now that the winter “tying” season is going strong, would a small room humidifier be good in a tying room to keep down the static electricity (from being too dry) and the bucktail and deer hair etc from frizzing out all over the place?
anybody do this?? other ideas??
We have a whole house humidifier attached to the furnace. It’s amazing how much easier feathers and hair handle with the added humidity. Plus the dog looks 20 pounds lighter with her hair laying flat to her body.
I guess that explains why I look like Larry Fine of the Three Stooges this time of year!
:shock:
After you and Cary got thru collecting dubbing off of her?
Ed
Fuzzie or smooth, she’s still my “dubbing on four” for black, brown, tan, cream, long, or short!!
Thanks, Betty, for posting that info!!
“IF” I read, your post correctly that is, you DO glean some great dubbing from your dog??
I, hope, that I read it right because then I can finally come out and admit the same thing!
Linda and I have bred dogs for over 16 years now and our main breed has always been the Cairn Terrier.
(think: “Toto, in The Wizard of Oz”)
The Cairn has two coats… their long, semi-wavy, outer coat and their down like, super soft, “undercoat”, that’s the endless source for some awesome dubbing material. The original colors, for the Cairn’s coat, is reds,black, blonds, grays, browns and sort of a “rust” color, all mingled in, on the same coat. Although, there are Cairns that are all black, all cream and the popular “Wheaton”, color,(all blond, like wheat), those are not the dog’s original coat coloring. The “mixture of colors” is the true Cairn coloring.
Anyway, the underfur is excellent dubbing and the colors, being natural, of course have no dyes in them and stay strong as well because the fur is never subjected to bleaching, like most fur dubbings are.
The Cairns “top coat” or, “the coat you see, when seeing the dog”, is also a good source for some excellent tailing material!! It’s solid, not hollow of course, but it can be quite stiff enough to sub extrememly well for Fibbets.
When people come to our kennels to adopt a new puppy and ask to see the “parents” of the puppy they choose, my wife has to be very quick to point out the fact, that “No! NONE of our breed dogs have MANGE!! They look that way, because my husband ties flies!!”
[img]http://bestsmileys.com/dogs/1.gif[/img]
:lol: :lol: Pictured little dogs bouncing around with shaved/trimmed rear ends or hair cut like a little big sister may give a even younger sibling.
not really interested in cats, dogs, giraffes, mountain lions etc. 
thats a new thread.
how about humidifiers in the tying room!!!
Normand I don’t have a humidifier in my tying room but should probably have one in my house, my dry winter skin would probably lesson. if you live in a place where it is frozen outside most of the winter or in a desert then a humidifier should help.
For those of you that heat with wood make sure you keep a kettle of water on the wood stove it helps a lot with indoor humidity.
Eric
new england in the summer can be unbearably humid and handling bucktail is no problem. but in winter it can get very dry (baseboard heat) and handling bucktail is a chore.
Okay, Norm, if you wish to purchase a humidifier, you should probably begin by deciding it you want a whole house unit, connected like Betty’s to your HVAC system, and then decide on what rate of humidified air you’ll require and the level of that air, you’re happy with. Or, do you want one just to handle your tying room? (The same factors still aplly, however, only on a smaller scale and a portable unit would probably handle one room nicely).
Actually, winter, spring, summer or fall, humidity or not, hair and fuzz is going to be the bane of any fly tier.
Of course, in cold, dry, winter air it can become worse.
I simply wipe down all my tools, table and vise, ending up with my hands… with a simple Downy dryer sheet and it solves the problem of sticking and flying deer hair and any static problems. with materials, very effectively. If I’m working with hairs “a lot” in one sitting, I wear a carpenter’s apron, sprayed with “Cling Free”, and all the clippings slide down and into the apron pockets where they’re easily disposed of.
A room sized unit will keep materials “more friendly” for tying, but keep in mind that if you set the humidity level too high, ice will form on the windows. Flybinders idea for using a fabric dryer sheet to wipe down your materials will make a difference. The whole house system keeps us from electrocuting ourselves when flipping slight switches, saves a charge when touching the computer, terrifying the dog when we go to pat on her, … well, you get the idea. It also helps manage winter allergies, and makes breathing easier. Having long hair in the winter is also made easier to manage. I look something like a science experiment when I take off a coat or sweater! Addition of humidity will also help you feel warmer in the winter, allowing you to lower your thermostat, and save money on the gas/electric utilities …ta da! MORE tying materials!!
i’m pretty sure the landlord wont allow me to install a humidifier to my apartment like betty has. 
i’ll use a small portable one and see how that goes.
Hi Norm,
I live in northern Michigan where the outside temperature is now 1 degree. It’s expected to go to -5 tonight. Therefore our hot air furnace is working overtime. To combat the dry air my wife puts bottles of water at all our registers and it seems to do the trick quite well. Actually, most are one liter carafes, any bottle will work.
I was tying Usuals this evening and had no trouble with snowshoe foot hair clinging to anything. Very simple, very inexpensive solution. Not elegant, but it works.
Good luck.
Bill
Norm,
I think the answer is YES. I have one in my tying room and it works great. I keep it on at a low volume continuously in the winter months. It’s also good for my cigars.
I bought a small room humidifier a few years ago after buying a high-quality acoustic guitar. The woods in these guitars have all sorts of “issues” when the humidity drops during the winter heating season here in the Northeast. I tried if for a few years but eventually stopped as it seemed to be a losing battle. Not to mention that those humidifiers don’t get refilled with water by themselves. The water had to be refilled about every day or so by dragging the tank over to the bathroom and refilling it under the faucet in the bathtub. The tank is too big to fill up in a typical sink. Your back will hate it.
but firstly I agree that a humidified home is more comfortable and feels warmer.
I too live in an apartment and have 3 forms of humidifier during the ‘freezing months’. In the living/dining room I use this: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03215301000P?keyword=humidifier which puts the tankfull of water (3/4 gal) into the air in about 4 or 5 hours. It is fairly noisy since it relies on a fan - sometimes I turn it off when I am here and put it on when I go out. It also has a ‘wick’ that draws water around the fan - this needs replacing at least once a season. My furniture is also much happier when it is in use.
Again in the living room (near the plants and somewhat hidden by them thankfully) I have a small fountain/waterfall. I actually like the sound, but it only puts about 8 to 10oz of water into the air per day. Of course you could get a larger one if you like the sound and have the space.
In the bedroom at night I have one of these http://www.shopping.com/xPO-Vicks-V5100 which are very quiet because the vaporizing mechanism is ultrasonic, but the tank takes 24 hours to empty.
They do make both life and tying (or is that just one thing?) more comfortable, it just depends on space and your tolerance for noise. Hope this helps.
My doctor told me that humidifiers need constant cleaning to prevent bacteria and mold from being released about the house.
For the portable units, there is a bacteriostat (?) that you add to the water when you add more water, that prevents the growth of bacteria.