I've got to get organized!

I've done quite a bit of tying in the last couple of weeks, and it has become apparent to me that I've got to find a way to organized my stuff. I currently have a custom box that holds my vise, thread, tools and wire, and everything else is in a cardboard box. I can't find anything easily, and I need to do something different. I'm trying to figure out the best way to approach this from an economical view. I'm considering some plastic wall mount hardware drawers for the small items (about $ some wall mount bins for the medium sized items, and I'm not entirely sure yet about feather storage. I think I'll also have to get some sort of tabletop workstation to hold the tools and materials I'm tying with. I've also seen guys use a plano 9606 tackle box especially for travel, but one won't hold all of my stuff. How do you guys keep your materials stored and organized so you can find them easily that doesn't cost more than the materials stored in it?

[MOturkE]

Ol' Blue,

Here's the stuff you probably need to look at to get re-organized...

[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/organize/:d7cc8]Organization info[/url:d7cc8]

[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/tyingtips/part332.html:d7cc8]Tying tip - Hanging Files[/url:d7cc8]

I have very little tying materials and most everything is in an accordian-style plastic file box, gotten from Wally World for under $10. Organized and portable!

Hope this helps.

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There's almost nothin' wrong with the first lie, it's the weight of all the others holdin' it up that gets ya'! - Tim

[This message has been edited by MOturkE (edited 06 February 2006).]

il' blue;
sterlite makes several size 3 drawer files. The drawers are clear so you can see whats in them. I've got 2 medium and 2 small that hold everything but my capes. The large size would hold them too.
I've got less than 20 buck in them.
The hanging file is a great idea. I've seen a clear plastic protable hanging file box with lid that I plan to get and use for my feathers and fur.

[oldfrat]

I don't have an area I can dedicate to tying so I tie at my home office desk.

I have a tying station from Cabela's. White plastic about 12" X 15". It has a place to mount a vise, storage for 22 spools of thread, 14 tool holders, and wells to hold head cement and dubbing wax. Easy to move into place or to store on top of a cabinet.

I use three covered plastic boxes from Wally World. One for fur, one for feathers, and one for other materials.

I have a Stanley box picked up from Home Depot. Black and yellow with a handle. Clear cover and about 30 removeable box compartments. It works great for storing extra thread spools, beads, and hooks organized by size.

This isn't a perfect system, but it works for me. The only box that I have to spend much time pawing around in looking for stuff is the "other materials" box when I'm looking for something I use infrequently so it is on the bottom.

[Al Beatty]

Hi ol' blue,

I don't know your space situation but Gretchen and I put up peg boards and keep most everything right in front of us. We tend to forget about stuff if it is out of sight. Take care & ...

Tight Lines - Al Beatty [url=http://www.btsflyfishing.com:6035e]www.btsflyfishing.com[/url:6035e]

I use a clear plastic portable cabinet like jack mentioned, only considerably larger.

from top to bottom, I store...

-dubbing
-capes
-synthetics (z-lon, antron, superhair, rubber leg material, swiss straw etc)
-more of above
-hare's masks, zonker strips and other furs...
-buck tails deer and elk hair, moose, calftail, etc.
-more feathers
-misc odds and ends
-more of above

that handles the bulk of my material.
the rest is strewn about a rather large tying bench (6'8"x3'0")

mgj

[fishyfranky]

I recently dedicated a whole table to fly tying (instead of a little bit of desk space in front of my keyboard):

As you can see, hooks, thread, etc. go into hardware bits&pieces drawers while the bigger stuff goes into big plastic drawers. Those resealable food containers are a great for strung hackle, marabou, etc.

Those drawers tend to go on sale often at wally's or other stores so keep a lookout.

[hikepat]

Had the same issue come up. I found what for me was a new way to go. Took a batch of 3-ring binders and some of the sports card holders {the type for baseball cards etc} to put all of my carded yarn, v-rib, small deals of rabbit strips, carded chenille and other small items in. Picked up some of those pen and pencil holders made for school kids, made of thick plastic that go into 3-ring binders for fur and other larger items. The one trouble was the three ring binders were not tall enough for the capes so they just sit out in their original plastic bags. Now I can flip through all my yarn and chenille looking for just the right color. I was lucky to get some 3-ring used binders for free so the total cost was less then $15 for all.

Some of the larger carded items did have to have the edge of one side of the cards cut off but after that they fit into the sport card holders just fine. The small bagged items like the rabbit strips were left in the original bags and put into the card holders.

What was real nice about all of this was just how easy it is to find what I need and how few 3-ring binders were needed.

My dubbing is still keeped in a fly shop bought dubbing box which keeps it close to hand at all time.

For the flash I screwed to the wall a tie rack that holds it all close to hand and ready for use and keeps it from getting taggled up. I also put the bagged Yak hair and other long streamer hair on the same rack.

Amie my fishing partner is very happy with the results.

For the hooks a inexpensive small draw system from the hardware store like those used for screws works great

I will also note I still have some bins of material in the cabinet for those odd ball items that rarely get used. But since they are ones I do not need very often I have not seen a need to orginize those items up.

[hikepat]

Forgot to add. I use an large xmas cookie tin to keep all the maraboo feathers in.

[gadabout]

After over 25 years of doing it I've figured out that getting organized is one of the most important aspects of fly tying. There are many ways to go. A lot depends on how much space you have available. The others have suggested some good ideas, so I'll just give you a few of the tricks that I use to make things easier.

I use zip-lock bags a lot. They are the best invention to come to fly tying in the last 50 years! Let's say you have a half dozen similar materials in different colors. Maribou, for example. If they're each in a zip-lock bag, take a stapler and staple all of the bags together at the bottom. Now instead of rummaging through all of your materials to find the color maribou you need, all you have to do is find this one bunch of bags.

Another thing to keep in mind is that many materials come in large bags that take up a lot of space. You can often find a smaller bag and cut the item down into smaller pieces so it will fit in a much smaller bag. For example, a long ringneck pheasant tail feather can be cut down this way. Always keep the label from the original bag and put it inside the new bag.

I keep things like threads and flosses in small compartmented clear plastic boxes. Each compartment is just wide enough to allow a spool to lay down horizontally in it so you can see it easily.

Get a small box of index cards. Every time you buy a new material, put an index card in the box for it and arrange them all alphabetically. If you want to tie a particular fly and you can't remember whether you have all the materials you need for it, just look in your index box rather than rummaging through all your stuff.