Tying Station for the Space Deprived?

[Bryan Corey 0]

Hello all,

 

I have a good amount of tying gear, enough to tie a good chunk of my own stuff with at least, but as it stands right now I have one of those small desktop stations that has the 12 or so spool holders, tool holders, and a spot for your vice. All my materials are in a rubbermaid type thing. I find that I don't tie as much as I'd like because I just don't enjoy having to move it all out, open it up, etc... not to mention the fact that I have little kids and I really don't want the fur / feathers / etc. getting on our floor for my nearyl-2yo to eat.

 

Does anyone have any clever suggestions for a dedicated place in a small house where I wouldn't need to always clean up, worry about debris, etc? I have a built-in workbench in the garage that I could build a flip-down table top onto for extra room as well as a spot for my legs and a stool to go under... but would my materials and such get ruined being more exposed? I live in WA so extreme weather isn't an issue, just a whole lot of the same rain and 50 degrees outside the garage.

 

The beauty of that would be that I could build in spool holders, tool holders, etc onto the garage wall right behind the bench as there is nothing occupying that space currently. How many of you have garage stations, and how do they work?

[JSzymczyk 0]

my experience, just mine, says to not leave spools of thread and other stuff exposed. I just don't like it. They get dirty and dusty and degrade with exposure to UV- even indirect. As long as you keep your materials dry and in plastic bags and "rubbermaid" type totes, it should be OK. You could even get a few dessicant packs or those "closet dryer" things if you want. Keep some paradichlorobenzene moth balls in your natural materials. I know what you mean about space--- I tied for over 20 years before I was able to have a devoted little desk and material drawers. I still store most of my stuff in plastic drawers and totes, only I have the luxury of leaving my vise set up and my tools out. With toddlers, I only worried about small hooks getting away from me, thankfully that never happened- as far as I know. Keep a strong magnet around, and when you think you dropped a hook, sweep the floor and your clothes with it to find the stray hook.

[bluegill576 0]

For a place to store stuff, I have just started using one of those tower things that have a bunch of pull out bins. Easy to keep stuff organized and know where it is, I have each container for something such as furs, synthetic furs, thread, feathers (2 for these), ect.

[mybadhabit 0]

Sam's club has a 3' 10 drawer rolling storage unit, I have one of those and it holds a lot of stuff, but furs and feathers take up way more space than that, I have thought about making a spool holder for the drawer, but haven't found time or effort to do it just yet. one can find spool racks on the internet that are angled and don't take up much space except on the wall. I also have the problem of 6 cats, nice varied supply of dubbing, but hard on wire, thread and feathers, and I have to be extremely careful about leaving anything out, or it will disappear, so I feel your pain about having to put it up all the time.

 

I usually only tie when I can do it for 2 or 3 hrs at a time, or it just seems like too much of a hassle, and you've got to have it worse with a 2 yr old around. I keep most of the stuff I use most in a duffle bag, that I use to transport my tying stuff to demonstrations and classes for the fly fishing club.

 

If I remember right wasn't there a thread about showing off your tying benches or areas, if you can find that, it may have some ideas there, come to think of it I think it was in the hatches magazine.

 

Good luck, and I hope you are creative and inovative, and remember to share your ideas here for the rest of us.

 

Blane

[flytire 0]

get one of these

 

http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/

 

should hold your stuff AND keep the kids out

[wes917 0]

I have the same problem having a two year old myself, along with a new six week old that will be big enough in no time. I have been giving some thought to using a roll top desk that locks that way I can leave the vise etc setup and just lock the top. I have seen some really nice ones on craigslist but have been to slow to reply.

[bluegill576 0]

get one of these

 

http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/

 

should hold your stuff AND keep the kids out

Man that thing can hold a LOT!!!!

[poksal 0]

I have the same problem having a two year old myself, along with a new six week old that will be big enough in no time. I have been giving some thought to using a roll top desk that locks that way I can leave the vise etc setup and just lock the top. I have seen some really nice ones on craigslist but have been to slow to reply.

 

 

My primary space saver is an old machinist box, watch yard sales..

[mybadhabit 0]

get one of these

 

http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/

 

should hold your stuff AND keep the kids out

 

 

That looks to be a perfect tying station. Great link. thanks

[TheCream 0]

I am cramped on space right now, too. My tying area is hardly larger than the footprint of a standard size computer keyboard. Here is a pic for proof:

 

 

The trick, for me, is keeping my materials organized, and I use a series of cheap plastic drawers you can buy at WalMart. I have them stacked beside my tying area. I keep tools and spools of materials/thread not needed in a blue plastic Flambeau tackle box, the old top-opening style. All my paint for my poppers is stored in one plastic container, too. I don't have much room where I tie, so it's convenient for me to pull only the materials out that I have to have to tie what I want without cluttering everything up. I try to keep everything well organized, whch also helps. For example, I have a drawer for marabou, two for bucktails, one for feathers/herl, one for hackles, one drawer for flash materials, one for eyes/beads/cones, etc... That makes it easier for me to find what I need quickly and not get things lost.

 

I can't wait to get out of this current place and into an area where I'll have room for all this crap!

[cameron 0]

How many of you have garage stations, and how do they work?

 

I tie in my garage. I live in the Deep South where temps have been in the mid 90s since April (I exagerate the duration for effect, but it has been mid to upper 90s for a while). In the winter we see night time lows probably in the mid 20s. I use a propane heater in the winter and tie at night in the summer. I keep my materials in a small card catalog (wish I could find more) and plastic drawer units. I put large dessicant packs in every drawer. I haven't noticed any degradation in materials and I've been out there for about three years. I expect to see materials falling apart every season, but so far so good. With your weather I would say go for it, but remember to seal them up and keep them dry.