RRB - Rotten Rubber Bands!

[28676bhe]

What do you use besides rubber bands to bundle your rods together?

[Lisi]

The blue painter's tape. It doesn't leave a residue and I also use it to tag rods.

[SuzyQ]

I use covered hair elastics. But over time they break down and while they don't stick to the glass, they are pretty useless for holding them together in my cubbies. I would love to find the perfect alternative. Things that don't expand and contract are not it for me. I need to be able to add and remove rods easily. I tried the silicone hair elastics but they do the same thing rubber bands do. It takes longer, but it still happens.

[losthelm]

I use generic Saran Wrap, I cut the whole roll into pieces about 1.5" wide and wrap all sorts of things.
If I need more holding power I will run tape over the Saran Wrap.
It works well glueing up other odd shaped projects where traditional clamps just won't work.
The local hardware may have the heavy duty stuff for packing and shipping.

[SuzyQ]

So for those of you using tape and saran wrap. Do you retape and wrap each time you use rods? Or are you talking about long term storage or shipping? What do you do for your regular day to day working glass?

[Kalorlo]

Cellophane sandwich wrap (I guess the same kind of thing as Saran wrap?). For long-term storage they can be wrapped tightly, or while in use if that glass doesn't have a place in my tube storage then I wrap them looser so you can still pull rods out but it will hold the whole lot together well enough. I don't tend to put rods back in - working rods go in jars around my workspace.

I've also got some woven elastic cord of the type that is inside the waistband of jogging trousers. Can cut pieces off that and tie a knot to make a band that lasts a lot longer, but tying all the knots can take a while!

[shawnette]

Stretch wrap, which is basically a big roll of narrow Saran wrap, or painters tape. You can get the stretch wrap wherever they sell shipping supplies, Harbor Freight and Northern Tool.

[Eileen]

I don't band mine, just put them in the cubby holes (mostly PVC pipe in my case)
If I did have overflow, I think I would use electrical tape or painter's tape until they fit in their cubby.

[Shrimp]

Shawnette, How well does the stretch wrap hold up in our Florida climate? Have you kept rods wrapped for a couple of years at a time?

[shawnette]

Originally Posted by Shrimp

Shawnette, How well does the stretch wrap hold up in our Florida climate? Have you kept rods wrapped for a couple of years at a time?

It's actually the best for long term storage and will hold up for years without damaging or sticking to your glass. Like Eileen, I keep my glass open in cubbies, but I wrap my overflow and stick it in a box. I have several bundles of Satake and 104 that I wrapped 5 or 6 years ago and they're still fine.

[Pickledkitty]

Another option is to use cut up bicycle inner tubes. You can cut them at different angles to get larger/smaller bands.

[Hayley]

I use Plastibands.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...rds=Plastiband

[SuzyQ]

Hayley, those look great! How long have you been using them?

[FosterFire]

I do use rubber bands. I scrape off anything that sticks and I burn off any remainder.

[squid]

Originally Posted by Hayley

I use Plastibands.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...rds=Plastiband

Yes - I do too and have been using them for about 4 or 5 years in the NC humidity and heat. Still kicking!

[Hayley]

Originally Posted by SuzyQ

Hayley, those look great! How long have you been using them?

Originally Posted by squid

Yes - I do too and have been using them for about 4 or 5 years in the NC humidity and heat. Still kicking!

Over three years for me. They are not as stretchy as rubber bands and are more expensive but worth it, imho!

[SuzyQ]

Thanks Squid and Hayley. I'm going to try some.

[Hayley]

You will love them, Susan. I think it may have been Squid who posted about them years ago - got some on Amazon and never used anything else again. I have students who still thank me for that info!

[SuzyQ]

I remember that thread and bought silicone ones because of it. They are just now breaking down. I didn't realize these were what she meant instead.

[28676bhe]

Haley, you are da bomb! I am going to order a lifetime's supply today!

[Eileen]

I just ordered a box of 100 #4 1/2? and a box of assorted, so thank you... I think!

[steiconi]

I've tried wires and twist ties, but they're more trouble than they're worth. Mostly I leave them loose in their cubbies. But I think sewing elastic (like Kalorlo mentioned) would work. I use it for other long-term storage and it holds up well. Cheap at any fabric or big box store.

[28676bhe]

Wish there was a category called:
What works? what doesn't?

And I vote for rubber bands being the first as what doesn't!

[Shrimp]

I've been doing some rod shelf moving in the past few days. All of the rods with the rubber bands were a disaster. I little over a year ago, I purchased those plastibands for hair, and tried them out. I found that they disintegrated in the heat, and stuck to the glass rods. Not quite as bad as rubber bands though. Pickledkitty suggests using bicycle inner tubes. I would think one would get the same results as if one were using rubber bands. Over time, wouldn't they dry rot? If the stretch wrap that Shawnette suggests is like the the stretch wrap that my glass orders from Frantz comes in, then this would be the best. I recycled the wrap and it is still holding up pretty good. My vote: Stretch wrap.

[shawnette]

Originally Posted by Shrimp

I've been doing some rod shelf moving in the past few days. All of the rods with the rubber bands were a disaster. I little over a year ago, I purchased those plastibands for hair, and tried them out. I found that they disintegrated in the heat, and stuck to the glass rods. Not quite as bad as rubber bands though. Pickledkitty suggests using bicycle inner tubes. I would think one would get the same results as if one were using rubber bands. Over time, wouldn't they dry rot? If the stretch wrap that Shawnette suggests is like the the stretch wrap that my glass orders from Frantz comes in, then this would be the best. I recycled the wrap and it is still holding up pretty good. My vote: Stretch wrap.

It's the same. I recycle mine, too, lol.

[demcc2]

Mine go directly into the pvc tube rod holder. Anything in abundance gets wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a drawer.

Duane

[Elizabeth Beads]

Ponytail holders. They do eventually lose elasticity, but they are cheap and easy to replace. I buy them at Ulta, $2.25 for 30, and I use one of the $3.50 off $10 coupons that they send me constantly.

[carolinainmymind]

I use the kids forgotten Silly Bandz when I bundle glass. I guess they are the same as the silicon. But most of my glass is loose in PVC.