New set of Avons

One cannot fail to be impressed by the standard of work and attention to detail exhibited by some of the better known names of float making in the UK, irrespective of whether the design or style in question is to your liking, as such things are somewhat subjective.

It struck the other day however, amongst the feathers and multi-coloured whippings (even those can be in a multitude of thread types/materials) that the classic floats which surely provide at least a modicum of inspiration had no such extravagance.

Looking at a previous post entitled 'Genuine vintage floats' with some samples from the better known commercial makers, such as those shown below from Auger, any small lines used to delineate between different colours or possibly just for the ability to see a sensitive bite more clearly were painted on.

...albeit neither straight nor consistent in width in some cases. The only whipping on these and others of the time were to secure the eye at the end of the stem.

So I thought I'd see what i could do to replicate the design and feel without the plethora of whipping, and to be honest I don't think they came out too bad (straighter than some of the vintage examples at least)...

Not 100% sure about the choice of colours, and they're as yet untested, but I thought the lack of luminous tips was a bit more in keeping with what I was trying to do, and recreating the classic Harcock red bands on yellow is a bit cliche nowadays...

True to form, the only whipping on each float is to secure the stainless eye, albeit diverging from the plan slightly by being subtly tipped with a little gold.

So, they'll be up for sale shortly in the Etsy shop in case anyone wants them, with more to come soon as I think it suits some of the more functional designs. No doubt there'll still be a selection with fancy whippings, incorporating porcupine quill sections and so on to cater for all tastes. Surprisingly these don't seem to take any less time to make, except for maybe less time taking decisions on the design...

A bit of a hiatus from the blog for a short while...

I finished some grayling floats, admittedly a while ago, for the same recipient as the crowquill Avons...

In addition there's a modern take on a sensitive Avon float for roach on the river, slim 3 mm tip for sensitivity, carbon stem to help with detecting bites on the drop, I've made some up previously for myself to test them out and they work a treat if you're not trying to cast to the other side of the river...

In other news, single floats, pairs and the odd set of three have made their way onto a new Etsy shop. I'm making far too many to use, but still enjoy making them, so hopefully selling a few will cover the cost of materials and give me an excuse to keep on making them...

If you want to see what's there here's a link, the stock will be updated as and when completed....

Set of avons

Something else from the workshop this week, a group member on one of the Facebook groups I belong too saw a post from the friend whom I made some floats for previously which he had reposted, and got in touch to request something similar.

Here's the results, although the request was for quill for all the stems rather than cane as in the previous batch, so there's one pheasant and two crow...

Dorset flag colours on the left again, and a bit of jasper thread for some of the whipping on the other two

The recipient was very pleased, so much so that he immediately requested some Reg Righyni-style grayling floats, which will be next on the cards...

Crucian hybrid (float, that is)

I started playing with a float just to see if something would work, namely using a cut-down pole float tip for the tip on a bodied waggler. The stem is pheasant tail quill, and I got carried away and used an off cut of porcupine quill for the stem and ended up giving it the full stain, paint and whipping treatment. Came out quite well I thought....

the finished float

the pole float tip in place

close-up

Would I do it again? Yeah, probably, I don't dislike the look of the pole float tip, it's hollow and is quite bright in direct sunlight. I also quite like, in this case at least, the increase in diameter from the quill to the pole float tip. So, more to come maybe....

Brace of pairs

After a bit of a tangent as described in the previous post, and a brood lull in proceedings, a couple more pairs have reached the final stage of the production line. Two pairs of floats, each pair consisting of a bodied waggler and matching Avon

I played a bit with some different silks for the whipping...

I'm happy with the wood dye used to colour the balsa bodies, but I have got some new dyes to try, after the next batch on cork, and the batch after that that had already been dyed with the teak dye you can see here. More to follow shortly...

Something slightly different

Production of floats has been on hold a week or two whilst I spent some time putting together an extended tool rest for a friend's Proxxon DB250 lathe.

A lot of folk think it's perfect for float making, the size is certainly convenient but personally I'd like a quick-drilling tailstock and a slower minimum speed.

The factory tool rest is not only short but also aluminium and easily scored which makes smooth passes with a gouge a little awkward. Not all users are bothered as a lot would use glasspaper almost exclusively, but if you want to get a body concentric around the axis of rotation a tool on a test is essential.

Here's my offering about to be posted to the friend in bonnie Scotland...

150mm long, 12mm diameter in 303 stainless should be a little more difficult to score, although there's quite a bit of twisting force you can apply at either end due to the leverage of the longer tool rest which the alloy plate doesn't handle that well, maybe that's why Proxxon only offered the short tool rest. We'll see how the testing goes.

Meanwhile, back to the floats next post...

Interlude

For a break from the pairs or sets of near identical floats worked on recently, I picked out one of the single floats awaiting finishing, a cork on cane waggler, on which I decided to experiment with some alternative whipping. Whipping for me up until now has been like Henry Ford's model T, available in any colour so long as it's black.

So, here it is in its raw form, looking a bit chintzy like an old school tie...

And a closeup after a couple of coats of sealer and 4 or 5 coats of lacquer. 

Fortunately the red still mellowed a little despite the sealer, a couple more coats of lacquer to go and we're done