Ok I have not tied much in the past few years (mainly just leaches and woolly buggers) but I have had the feeling I want to get back into tying a little more. Well I feel that in order to get back into tying I should reward myself with a new vice. I do not have a lot of money to spend. I will be tying mainly stuff for warm water. Any suggestions for a new vice would be great! Also a good location for videos (I do not have a fly store near me). Also where to buy material.
I can speak to the vise question. I have an HMH Spartan, it’s a nice rotory vice at a good price (around $120). My buddy has an HMH Standard. It’s got more machining and a nicer shaped base, but otherwise it’s about the same, but it’s also about $100 more. I like my vice a lot. It works well for my tying and can hold lots of different size hooks. There are also replacement parts available and replacement jaws in two other sizes (midge and huge - that’s not really the name, but I can’t recall the large jaw set name).
All the best,
Dave
I forgot to say that I really do need a base and needs to be in the $100 dollar or less range.
Look at the Griffin Superior 1A vise at around $50 for a clamp version and $60 for a pedestal base version. Or the Griffin Montana Pro Vise at $80 for clamp and $90 for pedestal version. The Montana Pro holds hooks up to 7/0. The Montana Pro II kit, which includes some tying tools and carry case is $129.
If you want a rotary vise the Griffin Odyssey Spider is around $85 and the Danvise a few $ more. BT’s Flyfishing Products, a sponsor of this website is a source for the Danvise. A pedestal base will set you back about another $25-$30.
I have a Renzetti, two Dyna King, and a Regal vise, but if I had to start again on a limited budget I would be quite happy with the Griffin vises or Danvise.
If you look at the sponsor page for this website you will find a number of online sources for materials including Hook and Hackle and J. Stockard. Another favorite of mine is Cascade Crest Tools, which has a great selection of vises, tools, and materials.
You can find a lot of instructional videos on youtube and there are some great ones here
The flyfishohio website has an excellent review of vises in your price range. I suggest you check it out before buying. Another board member has a Dynaking Trekker for sale in the for sale section. It’s a little out of your desired price range at $150 but it is a great vise, and a good price, as new ones sell for $230. Don’t skimp on a vise. A good one will last a lifetime and a poor one will drive you nuts.
Dave
…I have a Regal non-rotary and a Nor. I use the Regal until I need real rotary capabilities (which for me is frequently).
And then I use the Nor. Someday soon I’ll pop for a Regal Revolution and then I won’t need the Nor again.
They aren’t cheap. But that’s the vise I wish I had.
I also have a Renzetti Traveler. It’s a good simple vise and it didn’t cost a lot.
Do I need a rotary vise?
The quick answer is no, but you can certainly find a good vise in that price range that will meet your needs. Someday, you can sell it here and move up. For now, just visit sites that sell vises and then ask questions and google for more info. Shop around, you will then be able to make the choice that you can both afford and also enjoy. 
3day, My vise is a danvise purchased from BTs. They are sponsors on this site. It is a true rotary vise but works very well locked in the stationary position. I bought Al’s book on using rotary vises as well. Call or email Al and Gretchen Beatty and ask them about it or check it out on their website. Jim
PS: The vise including shipping was around a hundred bucks.
I did not have rotary for many years and was just fine with that. I found a Regal clone somewhere (hopefully the sponsors carry it) and it was an excellent vise. I could turn it to look at all sides and angles of the fly but tied with it stationary. The jaws clamped quickly and held as tight as you would ever need. J Stockard stocks them as a house brand for about $35.00. I only switched to a Renzetti because of a great buy found here on FAOL and I gave away the other.
http://www.griffinenterprisesinc.com/web-exclusive.html
This would be a good vise to grab. Buy the Griffin Ped Base at the same time and have both.
Wayne
Griffin Rules!!!
I have Griffin Montana Mongoose Vise that I would not part with for any amount of money. I got it on EBay for $15.00 + shipping.
As for videos, YouTube.com is the coolest sight online. Hundreds of fly tying How-Tos, fly fishing lessons, fishing lessons, and anything else you might want to learn.
I love my Danvise. I picked up a generic pedistal base for it a year or so ago at Cabela’s and will never use a clamp again!
As far as materials, I try to buy some stuff from my local shops, but also buy from Feather Craft, J. Stockard, and Crazy Angler Tackle. Crazy is a jig tying site for the most part, but I love their chenilles! All three I have listed above have A+ customer service!
If you’re looking for patterns to tie, check out the archive here, Fly Fish Ohio, Charlie’s Flybox, and Ward Bean’s Warmwater Fly Tyer sites.
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.
You’re getting plenty of replies on a vise, so here’s a thought on the rest: I have had excellent experiences with Hook and Hackle and The Fly Shack. I believe it is The Fly Shack that has free shipping on orders of $35 or more. It’s worth getting on both the email list and the paper catalog list. Both outfits have very good human beings on the other end, too! Had to call now and then, and the guys were very accomodating.
I sold my first commercial fly well over 40 years ago and have gone through stages of tying hundreds of dozens on short notice… Sweat shops have eliminated the orders worth tying and only custom or special orders work financially, so I have not been tying commercially much lately… but I have, have had, or have used about every brand and every model of vise anyone can name. I still have a bunch of different vises including a couple Renzettis, Griffins, an HMH, my original Herter’s vise, and several others. On this site I have sold or traded a number of vises including Griffin, Regal, and HMH. My new Nor-Vise just trumped the entire lot.
There is nothing the Nor-Vise cannot do better than any other vise, period.
While the price is not in the original poster’s range I go this route because I look at all the time I have spent in front of vises and how much more I would have accomplished starting with the best vise first. I would not know what it is like to struggle with mediocre jaws; rotary techniques would be second nature and my speed would be vastly increased; ribs would be perfectly spaced, truly parallel, and laid down that way first time, every time due to the nature of fine tuning the wrap at exactly one point and only one point.
If you are truly going to get serious about tying flies a horizontal-bearing rotary is the minimum initial starting point. There are many vises I have bought that cost more than a Nor-Vise. Knowing me it is unlikely I would have bought just one Vise, even if I started with the Nor-Vise, but there would have been far fewer of them and they would not have been able to fool me into believing they were superior. The Nor-Vise IMHO will make any tyer better.
Buy good stuff and cry once or buy second-rate and cry often…
YMMV
art
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.
art
Art,
The method of determining the height is totally personal. It works regardless of the build of the tier. Also regardless of build you can not get your knees under a table and the vise at a good height on a pedistal on that table. At least not with enough space below the jaws to be able to tie.
If you have problems getting the vice high enough you could turn the extension upside down (So the bend is above the clamp). However I doubt you’d need it as you only have 2 inches on me and I have a good 6 inches left on my vise. A friend of mine uses a similar set up with no problems and he is 6’ 11".
Cheers,
A.
I got a regal recently and really appreciate the quick hook grabbing of the jaws, without having to stop between hooks and re-adjust them. They are semi-rotary, in that you can turn them back and forth, and I don’t need a rotary very often.