Storing/labelling stringers

[Kimster]

What does everybody do? 

[helbels]

I don't bother labelling, anything that's long enough to keep just gets put in a pot and then any short bits either get put in the bin or remelted onto the rod they came from (if I'm feeling organised).

[Shirley]

I have a couple of racks of testtubes. Mostly I print a label for each colour and stick it on the tube. Tend to use it mostly for stringers that are silver glass, intense black or silvered. Most other colours I melt back onto the original rod and then repull as required.

[BeeBeads]

Mine lie on the side of the desk so I can grab one when I need it.  They aren't labelled, just in a random pile!
I do keep SIS and intense black stringers in a separate pot on a shelf though.

My bought stringers are in a jar on the windowsill in front of the torch but they are much bigger than the ones I make.

[Katiequiggle]

Mine are bunged in a couple of jam jars though I usually make them as I need them for each project and only keep them if they're long enough to re-use on something.

[Jellybean]

jam jar for long stringers, small pot for short usable bits, and another small pot for twisties and silver glass 

[Calico Cat]

Ones that I have pulled myself go in a tall, skinny glass vase.

A selection of commercial ones are in what is supposed to be a stand for paintbrushes - a couple of pounds in The Works. The main stash of commercial ones - a lot of CIM ones from the US - go in very small waste pipe - mini versions of the pipe I keep rods in.

You may be relieved to know, I don't label any of them . . . . .

[Pam]

I'm a jam jar stringer storer too. No labels

[spexy]

Plastic test tubes from Ebay for me.

[Kimster]

That's all reassuring. Mine are all in 3 jamjars.. (commercial, home made, silvered ivory) - just wasn't sure whether it's important to remember what exact glass they are - would be relatively easy to remember today since I just had a marathon pulling session (!) , rather than tomorrow when I know I won't be able to tell my smurfy from my ming (as it were!)   

[Blue Box Studio]

All mixed together in a jam jar, or if too short to go in there I have a smaller pot.  Nothing is labelled.  I woldn't be able to tell my Smurfy from my Ming even if they were labelled (never had these colours as far as I am aware).  Apart from some clear and Ivory commercial stringers they are all mine and I like the element of surprise.

[Jellybean]

ok newby question - why buy commercial stringers?
Please don't shout me down in flames, just wondering... for the sake of speed and convenience?

[MadelineBunyan]

when I can be bothered, and I sometimes am for expensive colours or ones I use often, they go in glass test tubes I label with sharpie, I'll often put two very differernt colours in one test tube, then the test tubes go in a glass or jar.

as for the rest...rainbow spaghetti! it lives in a spaghetti jar, and a pasta sauce type jar or 3, and a glass...er, yes, I have too much stringer and I dont use the unlabelled stuff, I just pull new, I am bad.

anyone want a jar of stringer?

commercial stringers are very thick, and even, which can be useful for some things (personally I dont use them) also some of the transparent colours scum quite easily when you pull them into stringer, so ready done could be quite useful.

if you want to pull your own thick stringer, the easiest method is to use 2 rods of the same colour or melt a longer rod apart in the middle, (and then stick it back together after.) this way you have both handles already attached and none of that dropping it

[ScarletLeonard]

I pull mine then pop them in the tube with the matching rods.
silvered ivory has it's own tube, twisties tend to get used as they are made.

Anything too short to be found on the storage rack gets tucked into a mug.

[katherinem]

I only keep SIS, twisties and cane - everything else is in a pile, and periodically I clear them into a box and forget about them! I've only just started using silver glass, so I tend to only pull very short stringers of that for now and use it all in one go.

The ones I keep are in mini egg tubes, they seem to be a perfect size - a good excuse for my DH to eat some more next Easter