New Fly Tying Bench

[Ron Eagle Elk]

My old bench was a 2 foot by 6 foot melamine top sitting on an old fold up table. Storage was ten or more large plastic containers holding various hair, hackle, chenille, etc. Every time I sat down to tie I'd kick over a stack of boxes and when I wanted something I had to dig through the boxes to find what I needed. Not any more!

My wife, VEE, made me buy these 8 drawer cabinets at Fred Meyer for $99 each. The drawers are plenty big with removable and adjustable dividers. I still keep the hair andf feathers in plastic zip-lock bags, but this system is so much neater. So I can find things quicker, I'm going to put label holder drawer pulls on each drawer so I know at a glance whats in each.

Each cabinet also has a swing out door on the side with cup hooks to hold all you hanging stiff, like flash material, pheasant tails, etc.

Thought I'd pass this along for those that might be looking for something new.

REE

[Desmond Wiles]

Look'n good Ron!

[Hywel]

Hey Ron,

That's a beautiful set-up!

I wouldn't know what to do if I were half as organized as you. My tying area was as neat as yours,...about a year ago. *g*

Hywel

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Hywell, that's a picture from the first day. You should see it now.

REE

[Wayne Kohan]

Looks mighty fine Ron. I felt pretty good about my fly tying area - I use an old computer hutch, but it doesn't have nearly enough storage. Do you have any problems with your domesticated animals getting into your stuff? I have a dachshund who thinks he's a goat, so I have to be careful with my materials.

Wayne

[Hywel]

Ron,

Phew! Now I don't feel so bad. My tying room looks like a candidate for the EPA super fund - and if I were to *really* organize it, I wouldn't be able to find things for months.

I was gonna show my wife your new cabinets - and knew the first thing she'd say was "Why can't you be that neat and organized?!"

Wayne,

My dog is smart enough not to go in my tying room lest something fall on her. *g*

Hywel

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Wayne,

We have two indoor cats and a dog. All of them are smart enough to stay out of the tying materials. I've left feathers, furs and everything else laying out for days (okay, maybe weeks) and they've never been touched. Knocking on wood here.

Hywell,

Getting things neat initially is not the problem. Getting my lazy butt to put things back where they belong when I'm done takes an act of Congress. It's not until I'm shamed into it by seeing others tying spots or taking a glance at my wife's tying station that I actually restore some semblance of order.

[mr trout]

My setup is 100% mobile at the drop of a hat. I have things in various compartmentalized boxes and bags which then all go into a large (14x20x10) inch tupperware. Vise has a separate carrying case for tools and vise. I live in a dorm room, so space is at a premium, and I have so far been able to keep things reasonable. It's also nice when I want to take a trip and bring along the gear.
I like your setup though, maybe someday if i settle down I will think about getting something nice set-up in a fixed location.

[John Hicks]

Damn Ron and you gave me crap about my neat tying station! For shame for shame. That station looks way too clean.

[Mike Etgen]

Very nice, Ron...especially the 8-drawered storage units you have. I've been looking for something with shallow drawers and the kind of depth I think you must have there.

I envy the discipline your cat(s) have. I've learned the hard way twice or three times that anything of an animal naute that's left out is fair game for our cats IF they're left in while we're gone or the door to the office/hobby room is left open - same for any loose flies laying around, though we've never had to extract a hook from a cat yet.

Anyway, very nice set up. When does Vickie get hers? ;)

[Hywel]

"My setup is 100% mobile at the drop of a hat."

Hey, so's mine. If I hire Mayflower Moving and Storage.

Ron,

My wife loves the idea of me getting a pair of those 8 drawer cabinets,...so do I. It means I can get even more "stuff" to put in them. *g*

BTW - if it takes an Act of Congress for you to put stuff back where it belongs, it would take an out-and-out miracle for me to do the same.

Hywel

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Hywel,

I'm in Davey Earl's winter steel swap,...and had some empty drawers so I just had to order a bunch of new stuff to fill 'em up.

REE

[Old Man]

I hate neat people, here is a picture of my mess.

Jim:beathead:

[Ron Eagle Elk]

OMJ,

Looks good to me. I bet you can lay your hands on any material you happen to have whenever you want.

Is that an English Leather bottle I see with the wooden top? Haven't seen one of those in years.

REE

[Old Man]

Wife got it for me about 100 years ago,or it just seems like it. I should keep it around for a antique. I never use the stuff as I shave when ever the mood suits me. At my age who would want to smell me.:rofl: :( :(

Jim

[Davy]

thats sweet there,, REE:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: , I haven't straightened mine up since the picture last year, never find anything if I did I am afraid.......

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Mines almost back to normal Davey, thanks to your winter steel swap and the marathon swap, not to mention filling my boxes again.

Our good buddy(?) Mike Etgen opened a can of worms though with his "When does VEE get her's?" question. I'm headed out this afternoon to bring home a couple more of those cabinets for her. That's the only bad thing about having a wife that ties also. Two of everything.

REE

[salt dog]

I used to have an office at home, with an architect's drawing board as my desk and fly tying bench; worked great. Then I had kids, and there went the office! Now, 18 years later, I'm back into tying and find my supplies growing larger by the week, and again need a designated tying table and area. Its hard to get anything done if I have to clean up after each session at the vise and put it all away.

Ron, thanks for sharing the layout of your superb work space, it looks like it would work great and gave me some good ideas about the permanent work space I am about to negotiate for.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Saltdog,

Your welcome. My only negotiation for my tying space is how big to make the wife's tying area.

REE

[salt dog]

Ron, I don't know whether having a spouse that ties helps, or not! Especially if you've got to buy 2 of everything and share space. Lol. Actually, I think it is really cool, and you're a lucky guy.

My wife sees fly tying as art, and is supportive of my efforts, and tying a large spey pattern on a hat pin for her helped too. I will probably have to organize her art supplies in order to obtain space for my tying desk, so we will be sharing work area. Unfortunately, she will see all of my growing pile of tying supplies, and may no longer buy into my rationale that its cheaper to tie than to purchase my flies. Oh well, once the camel's nose is in the tent...

[Ron Eagle Elk]

SaltDog,

Uh-oh, an artist. So is VEE. Painting (almost every medium), drawing, matting and framing, batik, basket making and old style Lakota quill work (what was used before glass beads). One of the reasons she gave up the dinning room as a tying area was to keep her craft room all to herself.

And, yeah, buying two of everything does get a little spendy, especially when she is one of those that walks into a fly shop and says "Do we have any of ________, we may need some some day", or when she starts looking at my 2 hander rods with lust in her eye.

REE