They came in a bag, I just find it easier and neater to deal with them this way when they get tossed off in a toolbox or the random kitchen junk/fastener drawer.
Ok, now imagine you have like 4000 of them, which normally just fit in a normal sized ziplock bag. Bro is going to sit there for literally hours threading them onto another zip tie.
Zip tie one around them all, with the heads up, and stick a caribiner around the loop one. Then you can stick it on your belt, with the heads facing up. Just make sure to ratchet it tighter a notch every couple you use.
Nice. But I ain't about to buy 4 separate ones at $8.86 each to separate a 100 pack of 4 colors that came out of a mix pack that cost like $3.36 total...
Well no. Thats when you zip tie the ties... but if you're someone who uses a lot of them regularly, for work, the spring loaded ones become pretty useful.
Colors is a good way to do it! I've only had to label wire harnesses a couple times and i used sharpie tick marks on the wires themselves. It worked but was awkward and took time to find the one wire i needed.
I still keep it in a cardboard box full of other electronics related stuff, which includes my shitty soldering iron (which is shitty enough to have made me thought that I was bad at soldering, until I once put my hands on a Weller) and other pieces of out of dysfunctional electronics that I have hoarded, thinking that I might do something with them, someday.
I gave this as a reply to your comment because it is in the same spirit.
The iron and the wire are the most used components out of that box.
You can also just slide the zip ties backwards onto an intact zip tie. The lock will not engage backwards. That way when you’ve used the stored ties you still have one to use.
Another zip tie tip - they are reusable if you cut the right end off when removing one. Might be obvious to others, but took me years to figure out somehow.
Just don't cut the end attached to the head of the zip tie. Cut the tail right before it enters the zip-tie-hole, release it, and you just made a new but shorter zip tie
They also make zip ties with a press release for the locking tabs, which are useful in temporary hold situations but don't impair their function as normal zip ties (they don't accidentally release).
Haha! It probably only took me about 20 minutes or so, and felt somewhat relaxing, similar to playing with a fidget toy. But unlike a fidget toy, I actually sort of accomplished a thing at the same time 👍
I think every man goes through a zip-tie everything phase. They're great.
I've dramatically reduced my zip-tie reliance with a few other cable management thingies which are also great.
Firstly this type of silicone cable tie:
They can be used just like a zip tie, just wrapped around a some cable strands to make a bunch. You can also use them on things like charging cords which are regularly folded up and taken out. You use the end with the loop and knob to wrap around a single cable strand, and just leave it there so it's always in place. Then you fold up the cable and wrap the longer loop around a couple of times and then hook it on the knob.
Secondly this spiral wrap stuff:
I've found this to be much more versatile for things like PCs with monitors and lots of cables. You can just re-wrap if you need to add or remove a cable which you can't really do with zip ties.
I know zip ties can be used for more than mere cable management. I also know they're still the best thing for the job in many cases.
You make an awesome point that flew right over my head when I arranged that. I know there are 22 zip ties of each color left. Was originally 25 of each color, but I took 2 of each color for our vehicle, and took 1 of each color to zip the rest onto.
I don't often need zip ties, so usually I don't think much on counting zip ties, but that can be very useful if your day job is running Ethernet cables or whatnot..
That one supply manager from the office that decided every item needs to be individually counted....they spend thousands in labor to save $6 every year.
You ever been on a team that installed a whole new system and all new Ethernet lines at a bank? I have, twice. We're the kinda guys that arrange what they call cableporn on the internet.
If you gotta run 32 Ethernet lines for a distance of 200 feet, those zip ties have to be evenly and sensibly spaced, so it's part measuring, dividing out, and wait for it...
Makes more sense if you're using them on vehicle wiring harnesses and sensors to tag what goes where, when your hands are otherwise covered in nasty engine oils and fluids.
Not exactly easy to manage a bag when hands are covered in oil ya know..
Initially that's exactly what I did too, but I needed to be able to pick between specific colors, and that's rather difficult with just the corner of the bag cut, especially when your hands are covered in nasty engine oils and fluids and crud..
If you think for like 3 extra seconds, I could also use this arrangement to weave color patterned zip tie 'fabric' of sorts, but that isn't quite my thing. Still it would work though..
If they're in a fine bag, I learned to snip the bag halfway down. Just an inch or less. You then grab one from the middle and pull it out like a tissue while there's very little chance of them falling out. They'd have to be yanked by some tool to escape. To clarify, cut the folded edge of the bag, like |_-| where the minus is
Makes sense, but not easy to pluck a specific color out with that technique though. I bought the multicolor pack to tag the different wire harness connectors on our 2005 Hyundai, as apparently all their 3 wire connectors fit each other.
I ain't trying to have to pluck specific color zip ties out the side of a bag when my hands are covered in cruddy engine oil and stuff..
No I didn't need a 100 pack, but that was the cheapest multicolor pack of zip ties I could find, just over $3.
Hey genius, lpt for you: stop buying mixed color bags and then you can... leave them in the bag. Omg. So crazy. Like you keep defaulting to that being the reason you have to do all of this, but if it's so damn important to color code, stop buying the mixed bags. It's the same price to get the unmixed ones and then you don't have to do this ass backwards shit all the time. You're literally causing your own problems and then acting like you solved some great hindrance to society 😂
LOL, I would have preferred blue instead of purple, but I didn't buy them for looks, I bought them to keep track of the wiring harness connections under the hood of our 2005 Hyundai.
Possibly LOL, but nah, I just needed a variety color pack to track which plug goes to which sensor on our 2005 Hyundai. They used the same type of plug for all their 3 wire sensors, definitely not idiot proof when servicing ya know.
I could have done just fine with only 2 of each color, but the cheapest pack I could find was a pack of 100, just over $3. So I got enough extra zip ties to last the next decade probably haha!
It makes things a lot easier when you're under the hood on a vehicle, hands dirty with engine oil and crud, and you need a specific color to tag wire harnesses so you know what plugs where when reassembling.
Honestly I don't, I just needed a variety color pack to keep track of which wire harness connects to which sensors on our 2005 Hyundai, because in their infinite wisdom, they made all the 3 wire connectors exactly the same, and I had to disconnect basically all of them to get to a sensor that needed to be replaced.
That was the cheapest variety color pack of zip ties I could find at Harbor Freight, just over $3. Hey, they already served their purpose, now I got enough zip ties to probably last the next 5 to 10 years or so LOL!
Not really, I think it only took about 20 minutes or so. Not much different than playing with a fidget toy, but I kinda accomplished a thing at the same time.
This is not a pro tip, wtf bags exist, its like posting "too much poop coming out your butt and splashing back up into your ass? Just shit through the cardboard tube of the toilet paper so it funnels directly into the toilet water" it is an objectively bad solution to a nonexistent problem.
Bro, its a variety color pack, and the bag they came in wasn't a ziploc bag. Once the bag is opened and tossed off in my toolbox, they'll end up shaking loose all over the place.
Another commenter suggested just cutting a hole in the side of the bag, which makes sense, but doesn't make it in any way easy to pick out a specific color. I bought them to color code wire harness connectors.
Yeah yeah I could have just tossed them into a ziploc bag, but I find this neater and easier to deal with, especially when under the hood of a vehicle and my hands are covered in cruddy grease and oil.
I cut the top of the pack, take one out, zip the bundle together so it won't fall off, pull one out when i needed it, then zip it tight each time. This one take too much initial effort to set up, especially when you have a tiny one.
Yeah, under the hood, hands covered in random cruddy engine fluids, and you want a specific color zip tie to tag wire harnesses, the absolute last thing you want is to try dealing with a plastic bag with oily hands..
Ok. You organize your toolbox your way, I'll organize mine the way I want.
It's a lot easier to arrange this way in a toolbox, especially when working on vehicles with nasty oily hands while trying to color code tag wire harness connectors.
Edit: It didn't even take very long, maybe about 20 minutes, and I found the process to be somewhat relaxing actually. Way more relaxing than the actual mechanic work it's meant for.
One zip tie in the middle to bundle the rest. Takes 2 seconds and keeps them in smaller bundles. Can pull one out with one hand.
OP is right, this is a waste of time. Especially because you limit how many can go on one zip tie and requires a tool to snip the end off. Why not just put them on backwards and not destroy one zip tie? Like, even if you use this method, you're still doing it wrong lmao
It's not difficult, it just makes an easier arrangement for the toolbox. Make the arrangements at home at your convenience, then when you need them, easy peasy..
What? Just put em in a bag, dude...
They came in a bag, I just find it easier and neater to deal with them this way when they get tossed off in a toolbox or the random kitchen junk/fastener drawer.
If you cut a small hole in the bag 1/5 of the way down, it keeps them together and you can bend a tie to get a single one out.
Still doesn't make it any easier to pull out a specific color in a mixed variety color pack..
Good point, I have single-colour bags only.
Ok, now imagine you have like 4000 of them, which normally just fit in a normal sized ziplock bag. Bro is going to sit there for literally hours threading them onto another zip tie.
Oh hell with all that, if I got that many zip ties, I'm just gonna zip tie them in sensible size nobody's really counting bundles.
Zip tie one around them all, with the heads up, and stick a caribiner around the loop one. Then you can stick it on your belt, with the heads facing up. Just make sure to ratchet it tighter a notch every couple you use.
Eventually I moved on to these
Interesting (direct link)
Nice. But I ain't about to buy 4 separate ones at $8.86 each to separate a 100 pack of 4 colors that came out of a mix pack that cost like $3.36 total...
Well no. Thats when you zip tie the ties... but if you're someone who uses a lot of them regularly, for work, the spring loaded ones become pretty useful.
This will go well with my duct tape and chloroform holster
The real lpt alwaysin the commenta
I bought a bag of 1000 zipties once.
Once.
Were they multicolored?
Nope--black and a single size.
Ok.
I needed colors to tag otherwise unlabeled wire harnesses..
Colors is a good way to do it! I've only had to label wire harnesses a couple times and i used sharpie tick marks on the wires themselves. It worked but was awkward and took time to find the one wire i needed.
I bought ~190m of DC wire once.
Jesu
That's a lot
What for?
I asked for 5m for a science project. A coil of 190m was the minimum they sold.
It wasn't too expensive (not copper), so I went with it.
That's actually hilarious. What did you do with the leftover??
I still keep it in a cardboard box full of other electronics related stuff, which includes my shitty soldering iron (which is shitty enough to have made me thought that I was bad at soldering, until I once put my hands on a Weller) and other pieces of out of dysfunctional electronics that I have hoarded, thinking that I might do something with them, someday.
I gave this as a reply to your comment because it is in the same spirit.
The iron and the wire are the most used components out of that box.
Well you're not going to run out of wire for a while. lol
Or a rubber band
Or, now hear me out, you could just wrap the zip ties with..
A zip tie! Genius I know, who woulda guessed?
These remind me of quipu
It amazes me that we still don't really know how they "translate" but still know they were used for so many different things
You can also just slide the zip ties backwards onto an intact zip tie. The lock will not engage backwards. That way when you’ve used the stored ties you still have one to use.
Yeah you're right. I actually ended up thinking about exactly that after I finished arranging this.
Oh well, whatever. Good tip though. 👍
Back at ya 😎
Good call
Another zip tie tip - they are reusable if you cut the right end off when removing one. Might be obvious to others, but took me years to figure out somehow.
Just don't cut the end attached to the head of the zip tie. Cut the tail right before it enters the zip-tie-hole, release it, and you just made a new but shorter zip tie
You can also take a precision screen driver or knife tip, and use it to pull back the locking tab and release the entire length.
I do this all the time, at work, but with a utility knife, or my pocket knife
You can also squeeze the locking head with pliers to disengage the mechanism
Smart!
They also make zip ties with a press release for the locking tabs, which are useful in temporary hold situations but don't impair their function as normal zip ties (they don't accidentally release).
A tapered pointy end of one can go in upside down, through the wrong direction of the lock, and force the lock tooth upwards!
I applaud your use of your free time. Ignore the haters.
Haha! It probably only took me about 20 minutes or so, and felt somewhat relaxing, similar to playing with a fidget toy. But unlike a fidget toy, I actually sort of accomplished a thing at the same time 👍
Task avoidance at its finest.
I think every man goes through a zip-tie everything phase. They're great.
I've dramatically reduced my zip-tie reliance with a few other cable management thingies which are also great.
Firstly this type of silicone cable tie:
They can be used just like a zip tie, just wrapped around a some cable strands to make a bunch. You can also use them on things like charging cords which are regularly folded up and taken out. You use the end with the loop and knob to wrap around a single cable strand, and just leave it there so it's always in place. Then you fold up the cable and wrap the longer loop around a couple of times and then hook it on the knob.
Secondly this spiral wrap stuff:
I've found this to be much more versatile for things like PCs with monitors and lots of cables. You can just re-wrap if you need to add or remove a cable which you can't really do with zip ties.
I know zip ties can be used for more than mere cable management. I also know they're still the best thing for the job in many cases.
I once used zip ties to fit a CPU cooler fan onto the heatsink of a little Graphics Card.
Amazing.
This is amazing, you can easily count them too which you can’t do in a bag.
You make an awesome point that flew right over my head when I arranged that. I know there are 22 zip ties of each color left. Was originally 25 of each color, but I took 2 of each color for our vehicle, and took 1 of each color to zip the rest onto.
I don't often need zip ties, so usually I don't think much on counting zip ties, but that can be very useful if your day job is running Ethernet cables or whatnot..
Countability for the win! 👍
Grab a handful of zip ties.
Take one zip tie, wrap it around the bundle and tighten, but don't overtighten.
The end. Exponentially faster than whatever the hell this post is.
True, but this makes it way easier to keep count while also keeping colors arranged.
Who is counting zip ties???
That one supply manager from the office that decided every item needs to be individually counted....they spend thousands in labor to save $6 every year.
You ever been on a team that installed a whole new system and all new Ethernet lines at a bank? I have, twice. We're the kinda guys that arrange what they call cableporn on the internet.
If you gotta run 32 Ethernet lines for a distance of 200 feet, those zip ties have to be evenly and sensibly spaced, so it's part measuring, dividing out, and wait for it...
Counting.
So are you a mechanic with oily hands or someone who installs cables in banks?
Both
Neither.
lol, I love lemmy.
OP comes up with something half-assed clever that piques interest (at the very least), and they get dragged....
Dragged with love ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
Because this only makes sense if you have like 8 zip ties.
Makes more sense if you're using them on vehicle wiring harnesses and sensors to tag what goes where, when your hands are otherwise covered in nasty engine oils and fluids.
Not exactly easy to manage a bag when hands are covered in oil ya know..
Well this is brilliant.
I cut the corner of the bag they came in so I can shake one loose at a time.
I didn't know how you'd have so many loose.
Initially that's exactly what I did too, but I needed to be able to pick between specific colors, and that's rather difficult with just the corner of the bag cut, especially when your hands are covered in nasty engine oils and fluids and crud..
Thank you for the tip and also the beautiful picture.
You're quite welcome.
If you think for like 3 extra seconds, I could also use this arrangement to weave color patterned zip tie 'fabric' of sorts, but that isn't quite my thing. Still it would work though..
I’ve definitely weaved zip ties like this as a kid lol though not with color coordination in mind
... and then turn that strip of zip ties into an Ultimate Warrior costume!…
/s but also don’t…or your dad may need to cut you out of it using tin snips because you pulled them to tight…hypothetically
LOL!
Many years ago I jokingly dared my friend's sister to dress up in packing tape. I was totally being silly, but she actually did it hahaha!
I ended up having to cut her out of it. Guess she didn't think about how tape sticks to hairs in sensitive areas..
Yes she was of age, like 24 at the time I think.
If they're in a fine bag, I learned to snip the bag halfway down. Just an inch or less. You then grab one from the middle and pull it out like a tissue while there's very little chance of them falling out. They'd have to be yanked by some tool to escape. To clarify, cut the folded edge of the bag, like |_-| where the minus is
Makes sense, but not easy to pluck a specific color out with that technique though. I bought the multicolor pack to tag the different wire harness connectors on our 2005 Hyundai, as apparently all their 3 wire connectors fit each other.
I ain't trying to have to pluck specific color zip ties out the side of a bag when my hands are covered in cruddy engine oil and stuff..
No I didn't need a 100 pack, but that was the cheapest multicolor pack of zip ties I could find, just over $3.
Hey genius, lpt for you: stop buying mixed color bags and then you can... leave them in the bag. Omg. So crazy. Like you keep defaulting to that being the reason you have to do all of this, but if it's so damn important to color code, stop buying the mixed bags. It's the same price to get the unmixed ones and then you don't have to do this ass backwards shit all the time. You're literally causing your own problems and then acting like you solved some great hindrance to society 😂
Alright, you have a Merry Christmas as well.
These were literally purchased to color tag unlabeled wiring harnesses in a vehicle, so please ever so kindly fuckoff, I literally needed the colors.
I’m jealous of those colors
LOL, I would have preferred blue instead of purple, but I didn't buy them for looks, I bought them to keep track of the wiring harness connections under the hood of our 2005 Hyundai.
…Why do you need and/or go through so many zip ties?
Don't kink shame them.
I feel like you and OP are on a list.
Possibly LOL, but nah, I just needed a variety color pack to track which plug goes to which sensor on our 2005 Hyundai. They used the same type of plug for all their 3 wire sensors, definitely not idiot proof when servicing ya know.
I could have done just fine with only 2 of each color, but the cheapest pack I could find was a pack of 100, just over $3. So I got enough extra zip ties to last the next decade probably haha!
I mean shit if you're not on at least a few lists are you even living?
(please don't use zip ties)
And here I am thinking that it’s not such a useful tip because you can’t fit enough zip ties.
Should I be worried?
It makes things a lot easier when you're under the hood on a vehicle, hands dirty with engine oil and crud, and you need a specific color to tag wire harnesses so you know what plugs where when reassembling.
Honestly I don't, I just needed a variety color pack to keep track of which wire harness connects to which sensors on our 2005 Hyundai, because in their infinite wisdom, they made all the 3 wire connectors exactly the same, and I had to disconnect basically all of them to get to a sensor that needed to be replaced.
That was the cheapest variety color pack of zip ties I could find at Harbor Freight, just over $3. Hey, they already served their purpose, now I got enough zip ties to probably last the next 5 to 10 years or so LOL!
That is so much work...
Not really, I think it only took about 20 minutes or so. Not much different than playing with a fidget toy, but I kinda accomplished a thing at the same time.
I found it randomly relaxing actually.
This is not a pro tip, wtf bags exist, its like posting "too much poop coming out your butt and splashing back up into your ass? Just shit through the cardboard tube of the toilet paper so it funnels directly into the toilet water" it is an objectively bad solution to a nonexistent problem.
Bro, its a variety color pack, and the bag they came in wasn't a ziploc bag. Once the bag is opened and tossed off in my toolbox, they'll end up shaking loose all over the place.
Another commenter suggested just cutting a hole in the side of the bag, which makes sense, but doesn't make it in any way easy to pick out a specific color. I bought them to color code wire harness connectors.
Yeah yeah I could have just tossed them into a ziploc bag, but I find this neater and easier to deal with, especially when under the hood of a vehicle and my hands are covered in cruddy grease and oil.
I'm just dumb, that sounds like a great idea to separate specific colors.
I agree, but not nearly as strongly. upvoted for the colorful analogy.
I just use one to wrap the rest
Would be a great shitty pro life tip to instead tie each one into a chain. That way you can count them and even wear them like a daisy chain!
It only takes one to make a quick cheap cock ring.
And it only takes about 20 minutes to need to ring 911.
Nah I'll pass, never done that, not smort...
I cut the top of the pack, take one out, zip the bundle together so it won't fall off, pull one out when i needed it, then zip it tight each time. This one take too much initial effort to set up, especially when you have a tiny one.
Yeah, under the hood, hands covered in random cruddy engine fluids, and you want a specific color zip tie to tag wire harnesses, the absolute last thing you want is to try dealing with a plastic bag with oily hands..
DIYWHY
what an absolute waste of time
Ok. You organize your toolbox your way, I'll organize mine the way I want.
It's a lot easier to arrange this way in a toolbox, especially when working on vehicles with nasty oily hands while trying to color code tag wire harness connectors.
Edit: It didn't even take very long, maybe about 20 minutes, and I found the process to be somewhat relaxing actually. Way more relaxing than the actual mechanic work it's meant for.
One zip tie in the middle to bundle the rest. Takes 2 seconds and keeps them in smaller bundles. Can pull one out with one hand.
OP is right, this is a waste of time. Especially because you limit how many can go on one zip tie and requires a tool to snip the end off. Why not just put them on backwards and not destroy one zip tie? Like, even if you use this method, you're still doing it wrong lmao
Requires a tool? What are you talking about? Just zip them off the other end, I already cut the head off the main zip line.
Geez, do I have to explain common sense to people? I figured this would be obvious.
I like the idea you have, and may do it myself. The tool he's taking about though is what you used to cut that head off.
What, you mean fingernail clippers?
It's not difficult, it just makes an easier arrangement for the toolbox. Make the arrangements at home at your convenience, then when you need them, easy peasy..
They just zip off the other end ya know...