Something for the darker nights...

[binka]

I've really enjoyed watching this guy making his traditional floats and he makes it look rather easier than I suspect it is... Practice makes perfect I guess.

I thought the idea of using fly tying thread instead of paint for the tip colours was very good too and the first clip is probably clearer in how he goes about it and in the second he actually shows you how to build your own hand cranked lathe before going on to produce a very nice float on it.

Well worth grabbing a cuppa and sparing the half hour or so to watch if you're interested in this sort of thing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9I-9zWUEKo&list=UUHsVmxfbTN79r80FC9qeOYQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEDpfTh714U&list=UUHsVmxfbTN79r80FC9qeOYQ

 

[flightliner]

Enjoyed that Binka, off to the river now for a bit of hemp n tare fishing.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Great little video, that..

Never thought to use fly tying thread instead of paint, but it's not a bad idea as the painting is harder to get dead right whereas whipping is pretty straight forward - well, it is for me anyway !

Float making; First of all, you really need to be really dead keen on giving it a try. Secondly, you must have infinite patience, and thirdly, it's not something you can remotely rush if you want a decent job.
It does take some minor skills which you can pick up on videos such as this one, but more perhaps, you have to have the desire to work with your hands and produce something to the best of your ability and be prepared to learn the simple tricks as you go along.
I have a small room with a work area for all the bits and pieces, very good lighting and more importantly a radio to keep me company. In fact I listen to classical music, simply because it seems to match the mood you need to be in before you start working on a particular task. Only do as much as keeps the quality, top draw......

I tend to make 'sets' of floats (say 6/8 at a time, to take different loadings) and most of the time the design will be focused on a particular problem that I come up against whilst fishing. Some work very well and some end up in the bin, but over time the bin jobs get less and less...

'Something for the darker nights' just about covers it......and once finished, nothing can beat seeing one of your own creations sliding beneath the surface.....

I have to say it really made my fingers itch, watching that video !!