what hook size range do u tie often.
what brands o vise do u use/recomend
There are many good threads on this board about which good rotary to buy. It all depends on price range. If money wasn’t a consideration I would like a Dyna King Barracuda. Given the above situations though, I personally own a Dan Vise and a Peak Vise. Wanted two vises so that a family member could tie with me.
Here is a great review: http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/hwvise/index.html
and one more: http://www.flyfishohio.com/Vise%20Review%201/Fly_Tying_Vise_Shoot-Out.htm
On the hook sizes I would really only tie from about a size 6 to 18. Anything much smaller this old guy, just buys those itty bitty flies. I fish mostly spring creeks for trout.
Have fun shopping,
Rick
I’ve got a Renzetti Traveller (standard jaws) and tie everything from #22-4/0. Great vise.
Regards,
Scott
I fish trout and pan fish, I tie size 10 to 22. I recommend the best vice you can afford with out taking out a loan or skipping meals. I have three vices, the most expensive was about $30 all of them hold the hook which is what is needed. My next vice will most likely be a danvice because I can see where a rotary would help me in some parts of my tying.
Eric
If you give us an idea of what your fishing for and the type of flies you want to tie it will give us a better understanding of what to recommend
I tie on a Traveller as well, they are great vises for the money. I’ve tied 1/0 to #22 even though the jaws will handle a better range than that. Most of my tying is for trout.
If you don’t have a rotary vise and wish to ‘try out’ a rotary vise; may I suggest the EZ Rotary Vise, by Zephr. I know you can get it through Hook & Hackle; (a sponsor) and from what I can tell they are the only supplier to carry that vise. All the reviews I’ve seen give it very high marks for a inexpensive starter rotary.
http://www.flyfishohio.com/Vise%20Review%201/zephr_ez_rotary_vise.htm
Will it be my only vise? Nope. My brother gave it to me when I started to tie. And he got it from a friend when he started to tie. I will in turn pass it on to a family member or friend after I raise enough to purchase one of the higher end vises. Will I miss it? Heck yeah. It is simple doesn’t have alot of bells and whistles and gets the job done.
I’ve had no problems with this vise holding the hook sizes I tie, 6 thru 14, streamers, wet, dry and egg.
I’ve got a Danvise and use it for tying everything from 1/8-oz jigs down to size 16 dry flies. Works great!
I tie probably 50% bass bugs and poppers and 50% trout flies and did so for many years on a simple thompson A vise. After a bit of research and a fairly empty pocket, I bought a danvise. Love the thing. It’s got everything I need and it works great. My best recommendation is to definitely go with a rotary of some kind. Being able to rotate the fly around to see that elusive backside and bottom is more than worth the extra cost. I paid $72 for new Danvise off ebay. I found a guy who had great feedback and even offered free shipping. I listed a link to one he’s selling now below. I’ve also heard good things about the EZ rotary vise from H&H. The video that comes with the danvise is helpful to. Hope this helps.
Hare
if money is not a concern a Nor Vise is highly recommended, check out the past threads on rotary vices.
Ghost.
i want a LAW vise!!!
I want to make a couple of comments about my personal experiences with the two Rotaries that I own. I called one of the more famous Danvise distributors and told him that I bought a Danvise off of Ebay and had a couple of questions. He told me to watch the video and wasn’t interested in really helping me with anything. Nothing again that distributor because he didn’t make any money off of the deal so it wasn’t his problem. Maybe I caught him on a bad day, but the experience wasn’t a good one. I thought that he was the sole importer of the product but I see where there are many importers of this product these days. The real deal is when you have a question about the product who to contact. Do an internet search on Danvise and try to find a company rep here in the states. I couldn’t find one.
On the other hand I bought a Peak vise out of the Bargain Cave at Cabela’s. Peak has been more than fantastic with very fast responses to my questions and customer service of such a high level that I am pleasantly surprised. I had a question on the jaws of my unit and they sent me a new one that I had in a couple of days, free of charge and then just asked that I return the older set. I sent out a question to a distributor that they forwarded to Peak and Peak responded in an email right away. Lots of personal attention and quick answers to assure that their customers are happy with their product.
Again, I own both units and while I like both vises the Peak customer service will have me recomending their products over a similar product. If you have a good product but can’t get help when you need it, that matters to me.
The Peak product is made in the US with US materials, not just stuff imported and then assembled here. I can see that they are hungry to make a good name for themselves. As far as I am concerned they have proven themselves to be a great company. That’s the kind of edge that earns them a spot in consideration of any product that you might consider buying.
Rick Ingle
I use hooks of varying styles in sizes ranging from 6 to 26.
I recently traded a DK Barracuda for a Nor-Vise. I wish I got one sooner. A quality vice! When I did the trade (with jason72) I called Norm. His first words were “welcome to the Nor-Vise family.” He then proceeded to offer me some freebies like a dvd and spent the rest of the conversation answering my questions. I was impressed, especially considering I did not buy one. A week or so later I called Norm back and he remembered me. We chatted a bit and then I ordered a few goodies. The goodies arrived a couple days later.
The vice is amazing. It is very versatile. My dubbing has never looked better and my time at the vice has never been more enjoyable. I highly recommend it.
If you are interested in a rotary vice, I highly recommend Al and Gretchen Beatty’s book and video on Rotary Tying Techniques. Ron Eagle Elk did a review on the book you can find in this weeks articles on the main page.
I tie everything from 1/4 oz jigs to #18 flies and use a Renzetti Saltwater Traveler with cam jaw.
Skip
I have 5 vises, 2 are semi Rotary vises made in India, one is a light weight rotary for travelling and the other two are real cheapies that do for saltwater flies. I hope one day to get a true rotary vise to replace them all. Seems a little like over kill having so many, but they were all bought years apart from each other, they were inexpensive and therefore a real bargain at the time.
Jeanne
Sounds like a great time to either learn how to use EBay or to get them listed on Ebay if you are an old hat at it. Take the money are buy a nicer vise, then you will wonder what took you so long to make the change. Personally, I have probably spent more on different scissors trying to find a pair that I really liked than what I paid for one of rotoy vises. Keep your favorite one as a back up or a traveler and never look back.
Do yourself a huge favor and follow Clay’s advise! This is the one thing that you can do which will make your tying time so much more enjoyable. This comes from someone who spent 15+ years tying on India made junk…
Yes I probably should do something like that - I never actually thought of doing it before. I use the saltwater vise when we go up country during the Winter months and I have a travelling light weight vise for the Trout flies. Mind you the amount of materials, etc I take with me fills the boot of the car without food, clothing, etc…!! lol
Jeanne
I was never really keen on using Ebay, had a few bad experience in the past with them. but since i started fly tying a few months ago, I started browsing some of the more popular fly tying “stores” and found a great deal on a True Rotary Danvise for $65 (less S/H) and this was brand new w/DVD and bobbin cradle/rest and they through in the adapter for a few extra bucks … a very good deal 
Quiet pleased with it so far. 
Mike