barbell eyes?

[Rick Z]

What is a good source for these?

Rick

[beadleech]

Rick, [url=http://www.feather-craft.com:34b0d]www.feather-craft.com[/url:34b0d]

You can order on-line and also request one of their catalogues - whish lists TONS of fly-tying materials. Fairly good prices also.

Donald

[Eight Thumbs]

Rick,

That is one very good question. I hate to spend $2.00 for ten of those things even when they are painted nicely. I use a lot of lead eyes in my tying and would like to buy in bulk and cut the price to 10 or 12 cents. Any good sources out there. 8T

BTW, this is my 500th post. Almost like a birthday. Better get to my local fly shop quick and get myself a present.

------------------
You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it's a real short camping season.

Rick Z
Have you tried making them? Heavy monofiliment, hemostat, candle and some cheap nail polish from the $$ store. You can control the size and spacing.


------------------
Cactus

[TxEngr]

I've just about quit using barbell eyes in favor of bead chain eyes. They don't weigh quite as much but are much easier to cast and still give the fly some weight and the action I want. The bead chain is really cheap (and you can find a lot laying around when you start looking) and fairly easy to paint if desired.

TxEngr

[beadleech]

Rick -
Are you looking for lead eyes or "floating eyes"? If the latter just make them out of heavy mono by melting two balls on the ends.
If the former give feather-craft [or any of the mail order suppliers] a try. As suggested above bead chain will work as well especially for panfish flies. You get them from keychains!

Donald

[Buddy Sanders]

Rick Z,

Best way to get a good price on lead dumbbell eyes is to make them yourself.

It's not hard. Simpler to do than to tell how...

Fist, you need a pair of wire cutters (cheap ones). Close the blades onto a small diameter grinding stone chucked into a Dremel. This makes a 'hole' in the blades. The bit needs to be no more than 1/16". You can also drill the blades, but that's a bit trickier to get even.

A pair of clean 'sprue cutters' is handy, but the 'nippy cutter' sold at Radio Shack works great. You need something that leaves a clean straight cut in the lead.

Next, you need some lead wire (or solder-works just as well).

Cut the end of the wire flush with the sprue cutter. Insert into the wire cutters with the modified blade and squeeze to make the thin portion of the eye. Rotating the wire makes this smooth and even. Cut the other end flush to and equal length. You can get heavier or lighter by adjusting the LENGTH of the eye.

If the rounding on the outer portion is important to you, you can modify a cheap hammer to 'round off' the finished eye. Take a ball shaped grinding bit and indent the face of the hammer. While holding the eye in the modified wire cutters, give each side a rap with the hammer....

I can make a couple of hundred of these in an evening while watching the tube. Cost is about 1/10 of 1 cent per each. A bit more if you want to paint them.

Good Luck!

Buddy



------------------
[url=HTTP://HOMETOWN.AOL.COM/RSAN2708/INDEX.HTML:e6018]HTTP://HOMETOWN.AOL.COM/RSAN2708/INDEX.HTML[/url:e6018]

[Rick Z]

Bead chain is not heavy enough for what I want to do.

I am working on making flies that susupend horizontally in the water column.

I think I may have run onto the solution, but I need the eight of barbell eyes to get the fly down in the water column.

Rick

[lee s]

Some's a coming.