I want to make o shadow box with flys in it,does anyone know how to attatch them to the back of the box.
thank you
haresear22 -
Can’t help you with your question - just wanted to extend a welcome and greetings from SE Idaho.
Glad you asked. Might get some interesting ideas on a topic I’ve never given any thought !!
John
Welcome haresear22,
Depends on the type of fly.
If the fly is a flat fly it can be stitched to the backing. If you want to stand it off from the backing you can use mini corks for small flies. or for larger flies you can use many types of posts. Small glass beads make good posts for small flies, and larger glass or metal beads make good posts for larger flies. Since these glass and metal beads are drilled you can use a bit of thread or wire to lock the flies down and tightened up on the other side of the backing.
There is a good write up here: http://globalflyfisher.com/tiebetter/framing/
Enjoy
I went to the Dieppe Fly Fishing Forum last spring and they had a guy there that demonstrated how to do it, they came out very nice. I have more details that I will post when I get home from work, but he used clear bugle beads for the posts to hold the fly, Maxima Chameleon leader and a little super glue to hold everything together. The flies look like they are floating in air and not attached to anything.
Dwight
The prettiest one I ever saw was a true work of art.
Not just the flies. A dozen ‘classic’ salmon flies in a hand made wooden shadow box.
The guy used cherry wood for the background, small geometric pieces laminated together in a complex pattern. The sides of the box were made from walnut. All the fly posts were little cherry wood dowels, each made from six strips of the wood. He finished everything to a nice semi gloss sheen, even the ends of the posts were smooth and well finished. You could plainly see the ‘star’ made from the joints, and each was precisiely centered.
The flies hook points were inserted in small holes drilled into the sides of the posts. I’ll assume some kind of cement was used there. Amazing craftmanship.
Buddy
That sounds really cool Buddy.
The nicest I have seen were done by a gentleman who’s name escapes me. He had a fly museum in Florence Oregon. The flies were mounted on small diameter clear plastic rods attached to the body of the fly. Looking straight on you couldn’t see the mounting so the flies appeared to be floating between the matte and the glass.
you can either put small flat cork disks that are coloured to match the background in the box & hook the flies in that way or a couple of thread wraps around the hook & through the background to hold the flies in place…
i did a shadow box for some of my saltwater ties, i used small pieces of velcro attached to each flie and a small piece attached to the background material. its been hanging in my game room for about 15 years now
Thanks all ,i have tried the beads and they work very well.
I’m with DBenner on this one. I use bugle beads which come in various lengths. Using a drill the same diameter or slightly smaller than the bead, make a hole in the background material that the bugle bead will fit tightly in. Make a loop of 5x or 6x tippet through the eye of the hook and around the hook area and thread it through the bead. Pull tightly from the back until the fly is seated like you want. Then apply some tape to hold the tippet in place. Place a drop of superglue where the bugle bead comes through and its set forever. Just finish the fly plate as normal.
TxEngr
I make many shadow boxes for flies and turn most on the lathe, including some to 20" in daimeter routinely and have done much larger.
The bugle beads are the hot ticket. For background check your local framing store for linen matte board cut-outs. Local stores sell them cheap in bundles of mixed size and color. I use an awl to poke a tapered hole through the linen board and lace the flies in place as described above. Then I tape the nylon down to the back with double-sided (carpet) tape. I then attach a second layer of linen board (has to be a use for some of the colors of board I have seen!) and it makes a light, stiff, solid mount.
The real key is getting good proportion to your fly arrangement. Usually, less is more. I spend a lot of time making sure the arrangement will work. It is surprising how much difference the color arrangement makes. Move brighter flies around to several positions and you will notice the changes immediately.
art
Hey Mr. Hap,
Sounds very interesting,how about posting a photograph or two??
Steve
Will see what I can come up with… I need to make a few very soon and perhaps I will do a little step-by-step of the process I use. I made a bunch for the AK Fly Fishers’ auction this past spring and they were very well received.
art