Epoxy flies

[phearless]

I have been tieing a whack of epoxy fry candy lately.
These epoxy minnows have been the bomb for me for many years.
I don't go cuttie fishing in the spring without them.
Some have glass beads with silver centers for egg sacks and/or gills.
The style of fly is very useful and lends itself to experimentation.
I also use epoxy for heads on beach flies.
You can also do up some killer stickleback patterns as well.
The possibilities are endless.
I use epoxy flies for coho in the chuck as well.
Most flies that I use it on are part epoxy and part something that moves.
If you decide to try some of these you will need a motor to turn them on while the epoxy sets up.
6 RPM is just about right. A B.B.Q. rotisserie motor is about right.
I use a little motor I found used, and a piece of round foam.
One other thing, I have tried a lot of different epoxies, and the only one to use is Devcon 2 ton. There is about 20 minutes working time so you can get a few flies done at a time. Just don't mix up more than about a dime size puddle.
Anybody else have any thoughts.

[jared]

I prefer 5-min epoxy. True it's not waterproof -- and it does yellow with age *although the nail polish trick is a good one* -- but it remains my favorite.

That said, the "new" acrylic resin (dentists have been using the stuff for years) that Bobby Pop is demoing has some intriuging properties...so I may try some of that at some point.

Happy tying.

-J

[phearless]

So many chemicals...........
So little time.
Seriously now.
The two ton is pretty much all I have used.
Well a bit of soft body here and there.
Keep us posted if you try some of the new products out.
Perhaps there would be enough interest in an epoxy/coated fly tying night.
I know i would like to see a few tricks and am sure I could help out a few as well.

[geoffvl]

Found this thread on epoxying flies. Is it still up to date? I want to make some cutty flies and putting eyes on needs epoxy it seems. I tried one today and put 8 coats of tough as nails on and it still didn't seem enough. I don't really want to spend the money on a tuffleye kit even though it seems good. But I guess i need a rotary fly dryer for epoxy. Whats the easiest solution?
Here's the nail polish fly

[phearless]

Just get a BBQ rotiserrie motor.
Something around 6 rpm is good.
Try princess auto surplus section for a motor.
Piece of foam and a couple of chunks of 2x4.
Then use devcon 2 ton.

Or buy one.
Once the initial cost of the dryer is over it is cheap.
6 bucks or so will do 20+ dozen flies. Depending on size and coverage of course.

[2fly]

I used my bbq motor with a metal bracket and mounted it to a piece of wood [ Teak with 10 clear coats ]It works awsome now,the first time the wheel fell off and I had a dozen minnows stuck to the rug .Phearless gave me a few tips on the devcon its great stuff once you get the hang of it,my latest ones have a green frostbite body they look pretty cool.I heard if you get air bubbles to breath on it when I tried that method the mix turned milky,I now take more care when mixing it up & appling it.

[phearless]

Don't "mix"
Fold.
If you stir like a pot of beans it will get air bubbles.

Also, do not use wood to stir. the pores introduce micro bubbles which are very difficult to remove.
I use a very small stainless steel spatula. The kind make up artists use.
They are available at the Cloverdale Flea Market in the first building at the corner where you first walk in. The guy has cheap scissors and the like as well.

Here is another trick.
If it does have a lot of air bubbles, a flame held ABOVE the fly will pop them immediately.
Be careful as this also makes it thin quickly as well.

Use a spatula and mix/fold carefully and you will not have any problems.
I haven't had any air bubble problems for 1000's of flies.

[SalaR]

Yuo can also buy "SoftBody"...it is a water based head finish...that works OK...forms heads well....or you can use Sun Cure Wader Repair..if it's not sunny it takes longer

C

[professori]

I bought a motor with chuck on ebay for $17. Just look for rod drying motor and there are a ton of them there. I mounted it on a nice little oak stand, and use it for rod drying. I then grabbed an empty spindle from a stack of CD-Rs, wrapped some weathre stripping around it and mounted it in the chuck. Turns epoxy flies at 7 R.P.M. For epoxy, I prefer 20 minute over 5 minute (longer working time). I looked at the Tuffleye system and tho' it looks fntastic, I can't see spending that kind of money unless one is tying commercial quantities. Epoxy isn't a huge part of my repertoire, so I don't mind the occasional messy evening.

[jared]

Don't "mix"
Fold.
If you stir like a pot of beans it will get air bubbles.

Also, do not use wood to stir. the pores introduce micro bubbles which are very difficult to remove.
I use a very small stainless steel spatula. The kind make up artists use.
They are available at the Cloverdale Flea Market in the first building at the corner where you first walk in. The guy has cheap scissors and the like as well.

Here is another trick.
If it does have a lot of air bubbles, a flame held ABOVE the fly will pop them immediately.
Be careful as this also makes it thin quickly as well.

Use a spatula and mix/fold carefully and you will not have any problems.
I haven't had any air bubble problems for 1000's of flies.

I prefer coffee straws cut on a bias -- usually get 3 "tools" per straw. For the bubbles, just hold the mixed epoxy under a hot light bulb...the bubbles rise and pop and you're good to go.

I haven't gotten around to trying the tuffleye stuff yet.

-J