Dubbing brushes and hackle brushes are used in various fly patterns. They are a way to add a lot of bulk to large flies, such as game changer or salt water flies. But their use is not limited to large flies . Using the dubbing loop technique, small dubbed fly bodies are also easy to form. No matter the pattern or size, they all have one thing in common. You need a dubbing spinner.
A coffee frother can make a very effective dubbing spinner. I first learned this technique from Gary Borger at the FFI Conclave many years ago. He was tying a Trash Fly with the spinner to make his dubbed body. In shopping for a frother, there are a few things to look for. You can buy them for $10 or less. Look for one with on/off button toward the top of the frother. A push button would be nice but I have never seen one with a push button. All the ones I have seen require two AA batteries. To make the dubbing twister, cut off the whisk spring and bend the shaft in to a shepherd’s hook.
I have used one of these for years winding the chenille bodies for my wooly buggers and wobble buggers. The chenille I use is basically flat. It does have a slight twist to it. By attaching a 6 inch loop of chenille to he hook shank and spinning with the dubbing twister, it makes a much fuller body and better looking fly.
One problem is that it spins fairly fast. This is not much of a problem with chenille bodies. However, spine too much and you can break the chenille and have to start over. If the chenille breaks at the hook, you have to reattach it. If it breaks at the spinner, it usually does not unwind and you can and pick up the end and continue to wind the body.
For dubbing brushes and hackle brushes, it would be desirable for the spinner to spin at half speed. The dubbing loop thread would be less likely to break. If your spinner requires two batteries, this can be easily accomplished by replace one of the batteries with something that conducts electricity. I used a 1/2 inch steel bolt cut to the same length as he AA battery. Place this in the spinner and it runs half a fast and is much easier to control.
The motor in the spinner is a 3 volt DC motor. Speed is controlled by the amount of voltage it receives. By replacing one of the batteries, it becomes 1 1/2 volt motor and runs at 1/2 speed.
Battery Modification
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