I'm new to the world of trying flies, been mooching them from Buddies for too long.

What kind of glue is the one most common on your bench?

I'm going to start out tying some hoppers, some with sponge but would still like to get a glue I can use for most of my trying needs.

Thanks in advance

It's best to get stuff at your tying level learn to use a a half hitch knot tool and head cement. Theres no point on learning how to use glues if you aren't ready. But I use crazy glue, head cement and uv resin. You can get different types of adhesives, you just need to learn how to use them.

Tying a typical fly, wet dry, nymph or streamer, I use no glue at all.

Sally Hansen's Hard-As-Nails, UV-cure resin, cheap super glue, Gorilla brand super glue.

Same here but but i am going to try Bob Smith Industries Products as recommended by a few people as drying clear and very good for foam.The gorrilla glue turns to crap halfway thru a bottle.I buy dollar store nail polish ,well it's a dollar and they have a fast drying thinner type yat comes in handy.Also a big fan of Loon's water based head cement as it soaks into thread and dubbing with no fumes or hardening of fibers,Looks like you use nothing.Learn to tie those half hitches by hand,your future self will thank you.Very easy to learn.

For most of my tying i use the Loon water based.Super glue is for securing dumbell eyes with minimal thread and for Popper heads which Can be refeathered etc .A drop CA glue here and there really helps with foam bodied bugs to keep them in place.I use less and less solvent based products as the fumes really get to me these days.Almost 40 years breathing in all sorts of toxic crap on jobsites as well as being a smoker on and off my lungs are not what they used to be.I do believe these solvents repel fish.I am not a hypocrite in believing using only natural products on our flies while everything we use from our rods shoes,waders plastic boats fly lines cars to get there etc are 1000s of times worse on the environment than a piece of foam on a fly.I can catch tremendously more fish on live bait if i choose.That is an art form in itself.I would try th loon with it's pinpoint tip and no fumes and almost water like consistency is cool stuff,We all tie different stuff for a wide variety of locals.I learn something new every time i visit this forum.

I can see that C MAN.You use 50 flies worth of materials in 1 fly.I have a way of toughing up those saddles by dragging them thru silicone caulk and immediatly squeegeeing the excess off,they retain their shape and color and becoming rubberized and tough as an inner tube.Your ties are awesome and the results prove they work.

I buy whatever clear nail polish I can get that also has a container of same- brand thinner in the store display rack. I thin it right away so it wicks into the thread rather than forming a coating.

One quick tip for using Sally Hansen's or any nail polish that comes with a brush applicator.
Use a pair of pliers to pull the brush out of the end of the applicator. Then using pliers (ask me how i know) push a small sewing needle into the end where the brush used to be, eye of the needle in, pointy end out. Push it in until you can screw the cap back on the bottle. You get much better control of where the head cement goes this way. And if needed you can pick up a pretty decent drop size for big heads.

Corlay, I haven't had the SHHAN very long and haven't thinned it yet, I don't like it as a head cement and always use the $brand, I have used the SH as paint for eyes and to cover jig heads. That said, the solvents in SHHAN are listed as Ethyl Acetate, N-butyl Acetate, N-butyl Alcohol, and Isopropyl Alcohol; those are the best solvents to thin it with because you are just replacing the stuff that evaporated with the same stuff.
Although I have always used lacquer thinner (a combination of hot solvents) or acetone because the in old days that's what was in nail polish and because it's always in the shed; it is recommended that When looking for nail polish thinner look for ingredients such as ethyl acetate, butyl acetate.
At some point in time they switched to solvents that have lower evaporative rates and are probably safer for the folks doing nails in beauty shops all day long. Nowadays the most common solvents in nail polish are ethyl acetate and butyl acetate and one or more of the alcohols
A thinner highly recommended to me is "Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Thinner", the house brand at Sally Beauty Shop, ingredients; Butyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetate, and Heptane.
Another is "Nail Tek Extend" thinner it has Butyl Acetate, Toluenesulfonamide formaldehyde resin, Heptane, and Ethyl Acetate listed.
"ORLY Nail Polish Thinner" is Butyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetate -Sally Beauty
I believe some cosmetic companies market basically what we need as "Nail Polish Remover" Check the ingredients list. I believe that almost all solvent based "Head Cements" are rebadged nail polish, so the same ethyl acetate/butyl acetate thinner works for them as well.

fwiw I Copied this from another forum years ago:

"The following is a list of some of the cements commonly used by fly tiers and the solvents that can be used to reconstitute or thin them.

• Weldwood Contact Cement and Pliobond – toluene or acetone (a mixture of the two works well).
• Vinyl cement – methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)
• Flexament – xylene, toluene, or lacquer thinner
• Goop – xylene, toluene, or lacquer thinner (= Flexament)
• Head cement – acetone, MEK, or lacquer thinner
• Two-part epoxies – any alcohol such as denatured or rubbing.
Note: thinning epoxies with alcohol does NOT extend working time!"

>Flexament substitute is one part Shoe Goo or Goop and three parts toluene. Thinner for a penetrating cement.

Fly tying glue; I use Krazy Glue in the brush applicator bottle. I really like the built-in brush and the consistency is just right. I use this glue for fly tying, line splices, and in the shop. I trim the applicator brush at an angle for more precise application (and then immediately clean the scissors with acetone). I always have acetone, paper towels, and Qtips handy, just in case.

If you can find it, the Zap-a-Gap brand glues are reputed to be more water resistant. I lose flies long before they fall apart, so I don't worry about the water resistance. When the Krazy Glue gets stringy, it is time for a new bottle. Don't bother thinning it - the old glue won't harden.

Head cement; the old, old school material is thinned spar varnish. The new, old school material is lacquer. I also use Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails (I love those applicator bottles!). Personally, I avoid beauty supply thinners/cleaners because they often have fragrances. Buying thinner just to save an old bottle of nail polish is not cost effective. But sourcing a 1/4 ounce of thinner is a good reason to congregate with your fly tying friends every month or two.


Tom

Nail polish is just so handy and cheap.I also tie jigs and you can get nail polish in so many colors.I have had the same quart of acetone forever,I keep a nail polish bottle full of acetone on my tying desk.I also paint paint bass popper heads with nail polish .Doesn't harm even foam heads.Dries fast and several coats can be applied in a day.

Gosh... sometimes I need to kick myself in the butt. I use Sally Hansens but don't like using the brush, so I always lift the cap/brush out of the bottle, then run my dubbing needle along it to get the right amount on the needle and use it to apply the stuff. All I need to do is what a much smarter guy like Richard figured out!

Thanks man... you just improved my life a tiny bit! And every little bit counts.