Many of my thrifty friends will use bead chain for dumbbell eyes. They don't have the weight as lead or nickel, but will work. I have a hard time finding calf tail with the length that you show. I will need to be on the lookout for them and pick though at the fly shops.
And the even more thrifty will buy their bead chain at the hardware store rather than the fly shop. It does take some digging to find good length in calf tail, but it's worth going through them to find it. Sadly, some of my best finds were at Yager's, which is no more. I tend to load up when I find good ones, so I haven't had to look for them lately.
It's a Kona BDF (Barbless Dry Fly) hook in size 12. What I'm looking for in a hook for microclousers is a wide gap to increase the hook up ratio on bony mouthed fish. The lighter wire you typically find in dry fly hooks usually doesn't matter as long as it's not so light it bends out too easy.
I'm left handed and learned sitting across from my right handed dad as a kid. Doesn't really matter which way you wind (the fly works either way) as long as you stay consistent. Sorry if that's a deal breaker for you, but I've done it this way for thirty plus years and the fish have yet to complain.
