A Better Cable Tie ?

[NW Craig]

GordMay is right about the cheap tie guns. Had one and it was a total waste of $12.95. I've got one of the expensive ones -- as my grandmother always said, "You get what you pay for" -- luckily for me, I didn't have to pay for it. I didn't realize they were that expensive (I don't apply enough cable ties to justify 100 and surely not 200 bucks). But it does work nice!

c in sunny seattle

[jjtctaylor]

Our Company now uses velcro ties exclusively in Europe. The plant works council got tired of injuries from cable ties, as we have miles and miles of cabling on our production equipment. For the amount of effort to "clean" up a wire tie, it's a whole lot easier to use either velcro ribbon or specific designed velcro ties. Never overtighten, real easy to remove or loosen for troubleshooting, comes in a variety of colors and such for bundle labeling. Typically we only just buy a spool for our electrical contractors for GP and provide dedicated ties for specific work. It's easy and fast.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha JJ,
Are these velcro ties available in the U. S?
JohnL

[jjtctaylor]

Hi,

Box of 50 ties, mix grey and black. 8" long each, $4.47 at Lowe's. Many other lengths, colors, fastening options,.... like to bulkhead, etc, via internet sales.
Radio Shack (5) each multicolor $2.99. Or buy roll stock at most fabric stores, which is by far the cheapest.

JT

[Jmolan]

This is what I have switched to for most things. Took a while to get the hang of it and not need intructions....but now is in my tool box and very handy for a lot of things. The original thread title was "better cable tie" so I thought I would throw this one out. Oh by the way. Cable ties have diffent life span in UV. I was told by a skilled boat guy the black ones are best and white ties the worst....but I do not know for sure.

ClampTite - The Official Website | ClampTite | tools | business opportunity

[GordMay]

'Ancor' Cable Management: Wire Management Products | Marinco

Including “Velcro” Cable Ties:
Velcro Cable Ties | Marinco

Bulk Double-Sided Hook & Loop & More [can be cut to length to fit any size job or cable bundle]:
Lex Tec Cables - Polygon SoftCinch Velcro cable managers

The "Clamp Tite" tool is (more or less) useless in this application.
White & cheap multi-coloured cable ties are not UV stabilized, whereas black ties probably are.

[svfinnishline]

Originally Posted by Wotname

We use a lot of cable ties here, properly a couple of hundred per week and one of the first things I teach new staff is how to cut them flush leaving no sharps edges or points.

That's an invaluable lessen for newbies and one of the first one's to be learned for many aircraft and racing mechanics - so kudos for your handling of the situation.

Unfortunately this practice isn't common from my experience in the marine industry. What's even worse is when I lift out all the beautiful teak panels and look behind 'the scenes' their are way too many cable ties being used i.e. I have a new wire to route next to an existing cable bundle with cable tie attached - so lets just add another cable tie here and not bother cutting the old one off. Then none of them are cut flush, so the boat owner trying to sort the mess out ends up getting cut up on the hands and arms. Now to add insult to injury - the cable ties that have been cut, the 'end cuts' are left behind! No attempt to clean up after the install, just refasten the teak panels and hope the owner never sticks his nose in.

All this for about $90 'Newport Rhode Island' dollars an hour labour costs. I won't paint all marine electric and electronic installers with the same brush, but will say that of the ones I have unfortunately trusted to do work on my boat (without supervision).

Now I do it all myself and when boat owners find out how easy the NMEA2000 gear is to install, one can only hope those installers that don't work with a conscious review of quality and reliability will suffer.