Epoxy Drying

[andyg]

Greetings from South Florida. I was born and raised on Cape Cod but now get the privilege of living in tarpon and snook land year 'round. I have a website with some buddies at www.GreatCharters.com that functions as my electronic photo album for us and our sons.

I have a question regarding drying wheels for epoxy flies. I have read many of the ideas about the rotisserie motor and styrofoam disks, etc., but I was wondering if anyone saw (or used) this drying motor that just came out that looks like a big yellow flashlight? If you haven't seen it, you probably think it was some halucination, but it appeared, I think, in the Saltwater Fly Fishing Gear for 2000 issue.

Anyone else see it?

Thanks,
Andy

[NJCoastFlyFish]

Sure i saw it a bunch of times, it uses the same battery as the flash light to and it rotates at 7rpms i think it said and the battery would last you a life time. I saw numerous guys using it at the fly shows i have seen to this year. The first time i saw it was when bob popovicks was using it. I was going to get one but i think $60 is a little stepp for a flashlight and a piece of rubber. I will stick to my fly drying wheel FOR NOW! The motor in that thing could power a 72 foot hatteras to the canyon and back :)

[buzzi]

Andy,

The yellow light will work and do a fine job and you can use it where every you go.

If you are looking for a dryer for you bench this is what I came up with and it has proven to be very useful:

I used a 110 Volt 6RPM rod drying motor. I build a 1/4" plywood box about 10" long, 8" high and 4 " Deep. I mounted the motor on the inside front with the axel sticking out the front of the box. I mounted on one side of the box a 110 outlet and a light switch in an electrical box and put a face plate on it. I wiered the switch to the motor and left the outlet live all the time. I plug my light into the outlet. I used an old power coard to wiere the electrical box. On the other end of the box I made space for my 5-Min Epoxy and some tools and made the top so that it had small recessed lip on it to store more stuff. I mounted a 5" cork ring to the motor that was purchased at I think Wallmart that was sold as something that you put a hot pot on.

The motor cost about $ 18.00, Wood - $ 2.00, Elec. $ 5.00, Cork - $ 3.00 and Misc Stuff $ 3.00 for a total of about $30.00. It took me about 2 hrs to design and put together and was not that hard to make and setup. When I was done I put a coat of pait on it and put some rubber feet on it and was ready to go.

Brad

ps - remeber to put something like cardboard underneath the wheel so that when the Epoxy drips, because eventualy it will, it drips on to the cardboard and not your desk.

[ssully]

Andy,

I built one. You can email me for the specs.


<img src=http://people.ne.mediaone.net/ssully/stuff/Pic1.JPG>

<img src=http://people.ne.mediaone.net/ssully/stuff/Pic2.JPG>

[andyg]

Dear Brad;
Thanks for the info and the details. I have to say that I will probably spend the extra cash and get one all made up already. I could buy the materials but I lack the talent to put it all together - and if I burn the house down with my contraption, then my wife is really not going to be excited about fly tying!
Thanks for taking the time to spell it all out - I know that there will be many a tyer who builds one up.
Andy

[andyg]

Dear Brad;
Thanks for the info and the details. I have to say that I will probably spend the extra cash and get one all made up already. I could buy the materials but I lack the talent to put it all together - and if I burn the house down with my contraption, then my wife is really not going to be excited about fly tying!
Thanks for taking the time to spell it all out - I know that there will be many a tyer who builds one up.
Andy

[Luyen]

The yellow latern epoxy drier is available through LL Bean and feather-craft (www.feather-craft.com).

LC

[flyfisher31]

I saw the big yellow flashlight thing. Looks OK, but $60 is steep for a flashlight with a rubber plug on it. I don't really have the time or skill to build a turner either. I did some searches on yahoo for epoxy fly dryers and I found two others that looked interesting:
One was around $60 from Nuwave tackle and uses a spring gadget to hold the flies. Looks pretty neat and you can use it for rod turning.
The other one was from feather craft was around $60 too. It uses foam rubber like the flashlight deal.

Rich

[buzzi]

I had a chance to see the $60+ Nuwave Fly Dryer with the spring to hold the flies. The good points of the unit is that it is light weight, runs on batteries and has a nice motor. The down sides of it are the price and yes the spring that holds the flies. The spring did not hold the flies securely and the flies had some movement on the wheel when the flies are spinning. This is a big problem it you work with Epoxy. The unit had some problems holding smaller Saltwater Flies; say #4 or #6.

I still think that Cork or Foam are still the best and can be replaced or cut down quickly and do not cost a lot.

Brad......

[flyfisher31]

Brad
I bought one of the nuwave dryers last week and just got it yesterday. I tied about 3 dozen flies # six to 1/0 on it and found the trick to using it is getting the bend of the hook just inside the loop of the spring. It holds the flies really well, but you got to push them in all the way. You can just push the flies in from the top while it is moving - you dont even have to stop the disc. I didnt mind the price so much because I plan to build some rods real soon with it.
Im sending one down to my brother in Florida for his birthday.
I thought it worked well.

Rich