How do you make a pen and tool holder out of zip ties?
The stuff you use every day should be standing up where you can see it, not lying flat under a drawing.
Applies to
- Process
- Bench and van organisation
- Materials
- Scrap board or panel, zip ties
- Setup
- Drill for the tie holes, ties, flush cutters
- Best for
- Pens, markers, small drivers, picks
Why it matters
Loops are adjustable in a way drilled holes aren't. If the pen changes, you cut the tie and put a new one on.
You can build it on a vertical surface — a van wall, the side of a cabinet — where a drilled block would need a shelf.
What good looks like
- Each loop grips its item without deforming it
- Items lift out one-handed
- Ties are mounted through the panel, not glued to it
How to apply it
- Drill pairs of holes through the panel, spaced for each loop.
- Thread a tie through each pair and close it into a loop around the item.
- Size each loop to grip without crushing.
- Trim the tails flush and mount the panel.
Exceptions & tradeoffs
Nylon loops go slack over time with things going in and out. Expect to replace them, which is fine — they're ties.
Not for anything heavy. A loop holds a marker, not a hammer.
Common mistakes
- Sizing every loop the sameSize each to what goes in it, or everything either falls out or won't fit
- Gluing ties to the surfaceThrough-holes. Glue lets go the first time you pull something out fast
Building a small pen and tool holder using zip ties as the retaining loops — 60 Zip Tie Life Hacks ↗ at 2:55–3:05.
Summarized and independently edited by Start Here. The source is a rapid-fire compilation, so the steps and cautions here are ours — the creator shows the move, not the procedure.