Fly Tying Station or Bench

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mmayo

mmayo

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Tehachapi, CA
A friend asked me to make a bench to assist his fly tying addiction and this is what I made. He gave me the final dimensions and some his tools to help. I used African mahogany for the majority and ebonized hard maple for the supports and spindles. I used five coats of wipe on spar varnish.

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He was happy with it and wants another one for his other home in Utah.

PS sorry for the poor color balance...
 
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He has a weighted tying vise, but might attach a light using the free space up front.

The size he had on his desk was 16"x20" and this just barely fits.
 
Being a fly tier myself, i love the look. appears to be about the right size to be very useful as well. the only thing i don't see is the vice but some guys like it separate and i prefer fixed to the box.
nice job
 
Beautiful tying station! Much nicer than any of the commercial ones out there. As a fly tyer myself, I find that I never have enough room for all the stuff I get spread out on my tying desk. If you make any more tying stations in the future, there are a couple of additional features you might consider adding.

1. A small rounded depression to place beads for bead head flies. These beads seem to roll around on my desk like they're possessed. I took a large serving spoon and cut the head off off with about an inch of handle left. I then mounted it under one of the extension arms and swing it out when I need it.

2. A strip of magnetic tape to hold hooks. Most of the time, tyers will tie up multiple flies of the same pattern at one sitting and we take the correct number of hooks out of the package at the beginning of the tying session. I debarb the hooks and line them up on the magnetic tape to keep them from dropping into the carpet when they are a pain to find (sometimes literally).
3. A strip of cork or dense closed-cell foam to the end on one of the extension arms to place finished flies to allow the head cement to dry as he ties the next fly.

Again, outstanding job on a tool that will give your friend a lifetime of service. Thanks for sharing your beautiful work.

Jim Smith
 
Another suggestion to add in ....

A small drawer or storage area to hold a box of completed flies. Or perhaps a standing board for display of completed flies. Not for putting your completed flies in, of course, but holding the examples you are copying or incorporating design elements from .... like a blueprint board, but in 3D. :)
 
Ideas for fly tying bench

Thanks for the suggestions!


Jim Smith said:
Beautiful tying station! Much nicer than any of the commercial ones out there. As a fly tyer myself, I find that I never have enough room for all the stuff I get spread out on my tying desk. If you make any more tying stations in the future, there are a couple of additional features you might consider adding.

1. A small rounded depression to place beads for bead head flies. These beads seem to roll around on my desk like they're possessed. I took a large serving spoon and cut the head off off with about an inch of handle left. I then mounted it under one of the extension arms and swing it out when I need it.

I could make one out of wood and mount as you suggest. How big (diameter) should I make the depression? How deep too?

2. A strip of magnetic tape to hold hooks. Most of the time, tyers will tie up multiple flies of the same pattern at one sitting and we take the correct number of hooks out of the package at the beginning of the tying session. I debarb the hooks and line them up on the magnetic tape to keep them from dropping into the carpet when they are a pain to find (sometimes literally).

How about a couple of neodymium magnets near the end mounted flush?

3. A strip of cork or dense closed-cell foam to the end on one of the extension arms to place finished flies to allow the head cement to dry as he ties the next fly.

Cork!

Thanks again

Mark

Again, outstanding job on a tool that will give your friend a lifetime of service. Thanks for sharing your beautiful work.

Jim Smith
Click to expand...
 
Mark,

Yes, you could easily make the "bead holder" depression in the wood. I would make it about 1.5 to 2 inches wide and about 1/4 to 3/8 inches deep. I'd just use a Forstner or spade bit and then round out the bottom.

For the magnet you could certainly use rare earth magnets, but when you use a magnet that is that strong, it tends to magnetize the hooks and any other tools like scissors that get too near it. Hooks that are too magnetized are a real pain in the butt if you store your flies in small compartment fly boxes as they tend to stick together when you try to remove just one. I simply use about 3 inches of the rubberize magnetic strip with the adhesive backing.

The cork strip should be at least half inch thick and maybe three inches long. If you use cork that is too thin, then it will break up if the person tries to hook in any flies that are tied on hooks larger than size 6 or 4. I have some brand new cork rod handles that would work well if you cut/sand them to shape. PM me your address and I'll drop some in the mail to you for free.

Here's a picture of my tying desk. You can see the small tool holder I use which is somewhat similar to the one you made. The white object you see below the vise is what I call a trash trough. It's made from 3 inch PVC pipe sliced in half and attached to Naugahyde fabric that holds it in place under the vise platform. All the clippings etc. go in there and it has been a great help in keeping things clean. It also acts as a great "backstop" for things I drop while tying (i.e. hooks, beads etc.) which prevents them from getting all the way to the floor.



Jim Smith
 
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I'ld take some 2.5x2.5 square stock (that matches what you used for those shelves) 1/2 inch thick and chuck it on the lathe .... (use a vanity mandrel chuck and double-sided tape? :) ) leave the corners as is and make a shallow bowl in the center that is perhaps 1/2 inch deep in the center.

Mount it with ONE SCREW ONLY through a corner up under one of the shelves. Sanding off the other 3 corners may make it a bit more user friendly, or at least rounding them a little to avoid scratching.

The design would be a "swing out storage for beads and small items" thingy. The corner you mount it with would be set flush with the front of the shelf. Reach under it and pull towards you to reveal the depression ... push it back to hide it. Keeps things even if you pick up the whole station to move it and it gets tilted.
 
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Hobby Lobby or Michaels always has it. It's only a couple of bucks for a long strip. I'm sure you could also find it at one of the big box stores like Lowes or Home Depot as well.

Jim Smith
 
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