Bobbins

[fflutterffly]

I'm looking for a new bobbin. Not a whole lot of money, just good service. I've used the Tiemco with the rubber at the base, I have my Nor-vice, and of course my cheep with the rolled edge. I think I'm partial to the ceramic Tiemco. Any ideas?

[Mataura mayfly]

The World is your oyster!
Think of a price range and there is a bobbin holder out there to fill it.

I own a lot of the cheaper metal tubed (with rolled ends) holders and they suit me just fine. I do have some other more exotic types (read more expensive) but I tend to fall back to the metal tubed simple holders pretty regular. I like to keep bobbin holders filled with each regular thread/colour I use, rather than swap out thread spools each time I change a pattern.

Those Tiemco holders with the ceramic tube are pretty good, I have a couple of them and in my opinion they are much better than the bobbin holders that have the small ceramic beads top and bottom of a metal tube. The glue that holds those beads in place can fail (especially if you use a metal wire threader), leaving you with a sharp metal tube end guaranteed to slice your thread. The easy fix then is to glue a new small glass bead in place of the missing ceramic one.

[Hans Weilenmann]

Hi Ariel,

You mean bobbin holders, right?

I use a mix - Mattarelli, Tiemco, C+F, Renzetti and even a couple Rite ones. All work, do the job I ask of them.

The C+F are in some ways the most refined, but cost a fair bit.

I would go with one of the first two I listed - steel tube on the first, ceramic tube on the second. You pick your poison

Cheers,
Hans W

[chase creek]

Like Jeff, I use a few of the cheaper types, but mainly use Rite, the magnums, just cuz I like the way they sit in my hand. I adjust the tension so the spool doesn't unwind just hanging from the hook.

[letumgo]

I have been thinking about buying a couple of the Rite Bobbins. They look like nice bobbins, but I have never used one. They offer a new half-hitch version, which looks very handy.

I have several Griffin ceramic bobbins which I have used for years. They are very nice bobbins and have not given me any problems, in terms of thread breakage (unless I am too heavy handed).

[chase creek]

The Rite bobbins fit nicely in my hand. I wouldn't buy any bobbin because it has an tension adjustment feature. I consider that kind of a marketing gimmick - you control thread tension by palming the spool, or at least I do. The Rite bobbins are a little expensive, but I really like them.

[letumgo]

Rodger - Do you own the half hitch version? Would you recommend it?

For anyone interested, here is the Rite bobbing in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f8uJssaV0k


Ariel - I would also highly recommend the Wasatch Mitch's Bobbin. It is more expensive, and takes a bit of getting used to, but it makes a fantastic dubbed bodies and reinforced peacock herl bodies.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wasatchcustomangling/videos

[Greenwell]

I've used the same 3 Tiemco Ceramic bobbins since they came out in about 1987, tied thousands of flies with them and still think they're the best value going. The very earliest model had a super slim tube that is the best I've ever used. It was changed to a slightly heaver tube that is still pretty fine. One of smartest things I've ever done was to rat hole a couple spares of the thin tube first generation. But I've never broken one!

The Wasatch Ceramic Bobbins are excellent also and there is one that takes Pearsall's spools perfectly. I like the wooden piece between the tube and arms; very comfortable in the hand and a nice aesthetic touch.

C&F Design Bobbins are very smooth and I find myself using them most of the time now for standard size spools. Aside from being pricey, they are a little fussy to thread but they have the best "feel" of the lot. I believe the C&F comes in three tube diameters and I have the finest (Midge?) and medium (Standard?), but use the fine one almost exclusively.

Take into account the material that the thread spool is made of can affect bobbin tension when tying. Most of the time I use either wooden spools or spools made of the older and softer plastic. Danville's "Flymaster" and the modern Pearsall's threads both have this kind of plastic spool. The plastic has some "grip" and, at least for me, feels less slippery in the bobbin than the harder plastic spools that some of the modern threads are put up on.