I Massacre my own station

[blt]

After a full season of tying and working my regular job to much, my area of the garage is a joke, mess, what ever you want to call it lol. But, this year I had the extra mess of 4-6" of water in the garage also, and doing more clean up today so I can get some order restored. Lost over 400 flounder rigs to the water. BITTER!

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As you can see, I have my work cut out for me. Most of the stuff is just sitting around because of the water, but I have hopes things will get back to normal soon, and everything back into it's place lol. 95% of what is in the pic is for making tackle, and this doesn't include a few racks with boxes of tied rigs.
And....Wifey is on me about getting the Christmas stuff out. :beat-up:

 

[Radtexan]

You do have your work cut out...... Keep us posted on the progress

 

[blt]

All because the guy beside me doesn't want to control his water run off with his driveway!

 

[toadfrog]

Not so bad you can at least still walk in there . I don't have a disaster to blame for my mess it's just little ole me done it .

 

[Nightprowler]

Those are some monstrous deer tails and some nice bright colors. Do you die your own? Looks like you ran into a nice sale.
NightProwler

 

[blt]

Prowler....I do almost all my own tails. The flash helped them be a little brighter than they are. I use a commercial grade acid dye. I get my tails from a furrier about 1/2 hour from my house. He deals with all kinds of hide and tails. I am getting some skunk from him this year to see what I can do with it. Maybe try some fox also. I have tails with around 5.5inches of usable hair. He gets me really nice tails, and however many I need. He is some kind of "network" where he can get me just about anything.
Ask your local butcher shop that do deer if they know of a local guy, or just buy tails off the shop. I pay $.85 a tail, deboned, scraped and washed, tacked out to dry. I would like them dried a little better, but if I hang them out, they are just fine. I pick up 60 this week if they are done, and have 180 ordered for the spring.

 

[LedHed]

WOW great man cave - sue the neighbor

 

[Fatman]

I'm with Led - call your town board or inspector and have plenty of pictures of your basement to show them and send him a bill for all your ruined stuff.

Great dye job on the tails - between you and JJ I think we're all gonna send you our stuff to dye so we don't have to. LOL Some people just have the touch!!!!!!!! Do you worry about infestations with all your tails hanging out on clips????

I wish I had a dedicated area like you guys - mine is take everything out and when done put everything away. Gets to be a real drag but my tying area is always neater than all of yours LOL.

 

[blt]

He finally did something about his driveway (stone) when we had the township crews out. Should end that part of the story.

Dedicated are????That is the only area of the house that is mine lol. I guess there is the shed also.

Never had an issue with bugs getting into the tails. I rewash them when I get them with a strong Borax/detergent solution. Seems to do a good enough job. Only tails I buy are Orange and blue, and sometimes a black. A true black is hard for me to get. My dyes are REALLY expensive, but I have used jigs/teasers in the salt water over several days, and the color seems to hold up well. Rit dye seems to run like a deer and not last near as long.

 

[LedHed]

"Should end that part of the story." - cool

Bob, have you tried Veniard dye's? The tails you do are prime!

 

[blt]

No, never used them, but if the cost of my dye (Pylam Dyes) keeps going up, I may have to try that dye, or jacquard acid dyes. Right now, it cost me about a buck a tail to dye, so total cost of a colored tail is about $1.80.
The company I get it from will work with you to get the dye you like, making adjustments to the formula until you like it, give it a code number and it is your color only. Doesn't really matter, because even in a batch of tails getting dyed, (10) they all don't absorb the dye the same.

 

[Fatman]

I've thought about trying some dying but I'm a coward!!!!!!! I'd hate to try and dye some of my saddle hackle and ruin it with the cost of it right now.

 

[blt]

Fatty, Some people dip a small section of paper towel into the solution for a couple seconds, then pull it out and take a look. I have found some good reading around the net on it, but unless you do a lot of stuff, I would just bite the bullet and buy what you need. If I wasn't looking to make some $$ doing this, That is what I would do.
I checked into buying wholesale, I forget what the name of the place was, down south somewhere, and they wanted an order of $500 or more to start on your first order. To big an order for me, and in reality, the tails I do get from my local furrier are a lot bigger. Need that longer hair for doing those 8/0 and 9/0 hooks.

 

[StumpHunter]

That is a good place you have set up for tying. The deer tail colors look great!

 

[Fatman]

thanks blt