The Evergreen Hand was developed to aid wounded veterans tie flies as part of their of therapy. Members of the Evergreen Fly fishing Club in Everett, Washington made it happen, thus the name. The Hand consists of three major components; the wooden “Base”, a brass rod or “Arm”; and white metal “Plate”. The components can be bought at larger hardware stores such as Home Depot.

The Base is a two-piece block of wood that slides onto the stem of a fly tying vise. A set screw in the Base holds it in position. The brass-colored connecting bolt clamps the two blocks around the brass Arm, controlling the tightness. The other end of the Arm is clamped by a wooden block attached to the bottom of the Plate. This allows the Plate to be moved in an arc or rotated around the Arm. The Plate can moved left or right to accommodate different tying vises. There are three tying tools that are held onto the Plate by magnets.

BASE

Exploded View of Base

MATERIALS - BASE

The materials to make the Evergreen Hand are available at Lowes in the hardware department, in drawers labelled with the names as listed below. The hardwood is also available at Lowes, in 1/2" x 2" at about $2.25 for a 24" piece, as well as the sheet steel to make the plate..

Two pieces of wood (oak or other hardwood; pine is just too soft), ½" thick x 1 ½" wide and 3" long
One connecting bolt with hex head, 1/4-20 x 30mm (in above photo, brass-colored, top right)
One T-nut pronged, 1/4-20 x 7/16" (serves as the mate to the above bolt, in above photo, dark, bottom far right)
One cross-dowel, 1/2" x 3/4" x 5/16"-18 (serves as the support for the set screw, in above photo, bottom middle)
One socket head set screw, 5/16-18 x 3/4" (tightens against the vise shaft) or a thumbscrew (see photo)
One wood screw, #6, 1 ½ inches long
One square-bend hook, #10, 1 13/16" (serves as a pivot for the dowels)
Two 3/4" wooden (oak) dowels, ½" long (serves as a materials gripper)
One metal screw eye (materials holder), fairly small size
Cork sheet 3/4" x 3/4"

DIRECTIONS - BASE

Hole locations: #6 wood screw and square bend hook #10 are 0.3" from the end and sides of the block. The #6 wood screw passes through both blocks from the bottom and screws into the wooden dowel. The square-bend hook screws into both blocks from the top. The bent part is cut off and the upper, straight portion serves as a pivot for the other wooden dowel. The 0.5" hole for the cross dowel is centered 1" from the end. It is drilled through the lower block and partially into the upper block. If needed, cut off a top portion of the metal cross dowel so that it will align with the set screw. The set screw hole is drilled into the lower block so that is aligns with the cross dowel and vise stem. The hole for the vise stem (normally 3/8" ) is on center and 1.75" from the end. The hole for the connecting bolt is on center and 2.4" from the end. The groove for the arm is cut into the upper block 2.75" from the end. The size of the groove depends on the diameter of the rod used to make the Arm. Do not make it too big, or the Arm will not be sufficiently stabilized.

End View of Base

The two round dowels rotate against each other to clamp material. Both dowels are drilled off-center. This allows the left dowel to be rotated and adjusted to get full contact with the right dowel. The left dowel is them screwed down tight with the #6 wood screw and does not rotate. The right dowel rotates on the cut-off shaft of the square-bend hook. The metal screw eye on the right dowel is used to gather marabou and also serves as a knob to help rotate the right dowel for clamping. The dowels should be adjusted so that they just lightly stick, or wedge when rotated into contact. The disc of cork is used to hold a hook so it can be grasped by a clamping tool. The dowels are shown above the block so you can see the relationship of the dowels and their pivot points. You can also see the location of the set screw hole, bottom center.

ARM and PLATE

MATERIALS - ARM and PLATE

Metal rod (brass looks nice, could be steel), 3/16" diameter, 9" long
One 20-gauge sheet metal (mild steel), 3" x 6"
One piece of wood (oak), ½" thick x 1" x 3/4"
Two wood screws

The Arm is made from a brass welding rod, which typically comes 36" long. Using 9" sections, you’ll have enough for four Evergreen Hands. Chuck the 9" piece in a drill and use a file to round the ends. The short horizontal portion is slightly longer than the width of the 1.5" wooden base. The longer horizontal section is about 4" long and the vertical section is about 2.5" long.

The metal plate is bent about 90 degrees on the upper end to form a 1" flange, which functions as a shelf to store the magnetic tools. The lower portion is bent in the same direction to form a 1.5" flange, which accommodates the wooden block used to clamp the rod to the plate. The screws come up from the bottom so that the plate face is smooth and the magnetic tools can be slid into any position. Initially, the bend was created using a vise and a soft-faced hammer, but the bend was not very asethetic. Later a local welding shop used a sheetmetal brake to create a smooth, localized, and uniform bend. The plate is painted a flat white, which functions as a background, helping to visualize the fly as it is being tied.

This is a drawing by Steve Burkett of the lower of the two wooden blocks that form the Base and attaches to the vise. The dimensions are slightly different from the dimensions Jesse has outlined: