Alright I am nearly at wits end trying to spin deer hair…one time it wont flare properly and the next time i break the thread…not to mention the utter frustration of trying to get rubber legs to come out right in the middle of the whole mess. Anybody know if any online clips/tutorials or suggestions that can help me out? Pattern i am trying to tie is turks tarantula among others. Just about to throw the deer hair out, not to mention pulling out my own hair in the process. :shock:
An excellent resource for fly tiers is the TV show, [url=http://www.kwsu.org/Offers/OMNFlyTying.aspx:fbda4]Fly Tying: The Anglers Art[/url:fbda4], on KWSU. The above link will take you to the page where the video of the shows is archived. There are several different deer hair flies demonstrated, including a few by Dave Whitlock. You will need to download and install the OMN player. Not a bad idea by itself by the way. There is a ton of interesting audio and video available, with it, mostly through PBS stations around the country.
Here is a site that may help. don’t give up on spinning hair. It honestly is not that difficult. It does take practice though. What specifically are you having trouble with. Knowing that might lead to some better answers.
K3s,
First, use stronger thread. Kevlar, gel spun (I like 10 pound SpiderWire). It’s makes spinning hair MUCH easier if the ‘bad’ thing that can happen is cutting the hair, NOT breaking the thread.
Second, make sure you are using good spinning hair. The hair should flare easily under tension into something that looks like one of those rubber ‘Koosh’ balls. If the hair doesn’t want to flare out to 90 degrees from the shank BEFORE it’s cut by the thread, the problem isn’t technique, it’s the hair. Get a better piece, and save that one for wings…
Pack it tightly. One of those folded brass hair ‘packers’ that closes around the shank will pack the hair tightly. A drop of lacquer applied after each bunch is spun/stacked and packed helps keep it tight and helps prevent it from spinning aroud the shank when fished.
Don’t use too much hair at one time. This takes some trial and error until you get the feel of it, but too much is worse than not enough.
Last, this is a skill that takes some practice. Since you are tying trout flies, it’s not too critical, but once you get some practice you will be able to tie bass bugs that are appear to be hard as cork. It just takes time to get good at it.
Good Luck!
Buddy
I had similar problems . . . . . My deer hair was lousy etc.
http://www.whitetailflytieing.com/
Give Chris Helm a call. I did . . He’ll recommend thread, hair etc. Watch his DVD and get some good hair from him. Compare it to the hair you have. Yours may be good, mine was’nt. I could tell a big difference in the hair.
I bought his Spinning DVD, deer hair and thread from Chris and it helped a lot!!
-wayne
As I said on another forum, try this site also, you have to have the correct material to spin with any kind of ease.
The Bob Clouser has another problem with spinning deer hair. The flies take too long to tie and cut into his fishing time. The solution, in his recent book, is foam. Though I have that sixth sense of when the thread is about to break when I am spinning, I am going to give EVA a try. There are a lot of creative things being done with the material like dremel tooling delicate shapes and more recently folding and trimming like oragami. Since the material is more bouyant than a similar profile in spun hair, some adaptation is required. You can’t knock getting more float with less bulk IMHO. I found that, to get a decent dive, I have to reduce the diver head size about 30-40%. But that is another topic.
Never too old to learn something new- Ive spun deer for years always on a “bare hook” of course but i watch another tier this weekend and he started his thread a few wraps then did something I never did. He halfhitch to make sure his thread was locked in then spun the hair. I have always spun, packed and then halfhitched after each bunch of hair :lol: Bill
It takes some practice.
- Get good deer body hair. All deer body hair is not equal. Make sure it is rated for spinning in the item description.
- Use nothing less than 3/0 thread. I personally use kevlar thread. Check the description of your thread when you buy it and make sure it is rated for spinning, and/or Glo-Bugs.
- Practice, pratice, practice. It is an acquired skill, just as weaving chenille bodies is.
Good luck!
Another good step by step:
http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox/details.cfm?parentID=10
Chuck
If you don’t have someone who can give you some actual demo’s on a vise, I think buying a video from someone like Chris Helm would be a VERY worthwhile investment. Trust that!!
And you can always resell it after you become proficient.
I learned with a little bit of cussing … and band-aids! 
Jeremy.
On the main page to the left click on fly tying and then select “intermediate fly tying” and scroll down. there are some great tutorials showing how to make deer hair poppers and dahlburgs.
also deer hair from different parts of the body will spin differently. if possible, get the deer hide from a hunter as they will know exactly what part of the deer the fur came from.
The white belly fur is the best for spinning purposes. then the light grey with light brown tips from the side of the deer for about 8-10 inches up from the white belly fur are next best. above that especially on the back, and the tail fur is very very poor for spinning. the dark hair right along the back and the tail i have found will rarely spin at all. and also make sure you dont get it from the front of the deer, or on the legs. this will be too short. but the very long fur right before the tail for about 5 inches is some of the best.(but not the fur on the tail or the white fur just short of the tail.) mainly for length but it also spins veeeerrrryyyy well.
if you dont have access to info on where the fur came from on the deer, an easy way to tell is how light or dark it is. the lighter the fur, in general, (once again excluding the tail) the thicker it is and thus the better for spinning it is. (it may be very difficult to tell if the fur is dyed) the darker the fur is the worse it is for spinning-the darkest being located along the center of the back.
another way to tell is by looking at how thick the individual hairs are. compare a few sections and determine which looks the thickest. this will be the best. deer hair is hollow which is what allows it to flare, and so the thicker it is, the more hollow space there is and the more it will flare.
Obviously Buddy thinks that maybe your vision is part of the problem. 
Anyways, my two cents. I rarely use anything heavier that 120 Denier thread. 120 denier thread is plenty heavy for almost all applications. I tried kevlar for a while, but found that it allowed me to apply WAY too much tension, which lead to cutting the hair in half, which…well, sucks!
mAngler
Buy “Tying Hairbugs with Billy Munn”
I’ve been attending and tying at FFF conclaves for 25 years. At every conclave that Billy Munn has also attended, I have always spent time either sitting next to, or across from, the “best deerhair tyer” in the country. If you don’t believe me, just look at interviews by Chris Helm, Tim England, Jimmy Nix, or other top hair guys (and gals), and you’ll see that that they all acknowledge their debt to Billy. You see, he’s been tying and teaching hairwork for over 50 years!
I purchased “Tying Hairbugs with Billy Munn” DVD directly from Billy at the Southen Council Conclave in Mt. Home, AR.
It is a very well done, professional qualtiy production of Billy tying four hairbugs. As he goes through these bugs, he explains everything that he is doing. The photography and sound quality are top notch. The videographer/producer is an avid deerhair tyer.
It was the best $25.00 that I’ve ever spent in tying…
Everyone who has every watched Billy Munn work with hair will be thrilled with this DVD. And those of you who have never had the opportunity to watch Mr. Munn, but who wanted to learn to tie hair or “move up” to the next level with your tying are in for a real treat. You will not be disappointed.
I know that the DVD can be purchased from shops and mail order suppliers, but why not just contact Billy Munn at his home (262 Cuba Rd, Bridgeport, TX 76426), and get an autographed copy? I don’t know what he charges for shipping, but I’m sure that its very reasonable.
You will not be disappointed.
Kyle M.
This helped me alot great information.
Take a look at these 4 videos on Tying a Dahlberg Diver. Ken Bohannan is an excellent tyer of deer hair. Maybe this will help as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydfgE4YxgLI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p272QK7BpU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TEKwbwNC-E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eNym5_PMlE
The 2nd and 3rd videos are more about spinning hair.
I use Waxed Nylon Thread or (just for monster muddlers or big mice) Kevlar.
The first option is great: strong and flat.
Good luck,
Rocketfish
I think practice is the key here.The more you try you learn how much tension is too much or too little.Sure you will mess up a few but eventually you will get it.I use Danvilles flat waxed nylon thread.I have tied many deer hair flies and all have been pretty ugly but even your ugly flies catch fish.The flies I tie now are not near as ugly as the one’s I tied when I first tried,but even those would catch fish.I also tie a half hitch between bunches of hair.This is a great idea because you never know when the thread will break.Just my 2 cents.
-Steve