Make Your Own Flexi-Ties (Soft Twist Ties)

by bobzjr in Workshop > Organizing

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Make Your Own Flexi-Ties (Soft Twist Ties)

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Make your own soft twist ties quick and easy. 

I have called industrial distributors trying to find this type of item in bulk.
After many calls, I could not locate it, so I thought I could just make my own!

This is my first instructable.

You Only Need a Few Items.

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MATERIALS
You'll need some solid core single-strand wire.  I recommend 8 gauge copper.
STRANDED WIRE WILL NOT WORK.
Single strand is best because it is stiff, pliable and can hold a shape.
You can probably use coated or uncoated wire.
I just happened to have uncoated left over in the garage.

You will also need some soft rubber hose
Notice that you want a hose that is somewhat soft and flexible.
I found some while cleaning the garage today. 
The hose I have appears to have an outside diameter of about 3/8 inch.
Looks like the hose wall is about 1/8 inch thick. 
And finally the hole in the hose appears to have an interior diameter about 1/8 inch.
These are approximate measurements.
I believe this hose is a lawn mower fuel line hose that I got from Home Depot.


TOOLS
You will need some needle-nose pliers.
Also you will need some wire cutters.

Cut the Wire and Tubing.

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Decide how long you want your flexible tie to be.  In this illustration, it is about 10 inches long. 
You'll need to cut the wire about 3 inches longer than the hose.  So the wire was about 13 inches long.

The wire will be longer so you can bend an eyelette on each end of the tie.

Insert the Wire and Bend the Eyelettes.

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Now, use your needle nose pliers to bend an eyelette on one end of the wire.
Then insert the wire into the hose.
Finally, bend an eyelette on the other end of the hose.

The eyelettes serve a few purposes.
  1. They hold the hose in place.
  2. They serve as handles when manipulating the tie.
  3. They also serve as hooks if you want to hang your item.

Use Your New Flexi-Tie

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Now use your new Flexi-Tie.
Can be used to hold many different things.
This picture shows it hanging a 50 foot extension cord.
Can also be use to hold rope or other various cables.

Use a really big one for handling water hose.

Other uses - modify the item and use like a gorillapod to help you with your camera.
I may put up some instructions on that later...