Thread neck question

[Jighead76]

I see a lot of jigs on here that are nice looking with perfect placement of all materials and thread necks that look machined almost.
My problem I've always had is that my necks look lumpy or lopsided sometimes. I try to line up my materials, but the necks seem to be out of line a lot.
I've been tying about 7 years now and tried smaller thread 0/8 uni is what I use mostly. But Ive used as small as 0/16. I spin my bobbin counter clockwise. Even went and finished my jigs at the bottom for awhile.
I was wondering if there's something I'm missing? I might be putting too much thread on? I do put about 20-30 (or until all materials are covered) wraps on at the end then whip finish with 6-9 turns twice.
This problem especially arises when I make jigs with multiple materials.
Oh. And I do a lot of buck tail and hair jigs. Thanks

 

[Kdog]

First Question I gave for you is are all your materials the same length ie starting at same point behind jig head.
Second is do you always wrap to the same point,

I struggle with this but have found that if everything stays in balance, you can have a nice even body with just thread.

 

[toadfrog]

Boy that is kinda tough to explain because of changes between types of jigs ( plain shank verses ball collar . It starts with the way the material spreads around shank or ball . 1st when you cut the material it kinda looks like a fan paint brush in your fingers . While holding that cut the fan corners of a little . Most material slides forward on the sides due to pressure of placing it around the shank . Before you spread it all the way around take two loose wraps keep the tension then spread it evenly . Take a couple more wraps after the spread toward the head but not all the way . Then wrap back to your stopping point . Back to the head cinching the material left without wraps . Now finish laying down you wraps slowly at first being sure thread placement is smooth . Then you can speed up cause you have an even grip for the thread to follow .If there is a hink of any kind it should be at the back of the head where you are going to tie off anyway . Throw that dang whip finisher away . LOL Take 3 half hitches pulling tension and kinda rocking the thread . Thread should pull in behind the head out of sight . Best I can do without being there .

 

[Bucho]

... Throw that dang whip finisher away . LOL ...

Amen!

I use 3/0 thread that builds up a lot and covers up just about anything. On the downside, I gotta make every wrap count. With a little pratice and a thick thread however you can finish with one turn beneath the other-or upon the other if you want to fill a gap.

 

[Jig Man]

First fish that complains about my thread neck is gonna get boiled in oil....:dodgy:

 

[Jighead76]

Thanks for the help guys. One thing I can tell is maybe I'm going too fast and not watching what I'm doing close enough. I come to this conclusion hearing toad frog go step by step. I think I get caught up with a new idea and want to see the end product more than pay attention to how it's made.
I also started with doing half hitches so maybe I need to go back to them. I clear coat it anyway so no need to whip it.
I have no problem boiling them in oil. All the jigs, the good the bad and the ugly, get put to good use.

 

[redear]

with hair, as has been already explained, I wrap the bunch loose enough with maybe 5 wraps so that I can spread the hair around like I want it, then hold the hair with one hand in place and unwrap a few wraps before rewrapping tighter. the other tip is to use a single sided razor blade and trim the butt ends of the hair using the jighead as a back stop. If you are trying to tie the hair in without extra length sticking out in front of the thread neck to be later trimmed, this is causing most of your problems, I am very good at tying hair and still can't tie it without having extra hair length protruding in front of the thread neck, the next thing to learn will be how to trim this extra hair without cutting your thread, that razor blade will be right beside the thread when trimming the hair, if the head is painted don't push too hard or you'll chip your paint.

 

[redear]

a flat type thread is gonna look better too.

 

[Pup]

One of the best pieces of advice that I've ever read here (or anywhere for that matter) regarding hair jigs (think thread neck) was mentioned by Saltybuckster. His advice was to learn to use the fingers of your off hand (non-bobbin/wrapping) as a clamp and keep thinking about them as you proceed with your tie. As a hair jig tyer myself, I've found that paying attention to my off hand and its dexterity has aided me immensely in how I tie and how my ties eventually look.

Always keep thinking about what you've just tied and keep it in place as you proceed to tie to completion.

 

[smalljaw]

One of the best pieces of advice that I've ever read here (or anywhere for that matter) regarding hair jigs (think thread neck) was mentioned by Saltybuckster. His advice was to learn to use the fingers of your off hand (non-bobbin/wrapping) as a clamp and keep thinking about them as you proceed with your tie. As a hair jig tyer myself, I've found that paying attention to my off hand and its dexterity has aided me immensely in how I tie and how my ties eventually look.

Always keep thinking about what you've just tied and keep it in place as you proceed to tie to completion.

Before I found this site I tied nothing but hair jigs, which to me were bucktails and rabbit hair, and when I put the first bit of material on I make 3 or 4 loose wraps and use my non tying hand to work the material around the shank and then sort of hold it tight until I make 3 securing wraps. I still get an odd looking collar on rabbit hair jigs once in awhile when I use the last 1/4" of a piece of rabbit rather than cut it off and throw away, the jig is still good but the collar may be a little bulbous on one side but those are for me anyway.

 

[quivira kid]

Lots of good advice here! I eyeball how long I want my materials, then clip the butt ends even and put them flush up against the jig head. Flat thread (Danville, Ultra). And the thing that helps me out most is instead of 2 big clumps of material, try using 4-6 smaller clumps of material.