Here's a skill I need work on.......finehomebuilding

Thanks Ray. My pop the engineer and farm boy taught me a lot about the mechanics of things, what to do/not do, the value of patience and how to wrap, store stuff. I'm a natural pack rat so what he taught me plus my own natural "squirrel it away" inclinations have allowed me to store a ton of stuff in a small apartment. Think vertical.

MBF-do use the method of wrap with the yellow cord-doing electrical cord cowboy style does not work for me. T_B, could use your management skills on my garage project-still a mess...but, actually making a dent, and some headway-sorted out, and moved 17 boxes of books last week-about double that this week-strange only a few people read anymore, and they all seem to be located on 4peeps?

There would be two things that I couldn't live without, besides oxygen, food, and water PLUS of course my great friends at 4peeps: my books and being able to read, my music and listening to just about all different types.

The stagehand in me just had a heart attack at how they recommend coiling electrical cords. Interior damage to the wires is pretty much guaranteed if you use their methods (both of which are PERFECT for ropes). Have you ever seen an electrical cord that looks like a telephone handset cord? It was undoubtedly coiled using one of his methods repeatedly.

Ack.

*Edit:
The method he gives for air hoses is good...but it's the best way to coil electrical cords as well. Doesn't always have to be over-under, you can often get away with a straight coil (depending on what wire memory the cord has), but it should never, ever, NEVER be tied in a freaken KNOT unless you're marking it as needing repair.

Funny - I've been using the second method (the one with the yellow cord - same as Df) for over 20 years now. Never had a problem with any cords going bad. I've got a 100-footer that I use to chase my electric weed-eater around with because I have this weird death-wish of tripping myself over my own cord. (which will be remedied this spring with a new gas-powered unit - electric sucks)

Learned that trick from a construction contractor prior to my senior year - it really takes the hassle out of keeping them untangled. In fact, the 100-foot cord I mentioned above, was one my grandma bought when I was in high school for her electric weed-eater (which I inherited when we moved my Mom to San Angelo). So actually, that cord has been 'daisy-weaved' for more than 20 years - with no adverse effects or hassle. And doesn't look anywhere nearly as 'memorized' as the straight-coiled cord in the first series.

Plus, there's the added benefit of if you only need a little bit of the cord, you can pull out as much or as little as you need. Each coil works out to approximately 1-foot of length, and since you're actually pulling two cords out, pulling out one loop should span 2 feet, 2 loops - 4 feet, etc.

To each his own, I guess. I like not having them a rat's nest and easy to store - which works better for me using the daisy-weave method.

All i got was an error message?!