about wax

[BenzoV]

I've been watching a few fly tying vids by Davie McPhail and obviously enjoy it immensely, if only for listening to his accent :-). One thing I have noticed though (and I have not heard him clarify on this) is that he sometimes wax the thread and other times not. At first I thought it was a dry fly thing to help float the fly, but then he waxed some thread while tying a caddis pupae immitation, which sort of nullified my theory.

The only book I have on tying techniques is this one, published back in 1982 when I was born, http://www.amazon.com/Expert-Fly-Tyi.../dp/0806975806, and the authors assume that everyone always either wax their thread or use pre-waxed thread. (btw, this is a fantastic book to have IMO for teaching you the different techniques in tying flies. It's a great companion to books like The South African Fly-fishing handbook that shows you the SBS, but not necessarily the way to actually perform the steps required.).


My question: What is the correct usage of wax. When should I use it and why?

Edit: I'm not referring to dubbing wax.

Second edit: Mmm, maybe I am. Will have to watch the video again... In any case, I know you can buy waxed thread, why would you choose to use it?

[dlampert]

I've been watching a few fly tying vids by Davie McPhail and obviously enjoy it immensely, if only for listening to his accent :-). One thing I have noticed though (and I have not heard him clarify on this) is that he sometimes wax the thread and other times not. At first I thought it was a dry fly thing to help float the fly, but then he waxed some thread while tying a caddis pupae immitation, which sort of nullified my theory.

The only book I have on tying techniques is this one, published back in 1982 when I was born, http://www.amazon.com/Expert-Fly-Tyi.../dp/0806975806, and the authors assume that everyone always either wax their thread or use pre-waxed thread. (btw, this is a fantastic book to have IMO for teaching you the different techniques in tying flies. It's a great companion to books like The South African Fly-fishing handbook that shows you the SBS, but not necessarily the way to actually perform the steps required.).


My question: What is the correct usage of wax. When should I use it and why?

Edit: I'm not referring to dubbing wax.

Second edit: Mmm, maybe I am. Will have to watch the video again... In any case, I know you can buy waxed thread, why would you choose to use it?

Ben,

Whether you are referring to dubbing wax or waxed thread they are both used to help get materials to stick to the thread for easier dubbing. You get low tack (harder wax that is not so sticky) and high tack (softer and stickier) depending on the technique you are using and what dubbing you have. If you wet your fingers a bit with saliva and dub small amounts tightly then you can get away with not using wax for most dubbing. Having said that, watching someone like Tom Sutcliffe touch dub (create a dubbing loop and gently dab some loose dubbing against the waxed thread) his neutral density dragon, you realise that it is still a very useful technique in some applications. Not all dubbing wax is equal, the best is the stuff Tom uses (I think John Betts) which I haven't seen available locally but you can import it. Hope that helps.

[BenzoV]

Thanks Darryl, that does help to some extend. I watched the video again (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7ooBRCWK1M) and Davie does seem to use the wax when dubbing, however, he is also quite clear in this particular instance about the need to wax when tying in (and off) the partridge feather, as well as when whip finishing.

In this dry fly video (first fly) he also uses wax, yet there is no dubbing involved at all, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv8DN...622AA&index=64.

[dlampert]

Thanks Darryl, that does help to some extend. I watched the video again (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7ooBRCWK1M) and Davie does seem to use the wax when dubbing, however, he is also quite clear in this particular instance about the need to wax when tying in (and off) the partridge feather, as well as when whip finishing.

In this dry fly video (first fly) he also uses wax, yet there is no dubbing involved at all, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv8DN...622AA&index=64.

Take my first sentence in the response above and remove the last three words ;-) You could get the same results in both flies without wax, but yes it can be used to "control" other materials besides dubbing. Try a small amount of Pritt if you want to experiment.