Fuller´s Earth

Draft autosaved at 3:19 am

If some of your US fans ask you where to buy fuller's earth?

Sure, it is easily obtainable once you know what it is. A few
Americans have told me they had trouble obtaining it when they asked
for "Fuller´s Earth" by name.

Most cat litter is Fuller´s earth. By the way, some other clays are
much the same, and will also work. Kaolin (China Clay, Pipe Clay,
Fuller's Earth) is hydrated aluminum silicate. Available as a fine
white powder with a rather slippery oily texture, kaolin is slightly
adhesive when mixed with water. The best grades are found today in
native deposits in England, although the name kaolin comes from China
and indicates a material from which the best white porcelain was made.
It is used as a carrier for lake colors, as a filler in paints, and as
a modifying material in pastels.


Bentonite is an American clay, sold as a powder, that gels when added
to water. It is used to make artists pastel chalks less brittle.

Montmorillonite is basically the same thing


FULLERS EARTH POWDER is a grey green powder,similar to KAOLIN,but with
slightly stronger absorbent properties.( This is the stuff commonly
used as beauty masks).

"European Clay" is the same stuff. To use it, mix an ounce or so of
the earth with a half a tea-spoonfull of liquid detergent, and a
quarter tea-spoonfull of glycerine. I carry a lump of this in a zip
lock bag, it will also fit in a normal small plastic film can, but is
then more difficult to use. It should be a very firm paste in a
solid but malleable lump. To use it, just draw the nylon through it.
This de-glints the nylon, because the earth is a mild abrasive. Once
the nylon has been de-glinted, you don´t need to use the earth on it
any more, you just need to pull it through a small sponge with dilute
detergent.

The detergent in the paste is only to make the leader sink. Drawing
nylon through the paste de-glints and treats it in one go. It also
cleans any grease or oil off the line.

You can add water if the paste is too hard. The glycerine is only to
stop the lump of paste drying out too fast. I have been using the same
lump for about five years now.

If you use the cat litter, just grind it up ( or crush it with a
hammer etc), and do the same as above.

One can also obtain the more expensive pharmaceutical quality stuff,
at drugstores or similar, it is sold as a "facial" for women, or
people suffering from acne.

It is known as "Fuller´s" earth, because it was once used for
"fulling", a process in the manufacture of certain textiles. It
basically fluffs up wool.

Fuller´s would knead the material with their feet, and the finely
powdered clay was added to the fulling bath.

This is also the origin of the surname "Fuller"

TL
MC

Sorry! Chris! Lost some text. These online text processors are not
very good!

It basically fluffs up the wool, and at the same time shrinks the
fabric, so that no weave is visible. Just extra info

Draft autosaved at 3:45 am

If you use the maxima, as I suggested, you don´t need to de-glint it,
it already has a matte finish. If you use the cheap spooled nylon
( doesn´t matter what brand, the cheapest you can find is usually OK,
as long as the dealer has a good stock turnover. Old nylon is
unreliable.) then you will need to de-glint it. I generally de-glint
the whole leader, but I know a couple of people who only de-glint the
tippet.

TL
MC

"Mike" wrote in message
ups.com...
Draft autosaved at 3:45 am

If you use the maxima, as I suggested, you don´t need to de-glint it,
it already has a matte finish. If you use the cheap spooled nylon
( doesn´t matter what brand, the cheapest you can find is usually OK,
as long as the dealer has a good stock turnover. Old nylon is
unreliable.) then you will need to de-glint it. I generally de-glint
the whole leader, but I know a couple of people who only de-glint the
tippet.

TL
MC


is this(and the other two threads) supposed to make any
sense whatsoever?? I had to admit, I got a chuckle from
the one inquiring about your "American Fansg
Tom

On Sep 21, 6:33 pm, Mike wrote:
Draft autosaved at 3:19 am

If some of your US fans ask you where to buy fuller's earth?

Sure, it is easily obtainable once you know what it is. A few
Americans have told me they had trouble obtaining it when they asked
for "Fuller´s Earth" by name.

Most cat litter is Fuller´s earth. By the way, some other clays are
much the same, and will also work. Kaolin (China Clay, Pipe Clay,
Fuller's Earth) is hydrated aluminum silicate. Available as a fine
white powder with a rather slippery oily texture, kaolin is slightly
adhesive when mixed with water. The best grades are found today in
native deposits in England, although the name kaolin comes from China
and indicates a material from which the best white porcelain was made.
It is used as a carrier for lake colors, as a filler in paints, and as
a modifying material in pastels.

Bentonite is an American clay, sold as a powder, that gels when added
to water. It is used to make artists pastel chalks less brittle.

Montmorillonite is basically the same thing

FULLERS EARTH POWDER is a grey green powder,similar to KAOLIN,but with
slightly stronger absorbent properties.( This is the stuff commonly
used as beauty masks).

"European Clay" is the same stuff. To use it, mix an ounce or so of
the earth with a half a tea-spoonfull of liquid detergent, and a
quarter tea-spoonfull of glycerine. I carry a lump of this in a zip
lock bag, it will also fit in a normal small plastic film can, but is
then more difficult to use. It should be a very firm paste in a
solid but malleable lump. To use it, just draw the nylon through it.
This de-glints the nylon, because the earth is a mild abrasive. Once
the nylon has been de-glinted, you don´t need to use the earth on it
any more, you just need to pull it through a small sponge with dilute
detergent.

The detergent in the paste is only to make the leader sink. Drawing
nylon through the paste de-glints and treats it in one go. It also
cleans any grease or oil off the line.

You can add water if the paste is too hard. The glycerine is only to
stop the lump of paste drying out too fast. I have been using the same
lump for about five years now.

If you use the cat litter, just grind it up ( or crush it with a
hammer etc), and do the same as above.

One can also obtain the more expensive pharmaceutical quality stuff,
at drugstores or similar, it is sold as a "facial" for women, or
people suffering from acne.

It is known as "Fuller´s" earth, because it was once used for
"fulling", a process in the manufacture of certain textiles. It
basically fluffs up wool.

Fuller´s would knead the material with their feet, and the finely
powdered clay was added to the fulling bath.

This is also the origin of the surname "Fuller"

TL
MC

"If some of your US fans ask you where to buy fuller's earth?"
If they did I wouldn't reply with a three posts regurgating google
look-ups.
There is usually a little mud somewhere about about a stream and that
works quite well.
Fullers earth is also used in filters ( usually in combination with
diatomaceous earth-as it is in many applications ) for removing water
from transfromer oil.
Bentonite is also used for cable puling lubricant. It works quite well
and is approved by most medium voltage cable vendors.

BJ Conner voiced his/her/it's humble opinion in rec.outdoors.fishing.fly
on Sat 22 Sep 2007 09:59:56a:

On Sep 21, 6:33 pm, Mike wrote:
Draft autosaved at 3:19 am

If some of your US fans ask you where to buy fuller's earth?

Sure, it is easily obtainable once you know what it is. A few
Americans have told me they had trouble obtaining it when they asked
for "Fuller´s Earth" by name.

Most cat litter is Fuller´s earth. By the way, some other clays are
much the same, and will also work. Kaolin (China Clay, Pipe Clay,
Fuller's Earth) is hydrated aluminum silicate. Available as a fine
white powder with a rather slippery oily texture, kaolin is slightly
adhesive when mixed with water. The best grades are found today in
native deposits in England, although the name kaolin comes from China
and indicates a material from which the best white porcelain was made.
It is used as a carrier for lake colors, as a filler in paints, and as
a modifying material in pastels.

Bentonite is an American clay, sold as a powder, that gels when added
to water. It is used to make artists pastel chalks less brittle.

Montmorillonite is basically the same thing

FULLERS EARTH POWDER is a grey green powder,similar to KAOLIN,but with
slightly stronger absorbent properties.( This is the stuff commonly
used as beauty masks).

"European Clay" is the same stuff. To use it, mix an ounce or so of
the earth with a half a tea-spoonfull of liquid detergent, and a
quarter tea-spoonfull of glycerine. I carry a lump of this in a zip
lock bag, it will also fit in a normal small plastic film can, but is
then more difficult to use. It should be a very firm paste in a
solid but malleable lump. To use it, just draw the nylon through it.
This de-glints the nylon, because the earth is a mild abrasive. Once
the nylon has been de-glinted, you don´t need to use the earth on it
any more, you just need to pull it through a small sponge with dilute
detergent.

The detergent in the paste is only to make the leader sink. Drawing
nylon through the paste de-glints and treats it in one go. It also
cleans any grease or oil off the line.

You can add water if the paste is too hard. The glycerine is only to
stop the lump of paste drying out too fast. I have been using the same
lump for about five years now.

If you use the cat litter, just grind it up ( or crush it with a
hammer etc), and do the same as above.

One can also obtain the more expensive pharmaceutical quality stuff,
at drugstores or similar, it is sold as a "facial" for women, or
people suffering from acne.

It is known as "Fuller´s" earth, because it was once used for
"fulling", a process in the manufacture of certain textiles. It
basically fluffs up wool.

Fuller´s would knead the material with their feet, and the finely
powdered clay was added to the fulling bath.

This is also the origin of the surname "Fuller"

TL
MC

"If some of your US fans ask you where to buy fuller's earth?"
If they did I wouldn't reply with a three posts regurgating google
look-ups.
There is usually a little mud somewhere about about a stream and that
works quite well.
Fullers earth is also used in filters ( usually in combination with
diatomaceous earth-as it is in many applications ) for removing water
from transfromer oil.
Bentonite is also used for cable puling lubricant. It works quite well
and is approved by most medium voltage cable vendors.




Bentonite is also used to plug holes drilled for seismic exploration.
Swells up and helps focus the blast in a downward direction. Nothing
like walking around with a couple of kilos of GeoGel, (high explosive) in
the pockets of your coveralls and blasting caps in your shirt pocket, to
wake you up in the morning. bg


Later......

LabRat...... |:^{)

"LabRat" wrote in message
Bentonite is also used to plug holes drilled for seismic exploration.
Swells up and helps focus the blast in a downward direction. Nothing
like walking around with a couple of kilos of GeoGel, (high explosive) in
the pockets of your coveralls and blasting caps in your shirt pocket, to
wake you up in the morning. bg


It's also used for "slurry walls" whereby a trench excavation is filled with
a bentonite slurry. The bentonite seals the adjacent soil, and the
hydrostatic pressure helps keep the trench walls from collapsing.

Joe F.

On 22 Sep, 05:11, "Tom Littleton" wrote:


is this(and the other two threads) supposed to make any
sense whatsoever?? I had to admit, I got a chuckle from
the one inquiring about your "American Fansg
Tom

Those posts were in error.They were replies to e-mail queries. I don´t
know why that software saves drafts to a group address. It won´t do so
any more, as I have now deleted it.

Well here´s another few chuckles for you;

QUOTE

Mike,

By all means, use whatever you'd like if you think any of it would be
helpful to others.

Mike, I've only just begun and I'm much, much closer to a novice than
an expert. I am learning (slowly), thanks to your help and advice, I
am enjoying myself, and I am catching more fish than I ever have
before. For the life of me, though, I cannot catch a fish on a spider!
I catch a lot of fish on the bob (usually an elk hair caddis) and a
lot on the point (usually a simple nymph - just a dark grey heather
wool yarn wrapped around the hook, a little thicker in the thorax, and
scruffed up with velcro, occasionally a hare's ear nymph copied from
your site). If I use a winged wet like a leadwing coachman or a grouse
and green or a hare's ear, I pick up some fish on the dropper. But a
Stewart spider, a partridge and orange or a hare's lug and plover
comes up with nothing. Yeah, I sprung for a golden plover skin,
thinking a bird flu outbreak might prevent further imports forever.
Until I can catch a few fish with it though, I'm going to be kicking
myself. I know it will come, but until then it is a bit frustrating.
What's also frustrating is that people write in to the forums about
catching fish swinging spiders, and I know that swinging them is not
the best way to fish them. Obviously, I don't yet know what the best
way is, though... ;-)

Take care and tight lines,

UNQUOTE

That was from one of my American fans, I have plenty more.

Here are a couple from various English fans;

QUOTE

Mike,
Thanks for your excellent posts. I have been struggling to learn
everything I can about SWFFing since I 'discovered' it only six months
ago and I think I learned more from your articles than any other
single source.
I particularly appreciate your open-minded and free-thinking attitude
to the subject - too many writers seem to be hidebound by 'tradition'
or 'the done thing' and seem incapable of independent thought.

UNQUOTE

QUOTE

Hi Mike another great and extremely informative piece! Thanks a lot!

UNQUOTE

QUOTE

Absolutely brilliant. Tried the floating frog on a #8 weight, and got
seven pike on the first outing, best just short of twelve pounds. was
easy to cast, and the fish hit it hard. Thanks!

UNQUOTE


Would you like some more chuckles? I have a whole load of these and
similar thank you letters.

MC

I could also send you a few in German, French, Rumanian, Czech, and a
couple of others, but you wouldn´t even be able to read most of them.
When people like you try to ridicule me now, it only makes me laugh.
Although it used to upset me. For every person who posts crap on ROFF,
there are many many more who appreciate my help and advice, so you are
merely wasting your time.

Since the business relating to Gehrkes death, you obviously have a
personal dislike of me, and it colours your judgement. As one or two
people obviously think you are a nice bloke, it seems a bit odd that
you would carry a grudge so long, but it makes no difference to me
what you write.

MC

On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 18:00:59 -0700, Mike
wrote:

Would you like some more chuckles? I have a whole load of these and
similar thank you letters.

Of course you do, Mike. You are de man! Why, everyone on roff justs
loves ya.

toot toot Mike be blowin' his horn agin....toot toot

Get help, man. Get help.