Headley's squir- roe dubbing

[baltic]

Hi
Can anyone tell me if they have had the same difficuly I have had in mixing this material? It simply will not stick to the thread after mixing by hand, even with wax! It falls off and wont twist into a rope?
Alternatively is there a good ready made sub for this anywhere?

[Wee Jimmy]

Never heard of the stuff Baltic......

[emerger1981]

IF ITS THE DEER HAIR DUBBING ITS CR*P! IF YOU WANT A DEER HAIR BODY SPIN IT LIKE YOU WOULD A MUDDLER HEAD ALL ON THE BODY THEN TRIM.
DAVIE MCPHAIL DOES A DEMO ON YOUTUBE CALLED
THE ADAMS IRRESISTABLE

[dabhoy]

Never come across it, from the name is it a mix of squirrel and deer hair?

[Scratch]

Originally Posted by Wee Jimmy

Never heard of the stuff Baltic......

"66% Squirrel and 33% Roe Deer Mask"

Baltic. I've been using Squirrel and mixes thereof for a while now... granted it's not the easiest for furs for a begginer to dub, and I haven't as yet tried Stans mix. It's worth noting though, that Stan included the Squirrel in his 'Squir-roe' partly for colour, and partly for its relative ease of dubbing.

I guarantee you, If I may be so bold, that the problem lies with your technique and not the mix. Think of the dubbing sticking to itself, and not the thread (wax does not help). Try to get the fibres to knit and lock together and then twist and tighten around the thread.

[arkle]

Whenever I do a mix of deerhair &....... I find that a small smear of Vaseline in the palm of your hand before you start mixing works a treat, it also makes dubbing easy.

[Scratch]

Good point John. Although I usually find that the natural oils in my skin provide just enough 'tack' to allow me to manipulate the dubbing - to get it to knit and stick to itself, and tighten onto the thread.

Ever tried dubbing when you've just had a shower or washed the pots?

You must have dry hands John.... unless you wash a lot of pots Try a nice, relaxing, daily moisturising routine

[Orkneytroot]

Hi guys,
I've never used this particular dubbing mix, but a small tip with any dubbing is to run your finger and thumb down either side of your nose before you start twisting your dubbing rope. Like Scratch says, the natural oils from your skin helps stick the fibres a bit to make the dubbing materials easier to work with.
If you want something a bit more sticky, you can always go digging in your external auditory meatus, better known as your lug for a bit of ear wax, which would likely work a treat too!

[arkle]

Rob, my hands are pretty normal although I do wear Marigolds for washing pots etc. When I was involved with engineering I used to use a barrier cream as some chemicals/oils/detergents reacted with my skin, but now I've had to virtually retire through health issues it's much less of a problem. You only need a tiny spot of the stuff, it works very well indeed.