Did I Ever Tell You That I’m Cheap

[salmo]

I hate to spend money on tungsten beads, or for that matter on anything else. To avoid having to buy beads in various colors I buy cheap nail polish and color my beads with that. I recently purchased some black matte UV cure nail polish. If necessary to keep the polish from chipping I coat the polished beads with Sally Hansen or clear hard epoxy.
If all else fails I can open a nail salon.

 

[JimNovo]

Great idea!!

 

[Kyle]

no argument there. times are tough nowadays. nice way to adapt. hope it works out for you

 

[John57]

Several years ago while I was unsupervised for the weekend, I was down the basement moving some things around when I came across the wifes stockpile of knitting yarn. Some of the colors intrigued me and before long I was chopping up pieces and dropping them in my coffee bean grinder. Now I have a couple of hobby boxes full of dubbing that I can use as is or blend with other types to get the color or consistency I'm looking for! I buy the boxes at either Hobby Lobby or Harbor Freight and just drill 1/4" holes in the bottom to make them into easy dubbing dispensers.

 

[salmo]

I just started blending my own dubbing material. My base is either hares mask or squirrel. I mix in some cdc and flash for nymphs.Hobby Lobby and Michael’s are my go to. BTW this is a good idea for easy access and organization of beads. Now on sale at Michael’s.

 

[a23fish]

Several years ago while I was unsupervised for the weekend, I was down the basement moving some things around when I came across the wifes stockpile of knitting yarn. Some of the colors intrigued me and before long I was chopping up pieces and dropping them in my coffee bean grinder. Now I have a couple of hobby boxes full of dubbing that I can use as is or blend with other types to get the color or consistency I'm looking for!

Do you still grind coffee beans after the dubbing production process? Clean it out afterwards? Not being a smart-az, this is the second time I've read about using a coffee bean grinder to "roll your own" dubbing, and I'm curious.

 

[salmo]

Do you still grind coffee beans after the dubbing production process? Clean it out afterwards? Not being a smart-az, this is the second time I've read about using a coffee bean grinder to "roll your own" dubbing, and I'm curious.

Actually I no longer grind coffee in my co grinder, but I did blend some spices for my Thanksgiving turkey.

 

[John57]

Do you still grind coffee beans after the dubbing production process? Clean it out afterwards? Not being a smart-az, this is the second time I've read about using a coffee bean grinder to "roll your own" dubbing, and I'm curious.

Nope! Bought a decent one just for this purpose. Save yourself time and aggravation and spend the money otherwise you'll have dubbing that wont blend and will just end up wrapped around the blade. If you go the yarn route you'll find that acrylic yarns seem to work the best. Just cut pieces about 1-2" in length and dont overfill the hopper. After a couple of times you'll get the hang of it.

 

[coyoterahn]

Agree. Trying to clean it out to grind coffee beans after grinding a dubbing mix will be a PITA. 😳

 

[redietz]

Do you still grind coffee beans after the dubbing production process? Clean it out afterwards? Not being a smart-az, this is the second time I've read about using a coffee bean grinder to "roll your own" dubbing, and I'm curious.

Coffee grinders can be bought for well under $20. I have one for coffee, one for spices and one for dubbing.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

^+1 a separate one
My initial failures with using a grinder was tracked down to cutting the materials too long before mixing and mixing too long

 

[bjh09]

Bought mine at a yard sale for 3 bucks

 

[salmo]

^+1 a separate one
My initial failures with using a grinder was tracked down to cutting the materials too long before mixing and mixing too long

Mine too, especially the poly and acrylic fibers. Natural stuff is easier to deal with.

 

[Browniebord]

Speaking of coffee grinders for blending dubbing, does it matter if the grinder is a blade grinder or burr grinder??

 

[John57]

Speaking of coffee grinders for blending dubbing, does it matter if the grinder is a blade grinder or burr grinder??

Definately a blade grinder....burr grinder will clog up in a heatbeat!