There are many ways to tie extended furled bodies and given the well deserved interest in John Scott’s FEB flies I’ll toss in another way that works for me.
I’ll admit I haven’t really much used John’s two electric holder method…here’s what I do.
After selecting the material I insert one end into the tip of the vise jaws…now I have both hands free.
I then grasp the free end with a hackle pliers.
I then grab the handle of the pliers with a shepard’s hook dubbing brush twister and spin the twister…I find this a rapid way to twist.
I then take that same twister and use it to fold the material on itself at mid point bringing the hackle pliers up to the vise jaw tip and let the furling occur.
As said I like it because both hands are free…rapid…and the furl is easily adjusted.
I like to select the body material colors and tie them in at the midpoint of the hook, then I grasp the end of them with the clip or hackle pliers and twist until it starts to furl. Using a bodkin at the point I want for length I bring the end up to the tie in point and secure it down and trim. This way I can get the length correct for the hook size and dont need as many tools and operations, but I love John’s FEB patterns !
i make my wife hold one end and twist the other with my fingers, then have her pinch it onto the hook while i tie it on, then, when its too long, she gets mad and leaves, then i repeat the process by myself … lol
seriously, what i do is hold one end between my right pinky and thumb, allowing full motion of my other three fingers, with the left hand, twist the material between my thumb and middle finger… that leaves my ring and pinky finger free to hold excess material and my pointer finger to hold tention while resetting my middle finger for another twist… when i have the desired twist tention, i will take my pointer and mindle finger from my right hand, grasp the middle and pull to twist the material onto itself… now i take my ring finger on my right hand and my pointer finger on my left hand and pin the twist, at this point, i can let go of the now twisted end, and slip the body between my left pointer and thumb.
i know, it sounds more complicated then it really is, and if your not left handed, you might want to switch hands…
i can twist my fingers all over the place, perk from playing bass guitar for 12 years
what i meant by that is that i have alot of agility and dexterity, and honestly, if you maintain a good diet, healthy lifestyle, and dont “play through the pain,” as most musicians and other people in a tedious activity with there hands do… pain means your doing damage. one of my friends grandfather, the man is 78, has just as much as i do, if not more…
as for talking to you when im 70… hell, i didnt expect to make it this far…
tools are fine, but i have found doing things by hand goes quicker, with less mistakes, plus i like to feel the materials…
what method do you use? (just curious)
spoof
ps. my wife never helped me, i was just kidding around, i love her very much and do my best not to get her mad, she is my best friend.
… lol