I am a man of many hobbies, however Fly-Tying is not one of them, Woodworking is however and I’ve been commissioned to make a fly-tying desk for a good friend of mine. It’s supposed to be a surprise, so I cant ask my buddy for any input, so here I am.
What do you look for in a fly-tying desk?
What things should I avoid making/doing?
What should the configuration of the drawers/storage devices be?
How much storage space do you think you need?
Working space?
Any and all input is appreciated.
You are going to get a lot of ideas.
I have had at least 4 different tying stations and feel that the questions you ask will be driven in a large part by where he will be tying…amount of available space, etc.
I had this made. You can’t see it but on the left side of the desk is a hole which you drop your scraps in and it goes into alittle draw to keep your tying area clean. On the right is a caddy for holding spools and what not. All the dowels come out to arrange as you please. It also has a magnetic strip and various size holes for tools.
He uses a small (and I mean small!) writer’s desk currently and his wife asked me to make him something that will give him more room because all of his tying stuff is almost always sprawled about their basement. On of his buddies that he knows personally will be contacting me soon with some ideas, but in the meantime I’d love to hear what you guys think! Right now, I’m thinking of making something with 34"x60" of workspace and loads of drawers for glue/line/wire/spools/etc.
I would think that having one large shallow drawer with pegs to store spooled material and thread would be nice. When they are left loose in the drawer they tend to tangle. If he uses a clamp on vise he will need a place to clamp it that doesn’t block any of the drawers. An inlay of some harder material so the wood isn’t damaged would be good also. Some vertical storage is a good idea. Drawers that are sized to any hold plastic containers he is already using would be handy.
I think all the sugestions are great. Just keep in mind that whatever you come up with, will eventually become too small if your friend is really into fly tying. That is just part of the sport of fly tying. With that thought in mind, I would recommend the “Little South” fly tying desk pictured on the home page of the link provided. It would be a good start and not take up too much room. You could always add to it later on as a gift from you by adding a chest of drawers on casters for more storage. The only change I would make to the tying desk pictured is to change from the center drawer to two smaller drawers on each side and that way a clamp-on vise would not block opening the drawer as “rainbow chaser” recommended. Here is the “link” that was provided:
I read a tip once that struck me as interesting. The guy had a file drawer with the standard file hanger system. He kept a lot of his tying materials in files . I sounded like a good way to keep some materials pre-sorted and easy to find.
I wonder (but don’t know) if lining a drawer with cedar sheeting would help to keep bugs away from furs and feathers?
Mine looks sorta like Duck’s last pic, only less organized. LOL
I would have him (or her) show you the chair they use and figure out the optimum height for the tying surface. I would make that surface very sturdy if possible, with a flat top and bottom and no fancy edge if they will ever be using a clamp vise. The whole thing needs to be solid, not at all wobbly, which to me means wide and deep. I prefer a white (dry erase) board tying surface of a couple square feet (say, 18 deep by 30 wide), so I can see materials, hooks, etc easily, I can write notes on it if needed, and so it will clean up rapidly. Drawers would, in a perfect world, include at least some that will hold a full length saddle without folding, spindling, or mutilating. Drawers should come out all the way, not partway, and have fairly easily grasped knobs. Brass card holders on the drawer fronts, like library card drawers have, would help labeling while allowing changes without damage. Thread racks like in the pics to one side, light mount above the center of the tying surface. Everything reachable from the chair, which limits the size of the thing, but to me, bigger is better, since tying materials increase in volume and complexity with time, regardless of the intent of the tier. No deep nooks and crannies for things to get lost in. Solid hardwood construction, felt lining in the drawers, cedar lining in at least some if I was building it, to keep the bugs out (the hackle drawers, for instance)… Surface smooth for easy care (polyurethane finish).
Would be easier to show you my dream tying bench if I already had it built. S
If I were to make the desk U shaped, how much surface space is a must? For instance, if I needed to trade off working area to make it U shaped, how much surface space is required?
Can anyone confirm or deny this? Are there a lot of bugs that get into fly tying materials?
What’s best for you guys right now? His current desk is 22 inches high and I’ll be investigating this more as he has a bad back, but I’d love to hear what you guys think/have to say
What would you like to see the surface made out of? Melamine? Laminate? (I saw your white board comment later )
The whole desk surface as a white board?
Also, he’s been tying for a long time so I’m thinking something like 20 deep and something like 60 wide? What do you guys think?
Are there any other ways to store a saddle? I think but I’m not sure, that my friend stores them on a round piece of wood using zip ties to attach them around the circumference of the piece of wood. Let me know what you guys think.
Would you guys recommend using metal drawer slides? Or do you prefer something that allows you to pull the drawer out and get into it?
Would the felt lining ruin/interfere with the materials such as feathers/fur?
And like I mentioned above, can anyone confirm or deny the use of cedar to keep bugs away? And how common are bugs in materials?
Yes, bugs get into tying stuff. I have dead bugs in some things I can show you. I just like the smell of cedar S. As for a surface, I do like the dry erase type (whatever white plastic they use), but would lay it over something solid like oak. I would also make it removable at some point twenty years down the way when it needs to be replaced. 60 inches is real wide, and that would eliminate things built on the sides of that being in reach. (That being said, whatever surface you give me, I fill it up with stuff). The felt bottom drawers would, I assume, pick up lint and other detritus from the materials, but hard bottom drawers get rattly when they are full of hard items, which I don’t like. A thin cork bottom laminated to the wood (sticky sheet or just cut to fit) might work well and would be in the theme more than felt. IF it is removable cleaning would be easier.
One thing I did not mention, but others did have in their pics, is a pegboard vertical surface to hang things on. I have had that behind my desk several times, and it always starts out nice and ends up messy, but it is a good place to organize things, especially since almost everything comes in packaging for pegboards anyway.
As for storing saddles, unless I was going to go through one fairly rapidly, I would prefer to store it in a dark place away from dangers. Those things aint cheap.
Height is important to me. I get tired and achy if things are not set up at the right heights. But everyone has their preferences. Have him try various heights with his current or expected vise, which is the item that sort of dictates the posture of the tier. And if he has a bad back, a good chair might mean a lot to him.
These are all my personal opinions, so others may have different feelings.
Re: the cedar IMO it is not enough of a deterent to really rely on it…and I have read that somewhere written by a museum person. I suppose if cost and ease of construction aren’t factors …what is the harm.
Re: your question to me…here is a picture of my current make shift area. You can see the shelving I have there. The one on the right I really like…it is a scrapebooking storage and meets the recommendation of being the size to handle full hackle skins…I also use one for fur…it is 14" deep …the cases are 3" tall and the shelves 31/2" apart. BTW your friends circular hanger is probably for flash material and not feathers.
So if making a station out of wood I would make similar drawers on the wings of the U. I have the distances such that I could reach the width of the working surfaces while sitting…though some areas might require standing to reach…stuff not used often. I see something U shaped as giving up working space.
I would disagree with rc on the drawers for thread …drawers are to precious to store something like that since there are stands that hold thread spools and are very accessable.
I saw a flat slab of magnetic material at a fly tying show last weekend that looked just like whiteboard. An insert of that in the center might be great for keeping hooks in place.
Indented areas in front for holding beads and such would be terrific. I like those on my portable tying station.
I tend to tie in front of my computer a lot, or with my computer just off to my left, because I often use the illustrated tying instructions on the Net as I tie. How about an appropriate shelf for a monitor?
I use a turntable tool caddy, positioned to my right cuz I’m right handed, set back a bit but within easy reach. Having space for that would be nice. Having it built-in would be a grand custom touch. I use the space in front of it to set down the materials I am using it for the specific fly I am tying within easy reach. I’d keep that space clear.
The space to my left is used up by my lamp and magnifying glass combo. Having a hole there that would get the power cord out of the way would be nice. Even nicer would be a built in power source/anti-surge bar just below the desktop with a cord long enough to reach the nearest wall outlet.
I have a tall waste basket that I position between my knees to catch waste as I tie. They also sell cloth waste catching basket attachments for tying desks. Could you build one of those into the desk?
The various glues and epoxy compounds we use for tying are a problem. If they leak or tip, they can cause a mess. Or even a glue bottle permanently attached to your desk. How about an easy to replace standardized container vessel for tying glues. For example, a hole cut into the back left side of the desktop that fits a standard plastic sandwich meat container?
I hope these ideas help and promise not to apply for a patent on any of them.
This is my desk
