I’m sure this one has probably been brought up before, but which do you prefer and why? I’ve got a clamp on vise but I’m thinking about getting a pedestal. Really, I’m wanting to buy a pedestal for the vise I have now, which I’ve seen on Hook and Hackle’s site. Anyone know how heavy that is? I want to buy a desk and make a fly tying “spot” in the house, but the desks I’ve looked at don’t have enough lip for a clamp on vise. (they are just regular desks) I could leave the drawer out but I thought it would be a handy place for my tools. What do you think?
I have pedestal bases for both my vises. Having said that, I also have a c clamp for the one I carry in my travel bag. I’ve found the clamp will hold to the steering wheel, and a lawn chair, where the base will work in the motel room or on a picnic table. My home vise is a Rensetti, so the base is very heavy, and I love it! If you leave the drawer open, you’ll find all kinds of strange things in it, from thread clippings, to dubbing, to deer hair … you name it, it’ll collect in the drawer!!
I have both styles and use the pedestal type much more often. My wife wasnt about to let me clamp down a c-clamp style on the dining room table in the motorhome…( I believe her wrds were…" If you THINK your clamping ANYTHING on that table…the rest is sort of a blur…lol) Thats how I ended up with the pedestal style…S
I prefer a clamp mount for my vises. I need to adjust the height of the vise to a comfortable position. Most pedestal mounts are fixed height. With a clamp I can clamp to any height table or desk and adjust the vise to a comfortably height.
I prefer to tie with the vise fairly low. A problem with my shoulder causes pain to develop if I hold my upper arm up too high. I tie with my elbows resting on the arm rests of my chair. The vise jaws are about even with the bottom of my sternum. To get the vise in this position, I use a Dyna King right angle adapter to swing the vise away from the desk. The adapter is inserted into the underside of the clamp.
I would suggest you look at and consider a computer desk…they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and price…overall you can get a really handy one inexpensive …and the key board is very handy for tools.
I got some pictures of mine but it’s not current…I think I’ll take a new one tonight…
My wife and I both use pedestal mount vises. We tie at a couple shows during the spring and you never really know what kind of table your going to get at a show. Some just won’t work well with a clamp type vise. That’s the reason we prefer a pedestal.
Clippings and other waste stays on the table instead of dropping to the floor.
There is table space available for resting or stabilizing your elbows if desired.
You don’t mar the tabletop.
I also have cut down the posts on old clamp models to make the post height more appropriate.
The comments about the weight of a pedestal base seems to be overemphasized. When I am wrapping something on a mounted hook that needs higher tension I make use of the fact that I my left hand is always on the top of the vise anyway if for no other reason than to stabilize it while tying in some material.
Just one guys experiences.
I couldnt agree more, I use an inexpensive computer desk the keyboard shelf is great for puting books on when I dont want to look at it I slide it back in then out If I need to reference it again.
Much prefer the C-Clamp. I like the stability, the height adjustments, and the fact that the vise is not ‘over’ the table. This way falling stuff lands in the receptacle I’ve installed for that purpose, instead of all over the desk top.
My C-Clamp is very stable and quite large, and will fit on any table up to about 3 1/2 inches thick (thank you DynaKing). It has a ‘stabilizer’ bar that runs along the top of the desk to give more lateral stability to the vise. I actually use the rotary function of the vise extensively…and my vise doesn’t move even when I’m using the rotary feature to spin hair.
But I tie mostly in my workshop during the winter…fixed workbench where the vise ‘lives’ from September to May…
In the summer, it lives in my cabin on a desk I bought ‘used’ at the local animal shelter thrift shop for $5…I ‘cut down’ the center drawer so the vise and the drawer were compatible…drawer makes a nice clipping/detritus catcher.
Sometimes I’ll move the vise outside (friends come up to visit and we often end up fly tyingat a campground table), but the clamp does fit on ‘picnic’ style tables that are made from 2x lumber (most of the ones I’ve seen in the parks and campgrounds are so constructed).
Pedestal has never left the box…but I’ve got it if I ever need to tie someplace where my C-Clamp might damage someone’s furniture (maybe I’ll need it if this back door key to the WhiteHouse works…).
If ‘cost’ is an issue for a tying desk, take the time to check out the second hand/thrift shops in your area. They end up with lots of older or just unwanted computer desks…even roll tops, comercial grade office furniture, and real wooden furinture type desks…and they are often pretty cheap (especially the ‘ugly’ ones…if that doesn’t matter to you you can save a bundle).
I have both types, but use the clamp tpes exclusively. For years, I used my Dad’s old desk that has at least three inches of overhang all the way around; which accomodates a clamp type beautifully. When I moved into an apartment, I got a piece of 1" X 12"inches over hang. I can set this on a table and attach my Regal clamp vise to it without marring the table top. I laminated a 3/4" X 3 1/4" X 12" piece of pecan between two 1/4’ thick poeces of redwood bender board for my “tool rack”. This sets near the back of the 1" X 12" board, and is the only counterweight for my vise. I have tied a lot of deer hair bass bugs to 1/0 and have yet to EVER have the board, slip, tip, or even try to move; even under maximum thread tension during the tying of a bug. The potential problem of “waste-on-the-floor” was very w=easy to silve. I purchased a 9 inch oval embroidery hoop at a craft store for the princelysum og $0.99 + tax. I separated the two hioops and attached the outer hiip to the front edge if the 1 X 12 with a couple of small brass screws, the heads of which are countersunk into the outer hoop. I place a one gallon trash bag over the inner hoop, slide it into the outer hoop, and tighten the outer hoop, locking the inner hoop in place. When the bag gets near full, I have the choice of either emptying the bag and continuing to use it or pitch the whole thing and put a new bag in place. VERY HIGH DOLLAR (had to hock one of my boys to raise funds for the 1 X 12 and the embroidery hoop), and it works every time; is highly portable, and is easy to store if need be.
I have seen pedestal vises tip under the tension that can be applied while tying large deer hair bugs. Moreover, I am not enthralled with lugging around a 5 lb. hunk of metal when I transport my vise, which is what is required with a pedestal vise. To each his own.
My main vise is a Renzetti Rotary with a Clamp attachment, for placement on my Sierra Work Station. For on the road, I have a small simple vise that is a pedestal mount inside the wood box that also contains all my fly tying tools. The vise box fits inside my fly tying material box (a wood box with handles and latches, that came with the bottles wine that I gave for Christmas Gifts). I have everything I need for when I am away from home, and dressing hooks in the evening, after a day on the water fly fishing.
~Parnelli
Charted Member of “Friends of FAOL”
Member of FAOL, since October 1997
