Sheet foam poppers

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Been working on this off an on for several weeks.

-I cut 3mm foam sheets into manageable strips (approx 1.5 x 5).

-Using Pliobond, apply a thin coat on mating sides and stick together. Repeat until desired pattern is achieved. Allow to cure overnight. If you’ve never used Pliobond, it’s a flexible contact cement available at any hardware store. I also use it to glue cork rings together for rod handles.

-The 3 pieces of pipe are 3/8" O.D and 1/2" O.D. copper tubing, and 1/2" I.D copper pipe. Just scraps I had on hand. Sharpen the outer edges (with file or sandpaper, then lightly hone the inner edges (with 150grit sandpaper).

-The 3/8"tubing fits nicely in a, are you ready for this? A 3/8" drill of all things! And that means the 1/2" tubing fits in a…Yep a 1/2" drill.

-Using a drill makes a quick clean cut. It works by hand but they plugs are not as clean. But if you’re turning them it doesn’t matter as much. Also a 1.5 x 5 foam bock will yield at least 2 dozen 3/8" plugs.

  • As someone posted in another thread, they poke a tooth pick through the foam plug, chuck the tooth pick in a dremel and and you have an instant lathe. Yes it IS that simple, even using round tooth picks. I used a bodkin first to poke a hole through the foam then work the tooth pick though the bodkin hole. You’ll never poke a tooth pick straight through without using a needle first.

-Once chucked in the dremel, a 2 sided (med/fine) emery board is all you need to shape to desired popper. It does leave a bit of foam dust, but just enough mess to be annoying.

-Once turned to finished shape, insert a kink shank hook, and push body all the way to the bend exposing kink shank, add a generous drop of med/thick CA glue, and pull foam back up to the eye. Push back end forward a bit and add a small drop of glue on back side, then straighten and center body. Really only takes about 15 seconds to glue each one.

-Dress tail as desired and your flies are completed. No painting or body finish necessary. Colors and color combinations are endless.

I did some traditional colors red/white, black/yellow, red/black, green/yellow etc. but then used all the foam I had on hand for black/green/yellow, red/white/blue, pink/white (for Casey for the CFR), and several other combinations. When I was done I used a sheet of each of the primary colors for a rainbow pattern. Once dressed I’ll call this the ‘Gordon Popper’ for the Rainbow Warriors! Not really a NASCAR fan, but a good friend is.

2

Great instructions and some very cool looking poppers.

3

I’ll second the “Great Instructions”! Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to give this a try…

Thanks

4

Would zap a gap goo work to do the glueing ? Thost are neat lookin popper bodies… How do these glued up bodies hold up say i wanna use one for tying a wasp or bee and need to tie it on top a hook sinching it down in places with tying thread ?

5

Why do you want to tie it on top and sinch it down ? It would just mash the foam down. GOOP will also work----------

6

I was thinking instead of a popper it could be used for other flies such as a bee or whatever… Something like this which is tied on top of the hook shank…

7

Yep, Zap-a-Gap is a CA (cyanoacrylate) glue, aka super glue. I use the generic zap-a-gap from Hobby Lobby myself. If you apply Pliobond correctly, you can’t tare it apart without ripping the foam. Anyone thats ever used a contact cement, you have one shot to stick it together.

Not sure how well Goop would hold though because of it’s flexibility. I would think the body would be prone to moving around the hook if any pressure was put on it.

I’ve cut a slit in the bottom of the foam on some and then glue on the hook. I can see where cinching down with thread would definatly had nice detail.

I like that bee. That just proves there are many ways to use the foam. I would like see every variations on foam bodies.

8

While Plio-Bond is an excellent contact adhesive, I find it easier to use 3M FoamFast 74 spray adhesive. It comes in aerosol spray an and I find it easier to apply than using a brush on type. It used by the auto upolstry industry to attach seat covers to foam padding.

Super glue type cements will work but are much more difficult (messy) to work with over a large area.

9

I will definitely look for for the FoamFast. Is it a contact cement? A spray would definitely be much easier to apply.

10

attn: Bass_bug

3M 74 is a spray on contact cement. Instructions say to spray both surfaces and let dry for an instant bond, or spray one surface and let dry, then spray second surface and apply wet for a repositionable bond. The regular 3M 77 general purpose spray adhesive works as well, but the 74 is specially formulated for use on foam and porus surfaces. I’ve even used it to attach felt soles on my boots. Sure beats trying to cover a big surface with those tiny ‘in the cap’ brushes.

One tip I learned in arch. school, when your done with the spray can hold it upside down and spray into a piece of newspaper until the spray runs clear. This will evacuate the nozzle and supply tube to help prevent clogging in storage.

11

Kendore - 3M 74 is a spray on contact cement. Instructions say to spray both surfaces and let dry for an instant bond, or spray one surface and let dry, then spray second surface and apply wet for a repositionable bond. The regular 3M 77 general purpose spray adhesive works as well, but the 74 is specially formulated for use on foam and porus surfaces. …[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I’ve used the 3M 77 stuff in the past to glue sheets of foam together with good results…but only because I hadn’t heard of the foam-specific version. I’ll switch to that next time!

Bass_Bug - I did something similar a few years ago for a fly swap. Black & yellow layers for a wasp/bee pattern. The real wasps I’ve seen in the wild aren’t always consistent in the thickness of their stripes, so I put a double layer of yellow in for one of the stripes. Just mixes it up a wee bit… :smiley:

Bugman’s posted picture shows a similar effect (the last black stripe is much thicker than the others).

12

Ok, boys, be back after I get my chemistry degree. :smiley:
Coughlin

13

You mentioned the foam dust from forming the bodies. ive lathed cork before and it is really easy, if you have one, to take a shop vac. and attach it to the table or whatever you are working on so that it sucks up all the dust as you go. Being an asthmetic, i find this very helpful. It works for almost anything except metal (because its hot).

Jordan

14

ok 3M guys. I checked out 3M-74 and 3M-77. 74 is a contact cement which I want, but it says it’s orange where 77 says it’s a clear adhesive. I’d be willing to try both, but these babies are not cheap, both over $10 a can. What’s with the ‘orange’? If it dries orange, will it show bewteen layers?

15

I just thin GOOP in a old head cement bottle and paint it on both surfaces and stick them together–$3.00 a tube. BILL :tieone: