"A Place For My Stuff"

[John Wade]

I need a pointer and George Carlin is not available. My newfound fly tying project is starting to pile up on the dining room table and I haven't heard grumblings yet, but they are just around the corner. An entire desk is out of the question-no good space for now (John's Manly World of Fishing is too cold), so I am looking for a box of some type to store my tying goodies. I looked at some tackle boxes this am, and some looked okay, but your average tackle box seems to have too many "small" storage areas and not enough bigger spaces for things like long wads of hair or bucktails.
So I'm wondering, do any of you have any storage or organizing ideas that you like? What I would like is a "box" that I can work out of as well as pack up and work out of. Ideas?

[Squidly]

I use plastic drawer organizers that I bought at walmart. They are cheap and hold quite a lot. I used to lump them back and forth to fly tying class at the Bear's den without much trouble. You just have to make sure that you keep the unit tilted back so the drawers don't slide out. I have also added a salon organizer as my main base camp. It is approx 3' high 2 1/2' feet wide with 7 drawers and a large cabinet. It is on wheels so I can slide it around the room. The only drawback is that my wife keeps making fun of me for playing with in my salon! I bought the organizer at unfininished wood warehouse for I think $80.

[FishCT]

My wife made me clean up my act and bought me some plastic drawers that are on wheels. I think she got them at Bed, Bath, & Beyond or Wal-Mart. There are about six or seven drawers and I put bucktails in one, flash in another, synthetics in another, hooks and tools, etc. It works great. I wheel it out when I tie, and wheel it back into the closet when I'm done. No mess out in the open, means happy wife, and she lets me go fishing sometimes. :)
John-FishCT

[Pauper Piscator]

John,

I sometimes attend Fly Tying Meetings (NEFT) and I have a good protable system that keeps things pretty organized.

#1. A Tacklebox with various trays etc will keep your vice and other bulky or loose items relatively squared away. I like the ones with the indiviual boxes (Like Plano I think). Trays will allow you to customize contents. E.g. Salt water hooks versus fresh.

#2 Materials Storage. This one is good...

You Know those "Hanging File" portable file boxes? Get one and some hanging files. Most Fly tying materials can be squished fairly flat with no ill effects. Put materials in file and label. You can be as Obsessive Compulsive as you wish with your organization and labeling. Necks fit fine as do other fairly large materials. I do not really recommend this for glue or other volatile items that could potentially wreck a bunch of expensive materials. For any type of dry material, throw in a ziplock and then into the file. This works best for fairlt flat, compressible materials.

This system allows you to tailor the portable box for a particular fly or family of flies. You can keep the other materials in another box or a conventional file cabinet. Neat and portable and materials are easily retrieved as needed.

[chasinredfish]

I went to Home Depot and got three different sized plastic "hardware" storage boxes - the kind that you use for nuts and bolts. Two of them have a large drawer at the bottom that I use to store bucktails and necks. The drawers are clear so you can see into them without having to open them. I store everything in them.

[kujo24]

Disclaimer: I occasionally support IKEA- cheap, foreign furniture - spare me the lectures on supporting U.S. products etc. --123-3

Anyway, this does not necessarily answer your question about "box" storage, but for those interested in a small, potentially portable table, IKEA has a drop leaf table for like $20.00. I have one at home and it is awesome. I'll send a picture of my tying bench once I get home. I hung a small shelve on a wall above the desk to hold books, hook boxes, etc.

For storage, I use 1, 3-bin container on wheels (although, the wheels will soon be coming off- the things moves too easily on the wooden floors) from Walmart and there is a little tikes rubbermaid container that, with a little foam, makes a great homemade tool caddy/small storage bin, that fits on top of the 3-bin container...

I'll send pictures later...but check out the table at this site...I think that it is still $20...

http://www.ikea-usa.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=12&productId=12630&langId=-1&parentCats=10117*10310

[ruge13]

I like the file cabinate I idea....

currently I use the Wal-mart plastic drawer system, cost me around $20 to get 3 drwer systems, one large, one medium and one small. So far that is enough, but I am quickly running out of space...

You could always spring for one of those portable tying bags that the guys always have at the shows...they are $$$$$ though...

[DbleHaul]

Ditto on the WalMart plastic drawer system. It's amazing how much you can fit in those things. :cool:

[tyguy]

I started out with a wooden machinist's tool box and quickly outgrew it's real estate. I then bought a WalMart type plastic drawer unit (got mine at Lowes...), then outgrew that. I now have three plastic drawer units, all filled to the gills with "stuff". It's amazing how much "stuff" one can accumulate in a rather short period of time!

I now use the wooden tool box as my portable tying box.

My wife keeps telling me I could open my own fly shop with all the "stuff" I've accumulated. :)

[kujo24]

Here are the pictures that I promised...as I mentioned earlier, the leaf table is from IKEA and the storage bins are from Walmart. The Red rubbermaid container is the "little tikes" branch of rubbermaid, intended for kids to store their crayons, but I found a better use! Put a piece of foam or 2 and you have a tool caddy or you can get a fancy rubber one from renzetti for $28 bucks! I love their vises, but they can keep their expensive rubber...my 2 cents...Also, you'll notice that the little tikes container fits snuggly on top of the 4-bin container-- pure luck, but it works! :brow

As you can see I recycled an old shelf from our old apartment and use that to store books, fly boxes, etc. My fiance picked up the little red bin with the drawers that is on the shelf at the Christmas tree store for a buck! It's good for storing dumbbell eyes, etc. This entire setup only needs about 3 ft of wall space!

Another idea, I drilled a tiny hole in the wall and cut a straight piece of a metal hanger to use as a rack to hang my crystal flash and other long materials. The white thing on top of the desk is a piece of really expensive counter top. I can't remember the name, but I measured and marked out inch marks so I can quickly measure my material when tying...

Just some ideas I thought I would share. :-% Cheers, Kujo

[kujo24]

Two more pictures...

[AlderBrookFarm]

I too have a set of the roll around drawers, 4 thin, 3 deep and all 7 are full. I also don't have a tying area. I bought a base for my stand from Cabela's for $9.99 a few years ago and lots of times take the lid to one of those rubbermaid totes...the smaller ones that are about 12x16..set it in my lap and use it as my tying table while watching TV. Accomplishes several things 1st - it gives the illusion that you are spending quality time in the same room with your other half. 2nd - It makes you keep only the materials needed for the fly of the moment on your tying area 3rd - it's real portable, I've tied flies while riding in the car on long trips, 4th - you don't have to clear the table when dinner time rolls around. I'm sure I could list several more reasons :rolleyes: If I'm going off to a show to tie for the club the base is an advantage as I can always tie whereas sometimes the guys that only have clamps have trouble if the table supplied by the show is too thick for the clamp. When I go out tying I decide ahead of time what I am going to tie and put everything I need in the rubbermaid tote so I'm not lugging this huge box around. In a local store I found an adjustable strap with a handle that goes around the tote and velcro's closed so you have a handle to carry box with one hand....extremely handy and I've used it for lots of other things too.

[boba]

Rubbermaid makes fairly airtight boxes. I bought a bunch cheaply before Kmart went under. I still bag my materials within the boxes in Ziplocks with mothballs in them. I also keep fur materials in 1 gallon glass pickle jars (airtight, but since they are upright, perhaps not the choice for hackles which will bend and warp unless tightly packed).
Whatever you choose for storage, make sure to organize and label the containers with the type of materials stored in the container. Otherwise, when you accumulate a large amount, you will spend way too much time searching for the one item you need.

[John Wade]

Got the Rubbermaid gadget same as kujo pictured (but now I want the little red container waaah) and it works well.

[kujo24]

Hey John,

Not sure where you live, but I got the little red one at the Bellingham, MA Walmart.

[PeterG]

I use a Craftsman medium sized tool box with storage in the top as well as a lift out tray. I've separated the fresh and salt materials so it holds most of what I need at any given time. Most of my tying is done at Baymen Outfitters, so grab and go works well. My home storage is the two bottom shelves of a 2 door storage cabinet.

Pete :)