The market is littered today with fly tying stations ranging from just under $100, barely enough to balance a spool of thread, to those costing in the upwards of several hundred dollars. Oh yes, they are quite catchy to the eye, but are they really worth the money? No, I don’t think so. Do you even need a fly tying station? No, probably not. But if you are like me and need to add that extra zing to your fly tying man cave, then look no further! I will show you how to build a cheap yet functional tying station for just under $30. Hey, maybe it’s not what an A.K. Best would use, nor a Hawgdaddy, but it’s well worth the money in my opinion. Just tell people that Insane uses one, so it must be cool. 
Ok, here is the quick and dirty version.
Materials and Tools needed:
some sort of drill
saw
tape measure (you don’t really need it…)
3/8″ drill bit
1/8″ drill bit
hole cutting bit
wood glue
3/8″ wooden dowels
1/8″ wooden dowels
magnetic tape
3 wooden cutting boards of different sizes
The power tools should be easy to come by. If you don’t have them, don’t go out and buy one for this project. The thrifty man borrows stuff! You can find the wooden dowels, magnetic tape, wood glue, and cutting boards at Wal-Mart. When I built mine, I had found a 3 pack of wooden cutting boards for about $10. I haven’t looked since to see if they still have them, but don’t get anything fancy. As an alternative you could just cut some scrap boards to make your surfaces. Now, let’s get started….
I was too cheap to go out and recreate the bench from scratch, so I took mine apart. Overlook the holes that are already there until I get to that point. These are the three cutting boards I got from Wally World before I cut them.
Step1: Take the largest board and use for the base. Using the 3/8″ drill bit, bore the six holes as shown in the image. I put a magnetic strip of tape on the side of the base that will be facing me. Use more or less according to your own needs. This is an attempt to keep hooks from getting knocked off in the floor. The grooves around the cutting board also help. Mine already came with the grooves, but I supposed if you are an extremely capable router guy, then you could cut your own if your cutting board doesn’t come with them.
Step 2: Take the next smallest board and cut it in half longway. Notice I am not using dimensions. Keep in mind this is a general plan, and you can modify it however you please. Using the 3/8″ drill bit, bore the four corner holes as shown in the picture. Make sure the distance between the two holes, on a single side, match up to the holes already drilled in the base of the station. The other holes of varying sizes that you see are used to hold your tying tools such as scissors, bobbins, and etc. Figure out what tying tools you want to organize and drill the holes accordingly. The height of the dowels will depend on how high you want these shelves. I used glue on mine because the boards kept sliding down the dowel once I pieced this whole thing together.
I also put a strip of magnetic tape on both shelves which I use to hold flies while they are drying and such.
Step 3: Now take the smallest board and cut it in half, longway of course. Both of these pieces are the same length. The perspective is a little off on this image, you will see why in a few minutes. Using the 3/8″ drill bit, bore the four holes as pointed out in the figure below. As before, make sure the distance between the holes, on a single side, match up with the two holes already drilled in the middle part of the base section.
Next, you will use the hole cutting drill bit (my own slang for this specific drill bit), and bore the larger holes in the base of this section. These holes are strictly for organizational purposes and can be modified to meet your specific needs. Next you will use the 1/8″ drill bit to bore all the holes in the top portion. The 1/8″ dowels sections will be used to store your thread spools. Cut the 1/8″ dowels to whatever link you want and glue them in the holes you just drilled. I’m not sure if I mentioned, but you also need to glue the 3/8″ dowels in the appropriate holes shown in figure. Again, the height will be according to what you are comfortable with.
Step 4: We will now begin to piece this thing together. I don’t glue the dowels on the bottom side so I can disassemble the tying station if I need to. Put the two pieces together as shown in the figure below.
Step 5: Take the section you just pieced together and fit it into the main base of the tying station. Look at the figure below if you get confused.
Step 6: Don’t quit on me now…you are almost done! Fit the final two sections into the main base section as shown in the below figure.
Now, all the money you saved on the tying station can be used to purchase the tying materials. Believe it or not, there are ways to save money on materials as well. That could be a future Insane Tactic. Let me know how this project works out for you. Best of Luck!
God Bless,
Insane
Man if my space was that clean! I might get something done. Nice work!! i like the use of cutting boards.
Clean!? Ha! Want to know why it’s so clean? Insane just now unpacked that sucker at his house. Just wait until he’s tied a few bluegill poppers.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but nice writeup, Insane.
hawgdaddy
Sir, you are very wrong….I unpacked it a few months ago and have tied quite a few flies since. But I will admit that it hasn’t always been this clean. Last weekend I finally got my tying room in order, so now my production rate should drastically increase…or something like that.
I will build you one for $50…
Ha no thanks. My wife bought me one of the fold top tying desks from cabelas. That why i have such a mess, just fold it up and it disappears. Its nice, but not much room for storage.
Insane,
Great article! Clever use of materials, too.
Now, as a government job, you could add a few non-functioning $4000.00 parts.
Reed
P.S. – I notice your river levels aren’t bad — http://waterdata.usgs.gov/al/nwis/rt
Ours here in NH are all blown out.
Reed,
Our water levels have been great lately, but they might not be after the tornadoes go through today. It’s been nasty the last few hours. If we don’t get enough rain to mess with the streams, I’m going fishing for a bit in the morning. Take care,
Nathan
Reed,
You seem to know how we do things in the Government. However, I see some questions that might be raised. I really didn’t check the ergonomics of this tying station, nor did I check it’s compliance with all our security codes. I do know that it’s Y2K compliant…but that’s about it for now. Further testing will be needed to ensure everything is up to Uncle Sam’s standards!
I had actually thought about tossing a line in the morning, but I don’t think it will be possible. Perhaps it was the entire yard of sod I laid, or all the rain and tornadoes we received this evening. Yes, we actually laid sod through the rain and lightning. A weather siren in my backyard was going off as i was finishing my yard. Seven pallets of sod and eitht hours later…….I am absolutely bushed!
wet lines,
Insane
Seven pallets! if I would have Known that, I would of never offered my help! My back hurts thinking about it.
Here’s my suggestion: Go to a used (very used) office fixture store and purchase an office desk that has “seen better days”. It wil make a superb fly-tying bench (if you have room in your home for it). You may also want to purchase an office furniture item that goes behind the desk, sort of a
buffet or credenza in which to store boxes, cans, jars, and packages of fly-tying materials, tools, etc. Lastly, at most department stores you an find plastic racks with many small drawers to fit on top of the used desk or credenza. The small drawers are great for hooks, spools of thread, eyes, tinsel, ribbing material, etc., etc., etc.
Insane,
Now, go back out there and turn it all green side up.
Reed
[...] post for fly fishermen on building a fly tying station at The Tennessee Valley Angler. Author, Insane, states that it can be made for under $30. Real good price when you [...]
Jerry,
You just about described my tying desk, all except for the desk itself, which I bought new from a retail store for $20. I’m pretty sure it was meant to be a child’s computer desk.
Insane,
Don’t listen to Reed. How do you expect the roots to get the sunlight they need if you turn the green side up?
hawgdaddy
Reed,
And here I was thinking all of the grass was brown and dead…
Jerry,
That’s a very thrifty idea, but I have a pretty small house and don’t have the room for such a purchase.
Hawgdaddy, that was exactly my thinkin’…. See! Us Alabama boyz are pretty darn smart if you ask me!
Another comment on Dewayne’s tying station. Once while over at his place, I saw a nice advantage of his little station as opposed to a tying desk like mine. He was able to pretty much move his entire tying production to a TV tray in front of the television for the big game. He could tie flies while watching. Now, I’m not a big TV fan, but if you’re going to be there, you might as well tie some flies while you’re at it. I can move my stuff there, too, but I have to gather it together first. Dewayne just moves his little station and everything is already there together and easily portable to another room.
Nathan
I believe the little table I attatched my station to was only $10. You could use anything pretty much. It does keep you semi productive while you watch a movie or game on the television. Perhaps the thing I like most, is the station’s ability to be taken apart and stored within minutes. Like I said, it’s just a suggestion on how to save some money, but it’s loaded with many other benefits as well.
Insane
[...] Instructions on how to build your own [...]
[...] all most of your fingers and can work a saw and a drill, this might be something you can take on. Tennessee Valley Angler has put together a nice little tutorial on how to create your own tying table. Check it [...]
I am just starting to get into tying (and we are in the process of moving to an apartment), so this will be perfect! Also, would be perfect to get the “insane” list of how to get the tools needed cheaply…
Thanks a lot, and plan to make something very similar to this really soon.
Riot,
Thanks for the comment to Insane’s article. I’m not sure he’s looking at this much these days, so I’ll give you some tips.
Look for inexpensive used fly tying gear on ebay. You can sometimes find a decent vise from a maker like DynaKing or Renzetti for a reasonable price. Another option when you’re beginning is to purchase a good beginners kit. This is what I did. I got a cheap beginners kit from Cabela’s and it was good enough to get me started, but I’ve replaced every single item with better quality stuff over time.
This looks like an excellent (but pricey) kit if you think you’ll take it seriously:
http://www.flyfishingoutfitters.com/fly_tying_kits-dyna-king-dyna-king_kingfisher_fly_tying_kit_001kfkit
A real cheapskate option: check out the book The Curtis Creek Manifesto. It has some for-real budget options for getting started in fly tying. Since I’m on a simplicity kick these days, I would probably do something like this if I was just starting out today.
Or search for “do it yourself fly tying kit” to find some interesting ideas like this one:
http://www.eflytyer.com/tools/The%20Engleman_vise.html
Take care,
Nathan
Insane,
Followed your plans for the fly tying desk! I am not very handy but gave this a shot. It came out just fine and all for $27.30. Thanks for your suggestion on this. Very pleased. You are welcome to fish my home waters (Upper Connecticut River) any time you get to northern NH.
David Lipkin
Thanks for your comment, David. If I could ever get Insane to go fly fishing any more, then maybe he’d take you up on your offer and let me tag along!