Adam Savage's Tested Youtube/ Fly Tying Organization

[primeflycompany 0]

I just wanted to say that I've found his youtube videos inspirational when it comes to fly tying organization and the creative process in general. His shop infrastructure videos have been particularly interesting, as well as his general philosophy on makers, and first order of retrievability, etc. 

The attached photo is my tying workshop from probably 2021 ish- but it has remained largely unchanged despite me having a complete shift in the philosophy that this workshop has become. At one point I was selling materials trying to do the ecommerce thing- and that required a vastly different layout, and organization than one of just a tyer. It's taken me 3 years to finally accept that philosophy change and start a complete shop re-org. 

Also- I'm a generalist fly tyer. I don't specialize in any one thing, so that means I need a lot of material on hand, and if you've watched his videos- I'm debating on setting up different stations in my workshop for specific types of flies. Mainly small trout flies (non streamers) on a dedicated desk with dedicated tools and material storage (probably on either side), my main bench would be for all types of streamers for all types of species.- and lastly a 3rd smaller station for poppers/airbrushing. I love my airbrush but I hate taking it out and putting it away every time I use it just so it's out of the way. 

I'm not wealthy enough to have a custom made Tie Craft Desk (or what I would prefer a Benches of Colorado custom desk), so a lot of my storage is plastic containers from amazon or walmart or the dollar store. And while I appreciate the job they do, aesthetically I"m probably looking to slowly convert a lot of that into wooden furniture over time. 

One of my first orders of business is going to be figuring out the hardware I"m going to keep stocked (hooks, beads, cones, lead eyes, etc), and a system for dealing with that. I really like the idea of his Sortimo (they have cheaper parts organizers on Amazon that will work fine for me). 

All of this to say- I'd love to see your hook/bead organization. What worked for you, what didn't. And also if you have checked out his youtube videos and what you think. 



 

[DFoster 0]

Nice tying area! I'm a little more specialized in my tying, focused on Trout and Small Mouth flies.  My employer told me once that I'm "hyper organized", well maybe. I've posted before that I hate wasting time hunting for things that I know that I have but can't find because they are hidden underneath a pile of things that I didn't know that I had.   The "bomb went off" bench works for some,  but not for me.  I keep my hooks and beads in compartment boxes.  The Planko style ones with the really small sections. I dump the beads or hooks into their compartment then cut the label off the package and drop it on top so I know what it is.  They stack nicely. Craft stores also offer jewelry bead organizers which are really nice but more expensive. 

Here are some photos of my tying area and an example of the hook boxes.  I'm not a professional tyer but the same concepts regarding organization hold true no matter how much stuff you have.  I hope this helps you out.

[cphubert 0]

My bench and storage are all self-made and always a work of progress. Mobility is my main theme probably from deployment schedules from a prior life, my usable hooks are stored in compartment boxes on a turntable I made it rotates for hooks; large hanging tools; thread tinsel and spooled products with bead boxes; and a fly drying hanging rack-I still tie in stages when convenient. Most of my remaining storage is in plastic boxes or plastic shelf drawers. All additional storage is in larger totes in closet or under bench. I can move my bench and main components between my pink tying room (never repainted in case it needs to be a returning to nest bedroom) and my travel trailer or truck. Excuse the mess it gets worse until November when I do cleaning / inventory prior to the shows and my primary tying season.

[primeflycompany 0]

Thank you both for sharing. 

[Poopdeck 0]

Im sure this will be of no help since we are different types of tiers but what the hell there may be one useful shred of help. I tie small trout flies to striper flies to saltwater jigs and teasers. I tie for myself so I can go fishing so I’m not really sure I can be called a fly tier. If I didn’t fish I probably would not tie flies but we will have to see what happens when I can’t fish. Here’s my bead and hook storage, three small compartments at the back of my tying desk. Every hook, bead, dumbbell eye or cone that I will ever need is in there. Takes up maybe 4” by 10” of space. I’ve found I don’t need everything people want to sell me. My best storage tip is to store your hooks, beads, and most materials at the fly shop and pick it up as needed. I maintain some level of organization by constantly seeking to downsize and limit the collecting, hoarding, fads, and buying stuff on a whim or because it looks shiny. Shiny sometimes sucks me in though. 

[primeflycompany 0]

9 hours ago, Poopdeck said:

Im sure this will be of no help since we are different types of tiers but what the hell there may be one useful shred of help. I tie small trout flies to striper flies to saltwater jigs and teasers. I tie for myself so I can go fishing so I’m not really sure I can be called a fly tier. If I didn’t fish I probably would not tie flies but we will have to see what happens when I can’t fish. Here’s my bead and hook storage, three small compartments at the back of my tying desk. Every hook, bead, dumbbell eye or cone that I will ever need is in there. Takes up maybe 4” by 10” of space. I’ve found I don’t need everything people want to sell me. My best storage tip is to store your hooks, beads, and most materials at the fly shop and pick it up as needed. I maintain some level of organization by constantly seeking to downsize and limit the collecting, hoarding, fads, and buying stuff on a whim or because it looks shiny. Shiny sometimes sucks me in though. 

I understand that philosophy and it would serve many tyers well- I actually never heard it put that way. The only reason I'm putting together a "hardware store" in my shop is that I tie flies for a living- and I like having everything I need within reason- especially for the stuff I tie often anyway. 

I'm always trying a new way to organize materials- and hooks and beads seem to be the one I have trouble with the most. Every solution seems to inhibit my workflow and that little bit of friction can stop me in my tracks when it comes time to tie. 

Besides my reord I definitely think I need to cull exactly what types of patterns I tie just to make the rest of it easier. Thanks for sharing your philosophy- I can respect it.