Not having tied any of this type of fly I thought I’d ask a question. Maybe some of you have tied these and have an answer.
The body of the ‘Tube Fly’ is obviously a tube. Now I’ve seen these (illustrated and photographed) made from with what looks like metal or plastic. What material is used for the tube and if plastic, any particular thickness? Can you use the small coffee stirrers or even some of the plastic ‘Q-Tips’?
Allan
You can use both plastic or metal.
All I have used are the Q-tip ones. It’s been a long time since I purchased mine…a sack of 600 @ the $1 store…practically free. At that time only the colored ones were hollow not the white shafts.
Also it is not necessary to purchase any expensive holders. Many things can be used …e.g. a bicycle spoke works quite well…any straight shaft with a little bend on the end can be used as a holder.
I guess you can still find them, diaper safety pins can be straighten and held in the vise they are great for tying extended bodies and can be modified to hold a tube.
Q-tips make great tubes. Some years ago Marc Petiitjean showed me a very good way to hold them while tying. Cut one end straight and mushroom the end with a flame. Cut the other end at 45 degrees. Take a length of stiff wire and bend the end 1/8th inch at 90 degrees. Drop the wire into the tube from the angled end. Fix the wire in your vice with the mushroomed end against the jaws. This is a good method as it doesn’t rely on friction against the inside of the tube. Once tied remove the fly from the vice and wire. cut the angle off straight and mushroom that end.
By using this you will never get the problem of the thread squashing the tube onto the mandrill. I have had this happen with other methods. It is very disappointing to tie a fly to find the only way to get it off the mandrill is to cut it off.
Cheers,
A.
It’s truly amazing that a piece of material like this tube can be purchased at one of the ‘Dollar Stores’ at about 500 pieces for $1.00. Yet, package just 24 pieces in a zip lock bag, label it something specifically different and it sells for $4.00 and up.
Yep…the see us fly fishermen coming from a mile away
Brad
For those interested, I had some of the q-tips with the plastic between the cotton ends. I found that a ‘basting needle’, the ones that are about 5 inches long and the wire is circled at the end, fits perfectly into the q-tip hole. Just sayin.
Allan
Sorry to be a pain in the a** but I just thought of this and wanted to find out what you guys think. Anyone use the tubes (metal and plastic) containing the ink inside of click or Bic type pens? Of course you have to clean out the ink but is that too messy or is it easy enough to be worth the bother? If you’ve used these ink tubes, what solvent did you use to clean them out?
Thanks.
Allan,
I tried it, once, and it was somewhat messy; if you’ve had a ball-point pen blow up in your pocket, that’ll give you an idea. The plastic Q-tips are much easier to work with. I also tied some up with some heat-shrink tubing I had lying around. That stuff worked great, but I think it’d be a bit expensive.
Regards,
Scott
I’m with Scott…it’s just too messy to be worth it.
Thanks guys. I thought so but wanted to check.
how exactly do you keep the tube stationary without crushing it in the vise? or is that the only way, cutting the crushed end off when finished?
i would have started a new thread, but i figured this was a relevant enough question…
-spoof
See my post above! (Sorry on the previous page).
Cheers,
A.
Maybe trying to explain the technique Marc showed me is a little difficult to follow in just words. Here it is in Pictures.
Prepare the tube by mushrooming one end with a flame. Cut the other end at about 45 degrees. Take a piece of stiff wire and bend over the end 1/8th inch at 90 degrees.
It is a good method if you only tie the occasional tube. If you are tying lots I would recommend getting one of the stepped and tapered mandrills for them.
Cheers,
A.
ah, i get it now, thanks
