I keep breaking thread!

[beerbrewer]

I'm new to fly tying and I've made a few nice saltwater flys, but I keep breaking the thread. I don't think I'm pulling too hard, but i could be. I'm using Danville Flat Waxed Thread. It seems to break right at the end of the bobbin. Is my bobbin the issue? Should I go to a heavier thread? What am I doing wrong?

 

[ant]

Is your bobbin all metal? If so there could be a bur at the end. Try a little bit of emory paper to sand off the bur. (Or worse there is a bur in the tube. I don't know any way to get rid of those. Or you could buy a ceramic bobbin. Those don't get burs.

If you opt to get the ceramic bobbin and your still breaking thread, your probably pulling to hard.

Ant

 

[HuronRiverDan]

First thing I thought of was you have a bur in your bobbin. Run some small diameter yarn through the bobbin and see if it catches. I like my ceramic bobbins very much.

Dan

 

[Jimmie]

My tying instructor used a Dremmel Tool, tooth pick, jewlers/lapidery (sp) polish on one of my ceramic bobbins. It helped a lot.
There's still a chance that it's your thread or thread tension. I'll go for weeks without breaking thread and then put another spool on the bobbin. The new will break three or four times on the same fly.

 

[mepeterser2451]

i had the same problem with a bur in my steel bobbin. ceramic is way better. however, i still break it sometimes because the spool refuses to spin, so i usually just take a knife or scissors and ever so slightly shave off a bit on the spool so that it doesn't lock.

 

[peregrines]

beerbrewer- flat waxed nylon has a breaking strength of around 5lbs, which is pretty strong compared to most threads, (but not as strong as some others like kevlar or gsp). I use FWN on most of the SW stuff i tie.

Assuming you're not really cranking down on it, as others have said, it sounds like a burr on the bobbin, and it's especially likely if it's a cheap import.

When working with Flat waxed nylon when it breaks on me, if it's not a problem with a burr it's usually because:
-Brushing the hook point with the thread,
-Arms of the bobbin are too tight (you can bend them out a bit to loosen), -----Thread is wrapped around one of the arms of the bobbin.

 

[beerbrewer]

You folks were right, it was my bobbin....I took out jeweler's loop and took a close look at my bobbin. It has a tiny cut at the top that runs inside the tube. I'm sure that is causing the issue. I ordered a new Dr. Slick Ceramic Bobbin for $11.

Thanks!

 

[Jimmie]

Good going Beerbrewer. Just jumped on for food for thought. The old bobbin may still be OK for fine wire. That's where my old ones go.

 

[JoJer]

Some one here suggested gluing a glass bead on the end of a metal bobbin. Use a pin or needle to center the bead on the bobbin, then affix with your adhesive of choice. I did my old metal bobbin this way with J B weld. Only differece you can't suck thread it, you have to use a threader. Now it doesn't cut thread anymore.