I have a half a dozen or more vises. They’re one of my vices. But in practice I use a Nor and a Regal. For years I’ve found myself wishing I could spin (fast or slow) the Regal so I wouldn’t need the Nor any more. Then the Regal Revolution appeared. They’re nearly 500 bucks. So I wanted but didn’t buy.
Yesterday I saw one in the flesh, at Dan Bailey’s in Livingston MT. The Regal is mounted on a bearing and it is counter-balanced, so you can spin it (to make dubbing loops, quickly wrap a shank with thread, etc). But the nubbin at vise left is fat and difficult to control. On the Nor that spinning nubbin is smaller and more comfortable to handle. I also thought I noticed the jaw tips (on the Regal) were about 1/8" out of alignment with the axis of the spin, so the jaw tips wobble around in tight circle as they spin. I’m not sure I like that. I’d have to actually try tying with one to know for sure.
Does anybody have one of these new (Regal Revolution) vises? What’s your report?
I have seen two of the Regal Revolution vises and played around with one of them. The jaw tips are not a true center because when you insert your hook, if placed right, the hook is then centered, much like they are on a Nor-Vise.
I have two Nor-Vises and after looking at the new Regal I opted to stay with my Nor-Vise. Personal preference being my only reason, as I am sure the Regal Revolution is just as good as all the other Regal vises. I do have to agree with you that the ‘nubbin’ on the Regal is rather large and bulky, but I am not sure if that has a negative result on using the tool.
The Regal is more expensive than the Nor-Vise, the difference being the price of a decent rod, but Regal does have a good name backing it, but then so does the Nor-Vise. Norman has produced a great product.
Ah. Jaws off center so the shank WILL be dead center…to the axis of rotation. That makes good sense.
I like my Nor. Some people hate them. I do have two Nor objections.
1) The rotating vice has four “stop” positions that allow you to stop rotation up down or 90 degrees forward or back. Sometimes you do have to stop the rotation, for all manner of technical operations. But those 4 positions are seldom what I want. The Regal Revolution has a stop nut that allows you to stop the rotation and fix position at any angle–rather than at just 4 fixed positions. That’s a big plus for the Regal.
2) Also, my Nor has a plastic stop nut at stem bottom that continuously becomes loosened, which allows the vice to rotate around its vertical axis. And I NEVER want that. I suppose I could try some Locktite. Or even drill and tap the stem, so I could fix it permanently.
In the general case I am now committed to rotary vises, forever. Can’t tie without them any more. I have developed some new (new for me anyway) techniques that would be essentially impossible without.
Some people like to refer to any vise that can be re-positioned or slowly rotated as a ‘rotary’ vise. Rotary for me means the ability to spin the jaws at high speed. The nomenclature isn’t really important. But the feature set is. I really like the ability to spin the jaws. I don’t often need it. But when I do I’m glad I have it.