I mentioned during the off season that I’d been considering building something to better organize my fly tying tools, which up until now have been stored in a bunch of boxes and ziplock bags. I considered everything from full blown desks to much smaller portable tying stations. In the end I decided to go with a simpler portable tying table, which takes up less space and allows me to easily move my tying area around the house (or even on a trip).

The design I ended up using was based off this one. I used pine for the base and all of the other wood. It’s still pretty bare bones since I have only incorporated my main tools so far. As you can see, there’s lots of room for additional tools and containers, but it’s already much more functional than what I was working with before.

Initial version of my portable fly tying station

Features so far include:

• Metal rods to hold spools: thread, silk, tinsel, wire, etc
• Slots to hold main tying tools: scissors, whip finish tool, bodkin, thread bobbin, hair stacker, wax, etc
• Larger holes for containers
• Hangers for larger more awkward tools, such as hackle pliers
• Hole to hold my magnifying lamp
• Enough table space to hold my vice, a tying book and some materials
• Space under the rear ledge to store materials or containers

Possible additions/modifications I’m considering:

• Pull-out drawers under the ledge at the back to store hooks, bead heads and the like
• Additional metal rods to hold more spools
• Additional holes and hangers for more tools and containers
• Possibly a different finish for the base