"Bill C" wrote

I have a hackle gauge I bought mounted on my vise ..
but
I almost never use it. I use a hook the size I'm tying with, mount it in
the vise and bend the hackle around the hook and use the gap as a gauge ....
as per the other posts.

I set down to do 10 or 20 flies at a time ( I can't wrap my mind around
workng in 'dozens" since hooks come in hundreds and my fly boxes hold rows
of 10 in most sizes ) and pick off enough feathers for that many before
starting the first one. This is just like laying out all the materials and
greatly speeds production.

Oh, how many gaps is the 'right' size? Varies from tie to tie, for me.