What's your favorite bobbin

All about flies Fly Tying
1

I, like most tyers have used a number of bobbins over the years. Recently I have started using the Tiemco curved black ceramic tube bobbin. I like it very much. Minimal thread breakage, little wax buildup and it feels good in my hand.

What is your opinion? What bobbin do you use and why?

2

iceman,

I have and use several kinds of bobbin holders, but really have no clear favorite. They do, however, all have aspects I like, and aspects which I feel can be improved upon.

J. Dorin easy-thread

  • Ease of threading. Simply excellent idea.
  • No wax buildup problem
  • Spins without wobble
  • Could do with a bit more weight
  • Disappeared off the market some 20-25 years back

(Note: Wishbone are marketing a bobbin holder now which is a clone of the J. Dorin design)

Matarelli

  • the de-facto bobbin holder for many a year
  • very durable
  • threading can be a bit tedious
  • suseptible to wax buildup

Curved Tiemco ceramic tube

  • very smooth
  • very durable
  • the bent arms reduce the likelyhood of wax buildup
  • wobbles when spinning the thread

Rite

  • very smooth, adjustable tension
  • bit fragile build
  • does not handle all brand spools equally well
  • wobbles when spinning the thread
  • somewhat suseptible to wax buildup

Cheers,
Hans W

=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier

3

I have been using Matarelli bobbins exclusively for my entire fly tying career. I keep several of them set up with my most commonly used thread colors so I don’t have to bother with threading them most of the time. When I do have to thread one, I just use the Materelli threader which also has a thingie that allows you to clear out the wax. No problem. I have never used any of the others so I really can’t compare. I like the fact that I can adjust the tension on them to anything I wan’t. (They usually come with the tension too tight when you buy them, by the way.) The Matarelli works for me and I admire the quality of the Matarelli tools in general.

[This message has been edited by gadabout (edited 23 February 2005).]

4

I would love to try one of those, jc.
unfortunately, I’d have to pay for it, and it’s price makes that out of the question.

I like the tiemco professional bobbin holder (also not cheap, btw).

mgj

5

JC,

I have had some correspondence with Faruk on the bobbin design and it sounded like a fine tool. At the recent Somerset show I had a play with one, as the tier next to me owned one. Feels good, works fine and as advertised. There is a slight wobble on spin but not overly so. Fine tool, but at a premium price.

Would I be prepared to buy one at the price: I may do between now and ‘later’, but then I am a gadget person where it concerns my tying addiction. Note I said ‘one’. For my tying I would not be happy with a single bobbin holder, with the various sizes and colors of thread I use, regardless how fine a tool the Ekich bobbin holder is. The chances of me owning a ‘fleet’ of them are pretty slim and remote as things stand :wink:

Cheers,
Hans W

=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier

6

I really like the Ekich Bobbin the best. Second best I like the Tiemco and then the Rite and then the other assorted brands and types all get used too. They all work for me in one way or another.

The reasons I find the Ekich so handy is that it speeds up my tying. It allows one to reverse a wrap under complete control. It takes out slack for you. It holds tension for you. It will help you in tying hitches by cinching them up for you. It is truley automatic. It feels comfy in the hand.

I like the way the Tiemcos are built and how they fit in your hand too. I like the tension adjustments on the Rite Bobbins.

What I hate doing is gaining back thread by running my thumb all of the time. The Ekich takes care of that for me.

Rich

7

Griffin ceramics and I have lots of them-----sometimes I use 15 at a time.
Tyng with kids

Bill

8

For years I used Tiemco curved ceramic bobbins and Rite bobbins and I still do, but my go to bobbin the past year or so is the Automatic Bobbin by Nor Vise. I just love the way it automatically takes up slack. My nephew gave them to me for Christmas.

9

I like the griffin ceramic in saltwater length for everything size 14 and up.

For smaller stuff I like the renzetti midge size saltwater length. It has a synthetic ruby insert in the tip to protect the thread. The thin tip will go through the gap of hooks all the way down to size 18. The feet are teflon and allow the spool to glide very smoothly, but you can still increase tension by squeezing the whole thing. I wouldn’t dare use another bobbin with 10/0 thread.

10

I had almost forgotten about the J. Dorin bobbin. It was my first bobbin (bobbin-holder). No threader or bobbin sucking needed with it.

My current favorite is the Tiemco straight ceramic.

Jay

11

The Norvise automatic bobbin (NAB) is half the price of the newest auto bobbin and it’s superbly engineered. If I’m tying on my renzetti or regal I still use the NAB. The only time I pick up the old manual bobbin is when I’m spinning a bass bug with Kevlar.

12

Nor auto bobbin hands down! Price is affordable at $35. Design is great, no wobble as Hans mentioned. At this price I have three on my bench. The only slight inconvenience is the loading of the spools but it is a tiny negative and barely worth the mention.

All of the rest of my bobbins (Tiemco, Matarelli, Indian, Rite and a few others) just sit and collect dust.

In all fairness, I have not tried the Ekich bobbin so I can’t evaluate it other than cost. I’m sure it is a fine bobbin and from the pictures I have seen, it looks well built.

Happy Trails!
Ronn

13

Mine is the Tiemco straight standard.

14

I suppose the answer to this maybe is so subject to individual variation that there is no good answer but…

How many bobbins do you think is reasonable to have loaded ready to go on the table?

I suppose we should consider price…

15

I love the Rite Bobbin, especially for Spiderweb…

“Why not fish a dry fly?”

16

Duckster, I presently have 42

17

Mine is Tiemco straight ceramic tube bobbin and BT (Al Beatty) straight ceramic tube bobbin.

18

JC…$80.00 for a bobbin??? Whoa!!! I would have to sell my first born to afford something like that just to hold thread…

Hackletip

19

RE: Ekich Spool Wobble. I’m sure Hans didn’t mean to cause a stirr…Ron cited the “wobble”.

Well any wobble would be the result of a spool being out of round or mishapen. The specs on thread spools are loose. Therefore-on some spools the fit is not precise. In fact-you may bneed to deburr the spools to have them index correctly on the Ekich. Some may even need to be reamed-out with a drill bit to fit. That is the price to be paid for a precision tying device.

All Uni spools fit nicely-The Danville’s need trimming and other brands may even fit loosely. Sway it goes…

Use of the Ekich Bobbin has a learning curve associated with it. It is a worthile endeavor IMO (and it ain’t so humble )

Rich

20

I ask my #'s question above for practical reasons…at least for me… I’m finding it necessary to maintain a tying station in two separate localities.

I hate to thread bobbins repeatedly [I have 13]so I’m thinking of…

6-7 in each place…

or is say the Erich so GREAT, GREAT that it would be the only one you’d have on your bench…unless you won the lottery…

or gradually, like I did before, build the numbers up …

or maybe 6 is plenty…

For heavans sake will someone make a decision for me…[G} {G}