Anyone else got a cableties jones?

[peeceebee]

I'm just finishing up wiring up my new project studio, and I gotta admit there's something disproportionately satisfying about bundling up that rats nest of cables with cableties-

Kinda makes me go all shivery- Every time I've done a major wiring job in the past, the same thing always happens.

(Yeah, ok... I guess I should get out more- )

[Jules]

My junior engineers like to use cable ties... I am old school and tie a knot... secretly... I know they die a little inside every time they see me do that!

SUFFER YOU CABLE TIE FREAKS!

[pounce]

i still like to use tie line on mine, as i know well the configuration changes. it's my theatre/live background. and i greatly prefer it to the above two methods.

ps: knots are a bad bad thing

[Synth80s]

One big roll of velcro tape and a sharp pair of scissors replaced almost all my plastic cable ties.

Viva La Velcro!!!

-Synth80s

[themaidsroom]

i have weekly, sometimes twice weekly cabletie fetish spasms...
right now i have clear plastic canister w/ a screwtop lid w/ three sizes of cable ties
- or what's left of
them - and a diagonal cutter - sitting underneath the moog - waiting -
waiting - guitar cables - xlr cables - tube mic cables - they all must be tied
if my ocd is really acting up i might re-tie a cable tie that for some
reason didn't seem right, felt off just a little bit
but that's only once in awhile

be well

- jack

[rainsinvelvet]

Ahh yes. But wait till you color code them by length. Then you've gone in deep...
(yes, I'm there )

ERic

[adam_w]

Hey Jules..get yer ass down to B&Q on the north circular and get some velco cable ties in you luddite ! pre-cut in packs of 10 with a slot that goes around cables so they are permanently attached...fetching red...stops bands inadvertantly nicking your leads..mmmmm...nice !

[Curtis Franklin]

so you all must be fans of the planet waves cables the COME WITH TIES!!! I know i am. plus they have oxygen free ones available with cool swivel connectors to alleviate stress.

tying up cables is like tying up a woman that likes to be tied up

thumbsup

[Jules]

Saw this guy at an AES show..

Seems to have all you junkies ever need....

http://riptie.com/

[rainsinvelvet]

Originally Posted by Jules

Saw this guy at an AES show..

Seems to have all you junkies ever need....

http://riptie.com/

....drool.....

ERic

[Jules]

He sells them in huge rolls. You just tear one off when you need it..

Seemed v cool

[Jeff A. Roberts]

mmmmmmmmmmmmm, velcro.

I'm a velcro fetishist, recovering tie wrap guy.

For everyone out there that's still into tie wraps, make sure that you have CLOSE CUTTING wire cutters. That's so that when you trim your tie wraps you won't leave little hand slicing sharp nubs on your tie wraps.

Close cutting wire cutters are only ground on the back side of the blade so you can nip really close to your target area. Hard to find but well worth it.

Ripties forever!

[Bob Ross]

Glad trash bags used to come with yellow plastic reusable tiewraps, a thin strip w/ a serrated edge & square hole in the end. This is my absolute favorite method of temporarily securing coiled cables; I must have collected a hundred of them over the years, & they're on all my non-permanent cables. Sadly, Glad no longer includes these w/ their garbage bags.

[Stizz]

Originally Posted by Jeff A. Roberts

mmmmmmmmmmmmm, velcro.

I'm a velcro fetishist, recovering tie wrap guy.

For everyone out there that's still into tie wraps, make sure that you have CLOSE CUTTING wire cutters. That's so that when you trim your tie wraps you won't leave little hand slicing sharp nubs on your tie wraps.

Close cutting wire cutters are only ground on the back side of the blade so you can nip really close to your target area. Hard to find but well worth it.

Ripties forever!

But then what would I do with my cable tie guns???? That is THE tool for the cable tie fetishist

[Jeff A. Roberts]

Uhhh, wrap 'em if you've got'em?

A well equipped cable tie fetishist with a cable tie gun and some close cutting nippers should be as dangerous as my dear departed father-in-law was with his Dymo label maker. Everything that he owned was labeled. At least once.

Stizz must have some seriously bundled up cables..........

Ripties forever.................rrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiippppppppp!!

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by Synth80s

One big roll of velcro tape and a sharp pair of scissors replaced almost all my plastic cable ties.

Viva La Velcro!!!

-Synth80s

I used to do a live synth/guitar/etc echo loop solo act. At the peak there were something like 84 MIDI and audio cables. Let's not even talk about wall warts and the occasional IEC.

Velcro tape (the non-adhesive kind with hooks on one side and the fuzzy stuff on the other -- I used to get mine at the hardware superstore) saved my backside and what little sanity I must have had in the first place to endeavor on such a musical quest (which I did over a period of 6 or 7 years, many score shows).


Velcro tape is a heavensend.

[djwayne]

You haven't lived until you've done industrial wiring...hundreds of tie wraps everyday, tie wrap guns were mandatory.....every wire had to be as neat as a pin, and any tangles smoothed out so it looked like freshly combed hair, a tie wrap every 6". All corners, the wires had to be bent at 90 degree angles, all perfectly straight, so it looked like un-cooked spaghetti, bundled up in neat formations. No stress on any wire or connection allowed. By the time we were done, it'd look like a piece of artwork.

Yes folks, I did this everyday for 12 years....it also took two years traing to do it right.

Cable ties on regular wire is alright, but I'd hesitate to use the tie wrap gun and tie wraps on mic cables, or midi cables, as it might damage the cable by being to tight, I'd opt for the velcro solution, or trim the ties with side cutters instead.

[max cooper]

I found out about these 'bongo ties' from working in the film biz; they're absolutely great.

http://www.evsonline.com/merchant2/m...roduct_Count=0

[JoeyM]

Originally Posted by max cooper

I found out about these 'bongo ties' from working in the film biz; they're absolutely great.

BONGO TIES BONGO TIES: EVS - Express Video Supply, Inc

Those look real nice. At first I wondered if anyone sold rubber band on a roll with a cutting blade that you could take what you need and cut it, attach wood pieces. But when you coil up 5 cables wrapped with them you'd think the wood piece or even the rubber's own inherent grip would grab other wraps, like a worse version of:

*Velcro: As someone said, they're dreadlocks. I'm using those now, but they unravel, or stick to one another. Like a Taiwanese socket set, when you really need them to work they will bring you down.

*White zip ties, the one-use clicking nooses. They slip up and down the cables. Useless.

I know there must be some common wrapper that sticks to the cables like rubber on the inside, yet attaches like velcro or stiff wire, and an outer layer that dosen't catch on other cables.

Any insights or great revelations? stike

[dfarness]

I've done some major AVID installs and I must admit. There's a certain pleasure in going in to cable tie everything into place for a nice finished look. I usually route power first. Then audio and video. Lately, I've been trying to leave a little slack in the ties for easy removal. They can be a real bitch if cinched too tight. Those bongo things look way cool. I'll have to check em out.

[jayfrigo]

Live sound guy told me about this nickel apiece ghetto solution:

Hair Ball - 1/4inch diameter twin ball - elastic band - # 3x series

It was funny to see this heavy metal show with girl's hair elastics with the balls on the end on every cable on the stage. Had to admit though, it's cheap, effective, and pretty clever.

[JoeyM]

Cool! Worth a try jayfrigo, thanks a lot

[dubrichie]

Originally Posted by Curtis Franklin

tying up cables is like tying up a woman that likes to be tied up

thumbsup

mmm... techie erotica money shot...

[macr0w]

As someone who has worked in telecom for the last 15 years I have use countless thousands of tiewraps.

In my studio on my gear I use velcro. I like the ones that have a loop in them for attaching them to one of the cables and wrapping around the others.

Like these.

They are the bomb.

[RTR]

Originally Posted by Curtis Franklin

so you all must be fans of the planet waves cables the COME WITH TIES!!! I know i am. plus they have oxygen free ones available with cool swivel connectors to alleviate stress.

tying up cables is like tying up a woman that likes to be tied up

thumbsup

Love my Planet Waves tie's..I also use velcro!!!

[firby]

There is a special designated tool just for this purpose. Don't use a pair of side cutters or whatever and be a caveman. The tool pulls the cable ties forward a little bit before it snips them off. Thats the way to go Joe. You can get those tools anywhere but I see them at graybar and the like.

Generally I am a velcro guy now. I like those plastic things that have adhesive on the back and a passageway for the wire tie, then I wire tie in a piece of velcro, particularly one of those pieces that has the hole that you can pull the velcro through.

Originally Posted by Jeff A. Roberts

mmmmmmmmmmmmm, velcro.

I'm a velcro fetishist, recovering tie wrap guy.

For everyone out there that's still into tie wraps, make sure that you have CLOSE CUTTING wire cutters. That's so that when you trim your tie wraps you won't leave little hand slicing sharp nubs on your tie wraps.

Close cutting wire cutters are only ground on the back side of the blade so you can nip really close to your target area. Hard to find but well worth it.

Ripties forever!

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by Synth80s

One big roll of velcro tape and a sharp pair of scissors replaced almost all my plastic cable ties.

Viva La Velcro!!!

-Synth80s

Velcro tape is the quickest. When I was doing a one-man ambient echo loop electronica show (with nearly 90 cables including power), I used Velcro a lot since it's so quick. And you can just stick the Velcro tabs to each other in a big ball so they don't get lost.

Aligator ties are almost as quick but it may be difficult to find appropriate sizes. (*The little plastic strips that the still include with some expensive spread trash bags, with the toothed edges and little slot the teeth slip through and 'lock' into) are cheaper (if you can find them -- I'm pretty sure you can still buy them in bulk, but there's an economy of scale, there.)

And there's still string...

I used one way tie wraps in my old project studio and when it came time to cut everything apart, the cables tended to be so tightly bundled, it was kind of a hassle.

[macr0w]

Originally Posted by firby

There is a special designated tool just for this purpose. Don't use a pair of side cutters or whatever and be a caveman. The tool pulls the cable ties forward a little bit before it snips them off. Thats the way to go Joe. You can get those tools anywhere but I see them at graybar and the like.

That is the gheyest tool I've ever seen. I can't believe someone would waste time and money buying and using it.

That thing is definitely for the retired hobbiest. Sort of like a Dremel Tool.

[dbbubba]

Originally Posted by macr0w

That is the gheyest tool I've ever seen. I can't believe someone would waste time and money buying and using it.

That thing is definitely for the retired hobbiest. Sort of like a Dremel Tool.

What?
I couldn't even do the restoration on my MCI JH-538C without the Dremel tool!
I use mine all the time!
They are almost a must have tool!

I have had countless hex head screws that were stuck on my MCI.
Cut a slot with the Dremel tool, pop it out with a slot head and replace it with a new, stainless steel screw.
I will have replaced all of the original screws on the top of my console when I am finished.
Doing all one hundred or so screws costs barely $50.00

Cross threaded rack screws that have stripped philps head slots?
Use a Dremel tool to cut a new slot head groove.
Get a big slot head and back the thing out!