Hello~ so… I started tying flies about 2months ago and i started out with THIS…
It was $1.50… can you believe it? haha… It does what a standard vise is SUPPOSE to do (hold hooks tightly) but the lever thing to close and open the jaw is just pain in the (|)… I have about $35 dollar in my bank (student, not working, and staying home because of my condition = brokeage) and was thinking about getting http://www.jsflyfishing.com/cgi-bin/item/OF-900690-0000/80100/Just-Simply-Tools-Rotating-Spring-Action-Vise.html
any suggestions?.. or… if anyone have a better vise laying around to sell for about $35… :rolleyes:
It’ll work. I’ve tied on these vises and they work fine for what they are. Looks like it is on sale now as well! Typically you always buy the best tools you can for any craft. The vise you’re looking at will serve but they are not built to last so depending on how much you tie, you’ll eventually have to replace it. By then hopefully you’ll be in a better financial situation. Yes, there are better vises out there, but they are all considerably more expensive.
Try taking the screw out of the vise and then driving the handle down through the hole on the screw. As an alternative, go to a hardware store and by a thumbscrew that is the same thread.
The vise you are looking at looks like a knock-off of the Regal vise. I would be careful about buying a non name brand vise on line. You might check out http://www.hmhvises.com/sx.html
I have the vise you are contemplating and like it a lot. The head is a bit big for tiny flies, but I don’t tie many tiny flies. It seems to be well built and sturdy. I really like mashng the handle to put a hook in and it is secure when I release the handle. I have two rotary vises that don’t get as much use as this one.
kenstah
I started on a vise much like the one your currently using, then move up to a regal much like the one your looking at, it worked well for a time but I out grew it. I did pass it on to another who now tyes. Regal make vise that last. I then moved on to a griffin it a nice vice still tye on it form time to time. I now and for the last 7 or 8 years have tyed on a Nor vice. What nice about tying a realy good vice is that you can up date it have more then one set or style of jaws to better match what kind of fly your tying or the style your tying.
One thing I learned is we are all different do to this before spending your limited fund find a fly shop that will let you take one out for a spin. Most shop have display model and a good shop wont mind if you tye a couple of flys to see if it fit you.
Ghost
I don’t see anything wrong with buying a servicable, moderately priced vise when you first start tying. I have two moderately priced vises that I bought at Hook and Hackle and I still use them both. After some period of time (a couple of years?), you may desire to upgrade but for now your choice seems like a sound one especially in light of the good reports from other FAOLers. If you decide to upgrade, your present vise will serve as a good back-up or a good vise for a student should you decide to pass on your knowledge and skills. By all means get what you can afford and enjoy now! 8T
I’m sure we’ve all tied on cheap vises at one time or another. My first vise was from Herters, in a kit.
The one from Stockards will get the job done, and I am sure it will be an improvement over the one you are currently using. It won’t tie like a Rotary Vise, but for basic flies, it’ll work.
Just a suggestion: You might try looking on EBay for a good used Rotary Vise like an HMH, or Danvise. Sometimes, people get them in an Estate Sale, and don’t know what they would sell for, and you can get some really good deals. I got my Montana Mongoose on EBay for $40.00, complete and still in the box, unopened. Not bad for a vise that retails at over $200.00.
A good vise make tying a lot easier. Get the best one you can afford. And upgrade when you can.
hahahaha thats alright~ ::rolleyes:
i also got my ‘vise advise’ SOLVED (:
I say THANK YOU to a very generous gentleman, STEVEP
for passing on his Danvise to me :D:D:D. I will add some pics when it gets here but oh man am i so HAPPY It’s been used by himself and his wife and will now be treasured by meeee (:
Thank you again! and I will surely Pay It Forward! (:
Congrats on your new rotary tying adventure. Since you are relatively new, I will put out this challenge for you. Learn to operate that thing how it is meant to run, - like a true rotary.
I was talking to a friend who is in one of our semi-local fly tying clubs. He said that most in the club have those very expensive rotary vises and all they use them for is to check the far side of the fly “once in a while”.
Later you can invest in Al Beatty’s book and DVD on rotary Tying or Mike Holts DVD. This is one of the videos on Mike Holts DVD that is on YouTube right now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b4dQOiwjDQ
Actually surprised it’s on YouTube, so watch it now before it’s gone if you know what I mean. There is even a program called YOUTUBEDOWNLOADER, that I use to keep copies of videos off of YouTube for my own use and that program converts them so that I can store them on my IPod.
There are many more free vids on YT, but the point is even though it is difficult to do something different in the beginning keep working it even if it is slower than your current method until you get good at it.
Have fun with your new vise, I think that you have a winner and I am glad that someone here was able to help you get started down the road to Rotary fly tying.
BILL
It’s been used by himself and his wife and will now be treasured by meeee (: