Lighting

Growing old does have some benefits. More rational thoughts due to experience, a sense of self worth, an inner calmness which was so obviously lacking in a younger me are all examples I can point to. The rest of it is just crap though. Aches and pains, slowing down in virtually every physical function, male water works that leak as if an internal rubber gasket has perished – the depressing list is both lengthy and expanding daily. Perhaps the most annoying is the steep decline in my eyesight. As a young chap I was blessed with excellent vision but sadly those days are but a distant, blurry memory. I succumbed to my first pair of spectacles at the age of 48 and since then have progressed to ever stronger lenses to stop me bumping into things. I know many others are not as lucky as I am and face huge struggles with little or no vision so I count myself fortunate, but my poor eyesight does impact my fly tying. Maybe things are looking up though…….

Having read God only knows how many fly tying books, it is only now occurring to me they universally miss out on the importance of lighting. Yes, everyone has a line or two stating the obvious point of having a good light at your fly tying bench, but little more is discussed. Unlike before, these days there are lots of very good lamps on the market to pick from. Yes, some of them are expensive but think about how much we spend on fancy vices or genetic capes and you soon realise we could easily buy better quality lighting for ourselves. My own set up for many years has been one of those reading lamps which I station over the vice. I thought it was fine and I guess the thousands of flies I have tied under that weak and ineffective lamp does show it worked to some degree. Lately though I have been really struggling to see the detail of even quite large flies. Size 12’s, arguably the standard size for many lough patterns these days, look more like size 18’s to me now. I had been putting all this down to the inevitable march of time and just got on with it, but there was a small epiphany back in December.

As some of you will recall, my partner Helen is setting up a small business as an artist. She specialises in painting peoples pets and we have created a small studio for her to work from at home. Late last year she told me how she had bought a lamp to help her during the dark days of winter (she prefers to paint in daylight you see). I didn’t think much of this until one evening I made her a coffee and brought it down to her room where she was working on a commission. Her new lamp was in use and it struck me that here was a potential aid for my fly tying. Helen showed off all the functions the LED lamp boasted and how it made painting so much easier for her, further fuelling my desire for one of my own. To cut a long story short, I bought one. WOW! What a difference!

The lamp in question is an Eyocean LED desk lamp. It has a 34cm lamp bar and features 4 lighting modes you can switch between, 5 colour temperature modes and 5 levels of brightness. This all sounds very complex but you just scroll through to find the setting that works best for you given the ambient light conditions. The lamp fixes to the desk via a simple screw clamp and it can rotate through 360 degrees. I bought my one off Amazon but I am sure they are readily available from other outlets.

Let’s get one thing out of the way first, this is not an aesthetically pleasing lamp. It is utilitarian, built to do a job but not to add grace and beauty to your home. It is a tool, simple as that. It looks for all the world like a bend plastic pipe which a builder has left clamped to a table. Then you switch it on and suddenly your work station is bathed in glorious light. Simple controls allow you to dim the brightness as required or change the colour of the light. Suddenly I could see again when tying flies. An added bonus is the lamp can be stationed quite high above the vice, something which I really like. My old set up saw me continually bashing my right hand off the lamp when tying. Not any more.

The main part of the contraption is an infinitely bendable tube which terminates in the LED section. Mine came in white but other colours are available. The controls are at the base of the tube and are four simple touch buttons. It is very simple but the heart of the lamp is those LED’s. Ultra bright florescent or calming daylight, you can set the tone and strength of the light to meet your demands. Bear in mind that you can have too much light and that will strain your eyes too.

The down sides for this particular lamp, aside from the uninspiring looks, are not immediately obvious. The clamp mechanism for attaching it to the table/bench is a very basic design and may give problems in the long run but for now it it firm enough in use. How long the LED bulb will last is also an unknown as is the availability of spares. For forty odd quid I don’t expect a lifetime of service from it, but if it gives me 2 or 3 years I’ll be happy enough. That sort of money won’t buy you a top end genetic cape, so I think this lamp is reasonably priced.

My late winter fly tying has received a significant boost with the arrival of the new lamp. Just as well because I still have a lot of flies to tie. Wets and salmon flies are in good order now but my dry flies are a disaster and I have to concentrate on those now. Only a handful of Wulff’s remain in my box, the rest having been lost, given away, damaged or met some similar grizzly fate. I find it hard to get started making Wulff patterns, for some weird reason I put them off until I really, really have to tie them. Once I start I always enjoy the process of making these dries so I plan on getting stuck into them this coming week. All the usual dressings are required plus some of my own creations. Size 10 B170’s are my favourite hook for Wulff patterns but I also make them on much bigger hooks. All in all, the coming week is going to be a busy one for me under my new, bright light.

This lamp gives me personally the level of illumination I am looking for. Lots of others are on the market so I would urge my fellow fly tyers to invest in a good light. I suspect many of you are like me and have neglected the vital area of lighting for too long, so do yourselves a favour and buy a good lamp. I wish there was such an easy fix for my dodgy plumbing and arthritic fingers.