Home made dubbing

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trout man
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2014/07/11 11:44:45 (permalink)

Home made dubbing

Hello All
I bought a real nice rabbit hide with the intention of making my own dubbing. However I'm not quite sure about how to proceed from here. I thought I would just snip the fur off with a scissors. Then I thought maybe use electric clippers. But what I didn't realize is just how long rabbit hair is. I'm hoping to get a mix of long and short fibers and mix them. What's the best approach to getting the fur off the hide and get a good mix of long and short fibers? Also I may try dyeing it. Any tips there? As always thanks in advance for your help.
 
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Trout Man
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    Cold
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    Re: Home made dubbing 2014/07/11 21:34:17 (permalink)
    I don't know if I'd do it for an entire hide, but a few years ago I picked up a dubbing rake...it's a small tool that looks exactly like what you'd imagine for the dental tool version of a garden rake.
     
    It's used to scrape a hide, and pull up a mixture of longer guard hairs as well as the soft, dense underfur.  I use it on a few patches I have of things like mink, muskrat, nutria, beaver, and opossum and it works great.  
     
    A little dubbing goes a long way, so you may want to consider tracking down a dubbing rake for yourself and attacking various areas of your pelt and pull a little here and there until you have enough to fill a small bag like you'd get in the store.
    #2
    DryflyTU
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    Re: Home made dubbing 2014/07/12 08:03:24 (permalink)
    I have used an electric coffee grinder for years to mix dubbing blends. I either clip the fur with scissors or use a old electric facial hair trimmer. Cut fur, drop in the grinder and mix for about 30 seconds. This has worked well for me, as you can make custom blends. Add some antron if you like and adjust colors as required. I then package in small plastic bags.
    #3
    FredT
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    Re: Home made dubbing 2014/07/13 08:53:13 (permalink)
    I just pull the fur off of the hide and mix it with my fingers as I need it.
    #4
    doubletaper
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    Re: Home made dubbing 2014/07/15 07:14:52 (permalink)
    i keep a patch handy and save the rest for later use or to make bunny strips for bunny leechs. trim the fur close to the hide. pull out the guard hairs or leave them in if making a hares ear nymph. i heard you can use kool-aid to die the fur. look on the internet. remember, rabbit fur absorbs water so it should mainly be used for wet flies, streamers and numphs.
     

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    pheasant tail 2
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    Re: Home made dubbing 2014/07/15 22:13:48 (permalink)
    I recall a past issue of the PA Angler provided an instructional article on dyeing dubbing with Kool-Aide. Somewhere I have it saved. If you'd like I could forward it via e-mail.
     
    PT2
    #6
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