What are your favorite bench innovations?

[bart 0]

I'm gonna be building a new tying desk and would love to hear what your favorite innovations are. In other words what are the things about your desk that you can't live without, what things are really worth building into the desk, and what do you wish you had that you don't.

 

Looking forward to the responses,

 

bart

[madkasel 0]

Seems a strange thing, but make sure it's the right height and you have plenty of legroom. No matter the lumber or sheen or shelving units, you won't love it if you don't fit at it.

[bart 0]

Good point! Which brings me to a question. How do you know what the right height is? No matter what I do, my back ends up hurting when I'm tying. I've got a new chair that has gone a long way to helping me, but for all the wrong reasons. When I tye I sit upright and don't use the back of the chair. By my 6th fly I'm always humped over and my back, neck, shoulders are soar. So I sit back in my nice comfy leather chair and sip on a drink until I can go at it again. And as for leg room... well HomerDog, the lab over there on the left, likes to sit under my desk when I tye, so plenty of leg room is must! He told me a new bed should be part of the new bench.

[Al Beatty 0]

Hi Bart,

 

Madkasel is right about the tying bench height. If it isn't right for you, a back ache can be the result OR you have difficulty seeing your fly. Gretchen and my work station is 29" from the floor to the work surface. That distance allows us to tie with our hands even with the middle of our chest and really reduces back fatigue (at least it does for us). Take care & ...

 

Tight Lines - Al Beatty

www.btsflyfishing.com

[longears 0]

The thing that I like the most about my tying station is the pegboard that all of my materials are displayed on. It makes it really easy to locate items and to also see what you've got. The second thing I like is a huge work area. Mine is a cut down drafting table. Everything is within an arms reach for me.

[pacres 0]

Big area to work, a good tool caddy with room for lot (24) bobbins, A huge spool holder for all of my wire, floss, thread, yarn, tinsel etc... Good lighting that does not interfere with your thread wrapping and is adjustable.

 

Height is really important if you want to tie for more than an hour at a time. I tend to keep my vise jaws around neck level. An adjustable height chair will help you find the height that works best for you.

[Streamside 0]

I'm gonna be building a new tying desk and would love to hear what your favorite innovations are. In other words what are the things about your desk that you can't live without, what things are really worth building into the desk, and what do you wish you had that you don't.

 

Looking forward to the responses,

 

bart

 

I'm looking for a new fly tying station myself right now. To be honest I've been looking for one for the last three years. I also thought about building my own but by the time I had all the material priced out to build the desk I wanted, I found it was cheaper just to buy one. Now it's just a matter of finding one with all the right features to suit my needs and taste.

 

No matter how big or small you go, comfort, lighting, storage and organization are the major points to cover when setting up your tying station.

My biggest problem now is space. My other house I had the whole downstairs. The downstairs in my new place is made into my cane rod shop, so I had to downsize my tying station by about 95% and move it upstairs. It was an extremely big adjustment for me that came with a lot of cursing and frustration but I've learned to accept it and enjoy it. In fact I'm starting to find it easier to cope with a smaller tying station. Total organization is the key!

 

A couple of organizational gadgets that I added just recently that have made all the difference in the world is the small tool caddy on my vise, $8.00 ebay and the foam fold-out fly dryer / holder called "Fly Stages" which I also bought on ebay for $10.00. I could live without them before, but now that I have them, I wouldn't be without them. Both cheap little gadgets but worth their weight in gold when space is at a premium. Now with the condo I only have a 6x8' space with a 4x4' table. Right now I'm using my drafting table with a couple storage boxes from Ikea and roll-out storage in the closet. I've been using this system for about three years now and until I find the perfect desk, I will continue using it and adding to it as I go. I'm starting to run out of space again now so I'm going to add another tier of Ikea storage boxes. If I remember right they where around $12.00 each. Right now I'm smack dab in the middle of tying next season's trout flies.

 

If your on a small budget it might cheaper to just go out and buy a ready-made fly tying desk than it is to build one. The new Made 2 Fly foldable / portable full size desks are very reasonably priced under $300.00. They have two models to chose from with all the bases covered . They might be worth considering. http://made2fly.com/Products/furniture/furniture.html Flymart has them on right now for $289.00 delivered to your door you may even be able to find it cheaper online.

http://www.flymartonline.com/modules.php?n...int&sid=100

I'm not affiliated with the company in any way, just trying to help give you some suggestions

 

 

Here's my tying station. I've posted it before, but the pics have long since been deleted and I've made a few small changes so here it is again. It's not very big, but it suits me and it's comfortable.

 

 

New tool caddy

 

"Fly Stages" foam fly dryer / holder / organizer.

 

 

 

 

 

[bart 0]

Thanks Streamside! The pictures are a great help. Where did you get your drawers? I've got enough space for two sets of drawers like yours and plan on purchasing that part of the bench as well other organzational pieces like tinsel and thread holders. I'm just gonna build the L-shaped desk. Lighting is also going to be important since most of my tying happens in the evening. There's quite a few lights out there to look at too. I also liked your foam - what a great idea - I plan on adding that to my new bench for sure.

[Streamside 0]

Thanks Streamside! The pictures are a great help. Where did you get your drawers? I've got enough space for two sets of drawers like yours and plan on purchasing that part of the bench as well other organzational pieces like tinsel and thread holders. I'm just gonna build the L-shaped desk. Lighting is also going to be important since most of my tying happens in the evening. There's quite a few lights out there to look at too. I also liked your foam - what a great idea - I plan on adding that to my new bench for sure.

 

 

The storage drawer boxes are from Ikea called Fina. very cheap! I'll look up the information for you.

 

For lighting, I have 2, 50 watt halogens in the ceiling, a Mc Kenzie vise light, and I have a natural sunlight florescent plant light hanging from the ceiling on bead chain above the table. They are just terrific. It comes with a built in capacitor. $20.00 Canadian tire. They last about 3 years then you just throw them out and get a new one.

[Streamside 0]

Sorry the boxes are called Fira not Fina. Here is the link.My Webpage

[RunninDetox 0]

Two thoughts for you is first, instead of getting those drawers you might want to consider getting a cheap storage unit from any hardware store. They are the plastic ones (mine has about 15 drawers or so) the outside of mine is blue and all the drawers are clear plastic so you can still see what is in them. They are really cheap like 10 bucks or sumpin. Second is to consider the height of the back of your bench, if you make it the right height (as I did with mine) you can mount a lighting fixture to the top of it so you get plenty of light but doesn't blind you.

 

Hope this blabbering helped.

Jay

[Guest]

One of my most important considerations when I built my desk was being able to close it up, away from the cat and dogs, without having to pack everything up. I went with a roll-top. I can simply close the door and walk away.

Height was important too, but with adjustable height chairs, this gives you some room for experimentation.

The only thing that I would change about this desk is more storage space inside, but I am going to build a matching set of drawers to set on top for more materials.

This is my first attempt at serious woodworking.

 

 

Caddisfly

[Iowaflyguy 0]

 

 

Wow caddisfly!! :thumbsup:

 

Tom

[flypimp 0]

Thanks for asking Bart, I think you red my mind. I'm planning on building a desk in the next couple of months and this really gave me some good ideas. :headbang: :headbang:

[fly time 0]

A place to keep your books is handy too.