Brush Table?

mcswny · Mar 18, 2024

Anyone build a brush table? And if so, have any tips?

I have a box of material from the FTD that I intended to make brushes with but I just haven't gotten around to it.

I thought this one looked relatively simple to build. It's something I want, but don't need, hence not wanting to buy.

Dubbing Brush Table

www.flyfishfood.com

James St. Clair · Mar 18, 2024

I just use an old 2x4 with some small nails in it. Works just fine for me.

2 Nails on one side. One holds the spool of wire, the other is the wire "stop", and is in the center. Then a screw with a small spring (like from a pen) on the end of the other side (over the edge of the surface where you will be building your brushes. I also added a little notch on the edge of the wood that holds the wire in place in the center.

Wrap the wire a few times around the nail in the center and then run your wire down and catch the wire on the spring of the screw, leaving a few inches of extra wire between the spring and the spool. Notch the wire back on the spool and let the spool hang or chill on the desk or whatever. Build your brush on the wire now laying flat on the 2x4 (waxing the wire helps here). Insert your dubbing loop spinner in the extra wire, un-notch the wire from the spool, and run it back to the nail, keeping tension with your dubbing loop spinner. Wrap the wire around the nail again, notch the wire, and place the spool on the other nail. Twist up your brush until the wire breaks (or when I know it's tight enough I will force it to break with a quick yank).

Boom, brush done. Table can probably built with stuff you have laying around the house and/or garage, i.e. free!

rattlesnake · Mar 19, 2024

I don’t but have used a binder clip on the edge of my table. Take wire through the loop on the clip. Wax the wire, and use a spring hand clamp to clamp one piece of wire to table and move the other out of the way. Build the brush and bring the other piece of wire back over. Pinch both ends down while removing the clamp and then twist around an eye hook which is inserted into a drill. Use drill and slowly spin the brush.

Somebody had a YouTube on this and I used most of those ideas, will see if I can find it.

rattlesnake · Mar 19, 2024

Basically like this but I modified it a bit.

wmelton · Mar 19, 2024

I built a brush table a few years ago, it had a fixed hook on one end and I used a drill on the other. While on a fishing trip my roommates at the time thought it was trash and threw it away.

I ended up buying this one which seams to always be on sale. The biggest difference is the ability to rotate both sides. Makes for a much more durable and consistent brush. If I were to make one now, that's a feature I couldn't go without

rattlesnake · Mar 19, 2024

Interesting point about spinning both ends. I knew my process worked ok enough but it wasn’t as good as a store bought brush and figured it may be due to spinning each end. Thanks for the tip.

kmudgn · Mar 22, 2024

Not to knock anyone's ingenuity, but from what I have seen here, the brush table seems to be a solution in search of a problem. I suspect it would be worthwhile for a commercial tier, but for the hobby tier, not so much.

Paige · Mar 22, 2024

At AATF we had some built, the none winding side with the hook was spring loaded so not to snap the wire before being fully wound tight

FinLuver · Mar 22, 2024

I made a dubbing brush table with some heavy card stock with slits cut into it on each end.
Two strands of wire with overhand knot in to one slotted end; single strand of the two into the slit on the opposite side.
Wax the single strand before laying it flat to place in the slit.
Lay your fibers sparsely perpendicular to wire.
Grab the other wire and lay it flat on top of the fibers.
Take both wires and wrap around a shepherds crook and back onto itself.
Start twisting.
Get a few good twists and lift the twisted wire/fibers off the card stock and continue twisting, pick out the fibers with needle or bodkin, continue twisting to desired results.

_WW_ · Mar 23, 2024

Crude and simple but it works for me.

Nick Clayton · Mar 24, 2024

kmudgn said:
Not to knock anyone's ingenuity, but from what I have seen here, the brush table seems to be a solution in search of a problem. I suspect it would be worthwhile for a commercial tier, but for the hobby tier, not so much.

Not sure why one would need to be a commercial tier to want to make their own brushes. I make a ton of brushes every year and use them in a lot of my flies. Most of the stuff I make can't be purchased anywhere as I like to experiment a lot and for certain flies I make brushes a very specific way. Very easy to make them and they add a ton of unique elements to a fly. Of course one can get by with dubbing loops, or "composite loops" but a brush is way easier when using three or four materials, rubber legs etc.

Also much, much cheaper to make your own than to buy them.

My guess is perhaps your understanding of what a brush table is and how brushes can be used in so many different flies might be getting mixed up with something else.

James St. Clair · Mar 26, 2024

Nick Clayton said:
Not sure why one would need to be a commercial tier to want to make their own brushes. I make a ton of brushes every year and use them in a lot of my flies. Most of the stuff I make can't be purchased anywhere as I like to experiment a lot and for certain flies I make brushes a very specific way. Very easy to make them and they add a ton of unique elements to a fly. Of course one can get by with dubbing loops, or "composite loops" but a brush is way easier when using three or four materials, rubber legs etc.

Also much, much cheaper to make your own than to buy them.

My guess is perhaps your understanding of what a brush table is and how brushes can be used in so many different flies might be getting mixed up with something else.

I was going to say something similar. You hit the nail on the head here Nick.