather than try and give a direct answer, can I ask you which problem you are trying to solve? This will determine the properties of the wax you are looking for. One size does not fit all.

Some tiers like to use wax, others (and I am among them) hardly, or never, touch the stuff. In my case, touch dubbing is the only time when I use any wax in my tying. For this purpose I require a rather tacky wax, but one which only thinly coats the thread.

Overton's Wonder Wax is the stuff of legends. Off the market now some 15 or even 20 years, its passing generally lamented and the last remaining tubes hoarded. Other brands have stepped into the spot left vacant. Of those I like the tacky version marketed by Betts, and consider Al Beatty's tacky wax a close second.

Overton wax is expected back on the market any day now, and its return is an event I will watch with interest. Will the legend take on a second lease of life, or have the meories been overtaken by time. We'll see

Cheers,
Hans W


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=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier

[Brian]

On this side of the pond I use COBBLERS WAX , just pull the tying silk through it a couple of times and the silk is coated. By pulling the silk through the friction will melt the wax.
Brian

[Bamboozle]

Overton's IS the stuff and it seems to last for ever at least with me. I use it all the time and I swear the tube I have is over 20 years old and I guarantte it is less than 25% consumed.

I had good luck before with the type of wax they used to use to do layout work in the newspaper business. It was used to stick down cut out articles on to the layout template. The stuff is very soft and tacky but I venture impossible to find but maybe still hanging around at smaller rag sheets.

Also Feather Craft
[url=http://www.feather-craft.com/index.html:6a2a1]http://www.feather-craft.com/index.html[/url:6a2a1]

has a product called FC Furrule Wax which is really for graphite rod furrules but is very similar to the old newspaper wax. If you don't like it for fly tying use it on your rod furrules, it works terrific. You'll never again have a joint come loose.

[TomM]

You might want to try cross country ski wax. The wax in the red container is very tacky if you want that type of wax. Cheers!

[Hans Weilenmann]

Brian,

Cobbler's wax is generally a hard wax, very low in tackyness. Nice enough to stain silk thread, and offer a measure of protection to silk decay over use, but for example next to useless for touch dubbing.

I think we still are in need some more information on what is looked for in the original posting.

Cheers,
Hans W


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=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier

[Diane]

here's my simple answer from another newbie tyer:

Wapsi Premium Dubbing Wax. Supersticky Formula. Orange Tube. Works for me.

[hikepat]

Carmex lip balm.

[flyangler]

I made some using proportions listed somewhere else on this site(in Marvin Nolte's contribution to Trucos de Montaje). But as I said in another post, I think this is evidence of a serious sickness.

Buy your own, save yourself.



[This message has been edited by flyangler (edited 11 March 2005).]

[DG]

I kinda like bowstring wax. Cheaper than any dubbing wax on the market, too (not that you run out of wax very often).

Dennis