Quote Originally Posted by AlanB View Post
The Odams Over And Under is one vise in this price range. It has been a workhorse for many years and spare parts are available. If you wanted to use it on a pedistal base you would need to cut the shaft down though.

While pedestal bases are useful and convenient I will not use one. Here is an experiment, try holding your arms up at chest height for 15 minutes or more. Something will start to hurt, shoulders, neck arms or back. If you use a pedestal and want to get your knees under the table this is the position you will be tying in. It is much better to tie with your vice lower. Then your arms are in a relaxed position. How low is very easy to work out. Put your fist under your chin. The point of your elbow is now at the height your vice jaws should sit at. As a pro tier I have a limit to the number of flies I'll tie in a day. Either 10 dozen or 10 hours, whichever comes first, is my limit. I couldn't do this if my vice wasn't set in this way. To achieve this position not only do you need a clamp, but a vise extension that throws the vice out from the table. You may not be tying these quantities of flies, but I suspect you will want to do half a dozen of each pattern. That will mean an hour or two at the vise at a time. Plenty long enough to start to hurt.

Cheers,
A.
I agree with most of what you say about vise height and comfort, but I believe you are locked into just one variable and the whole thing is composed of many variables. Adjustable office chairs make it easy to determine the best height for you. Smaller folks may need to use a lower table or add a box for a foot rest. My bigger problem is getting the vise high enough as I am 6'4".

Getting the height right is a huge key, just realize there are lots of different ways to achieve it.
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