This is probably an obvious question but how do you easily separate the beads on a beaded chain to make dumbell eyes?
wire cutters.
Rick
Needlenosed pliers. They have a cutter on them.
Here is a suggestion: Keep the beaded chain intact while tying on the eyes to the fly. This gives you something to hold on to and keeps your fingers out of the way. Once you secure the eyes on your fly, then cut the chain off.
A pair of electrical/electronic sidecutters are the best.
Before I retired from electronics, I always had more than one pair of several sizes in my tool box.
Go for a small to medium pair and regard them as a necessary tool for your fly tying.
Here is a Tying Tip! FAOL’s Tying Tips Section, has lots and lots of Tying Tips, including eyes from beaded chains…
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/tyingtips/archive.html:0effb]Tying Tips, Index Page[/url:0effb]
Thank you for posting the link to the tips. I forget that the tips are there. What a fantastic resource. I could probably spend a month just reading all of those tips.
Mike
those tips sure are great, and in my opinion Parnelli has provided some of the best tips on there.
Warm Water
NEVER forget those tips are there…they are, by far, the best collection of tying tips I’ve found yet. 8)
BTW Parnelli will the tips be on next years cd? just a question, not a request.
WWFF
[b]Not next year, but hope to get there, going after series that have fly patterns (found 57 fly patterns in the “Our Man in Canada” series) that have fly patterns. Found some fly patterns in the "World Wide Series, still working on that one. Also working on Al Campbell’s Building a Graphite Rod Series, and Dave Micus’s series. Really want to get into the Not Quite Entomology series, and Fly Fishing 101. That is just the tip of the Iceberg, there is still 9 times as much stuff down in the archives, that I have not even mentione.
Still want to do Al’s Photography and Editing series for next year, as well as updating everything that is already on this years CD. FAOL 2006 only used 255 MB of the 700 MB available on the CD.
Just finished Home Waters, and Fly Fishing Stillwaters (found lot of fly patterns there also). The only fly pattern in Tying Tips, is in the “Beaded Thorax” article the fly pattern is ‘Golden Grail’ whiched I used to demonstrate using a large metal bead as the Thorax on any nymph pattern[/b].
i would love a tips cd dont know how to go about making one though . there is a wealth of information there .
I often use a toenail cutter to separate beaded chain.
It is light and easier to pack in my fly tying travel kit than a diagonal cutter or needlenose pliers.
Ed
I also find a toe nail cutter…especially one with a convex front instead of concave…handy for cutting wrapped wire or lead…
i use tin-snips. those things cut everything!!!
just an old pair of fly tying scissors. No wonder they get so dull over time. JGW
A man’s tool for a man’s job… 