I just sent this in as a comment on “rests for bobbin holders”. I’d really like to start it as a new thread,
While a great number of us have rotary vises it would be interesting to learn how many of us use the feature consistently. I have a Peak and a Renzetti. They are very nice but the only time I use the rotary feature is to look at the far side of the fly while in process. I especially don’t get involved in rotary stuff when leading classes because most newbies have non-rotaries. All the neat rotary methods are novel but I guess I’m just too set in my ways to accept the changes.
I bet I’m not alone. 
Thanks for your comments.
When using my Nor-Vice I use rotary tying at some point or another on all flies even if it is just to lay down a thread base. I really like using rotary for dubbing and hackling flies. It just make the process so much easier and faster. I also like to use it when I apply ribbing or wrapping the shank with say tinsel. It really speeds up applying wire on flies like a copper John or adding lead or non-lead weight to the shank of the hook. These are just a few things I regularly do when using my rotary vise.
New to my rotary but yeah,have been using it for tinsel bodies and ribbing and it’s great.
I am with TyroneFly on this one. I have a Norvise and use it for lots of fly body work. It is really good for wrapping biot bodies.
Bob W
Rotary tying is something I use when I feel I need it, which isn’t that often on smaller flies. I have, in fact I still am, considering adding a Nor Vice to my set up. The only reason for this is speed. As a production tier I have reached a point where any improvement in speed is becoming very small and takes a lot of work. The Nor Vice may offer me an increase in speed. For most people that isn’t a factor. For me it is a huge one. What I am debating is whether the learning curve is going to be worth it. I don’t want to buy an expensive “white elephant”.
Maybe this comment belongs on the other thread but my bobbin rest has remained in my fly tying chest since I last moved home, which was two years ago this month. Thats a measure of how much I currently use rotary techniques.
Cheers,
A.
When I used to tie on a DynaKing Baraccuda vise, I mainly used the rotary feature to check the “back” side of the fly but since I switched over to the Norvise, (about 10 years ago) I use the rotary feature on my vise for just about every fly I tie.
Jim Smith
I’ve used a Peak for the last several years, but perhaps more significantly I tied on a stationary Thompson vise for about 20 years prior to acquiring the Peak vise. So I mostly tie in a stationary fashion as that is how I learned and what I’m used to.
I do use the rotary for accessing or turning the fly – eg, tying in a beard hackle. I also use the rotary feature for certain body materials on some flies – eg, wrapping a coarse dubbing loop on a scud.
I didn’t buy my Peak specifically for hte rotary feature. It just seems like most all of the higher quality vises are rotary now days.
I use my rotary when wrapping a big hook, or with really small material - whatever takes a lot of turns. But I’m thinking of using it more for hackling, which I have trouble getting on straight, or other materials that I don’t want to twist as I lay them on.
I like to use the rotary feature for hackling because I do not think I break as many feathers because the tip of the feather is moved very little and it’s also easier to keep the orientation of the feather as desired. I think the segments formed using a rotary are probably more consisent than with a stationary vise, again less of a tendency to break the wire.
If you first learn on a rotary, it should be a breeze. If, like me, it was re-training, it will take more conscious effort as our brains need time to convert to rotary thinking. We tie on a Nor-vise and would never give it up. Whatever any other vise can do, a Nor-vise will do that and a little bit more.
…lee s
All good points I learned and used a Thompson A for twenty years then bought a Renzetti. I use the rotary for checking the far side of the fly. On occasion I will use the rotary for wrapping floss, That’s about it. I also have two Regal’s that I bought at very good prices and I use one of them when on the road.
As stated when teaching a class I encourage the students to not use the rotary so the will get the basic’s.
We have a fellow in our TU Chapter that is a rotary man. He wraps everything with it and when I watch him it seems that he adds more steps then is necessary.
I use the rotary feature primarily because I tend to bump my HOT lamp when winding around the hook and to maintain consistent tension
I nuse the rotary functionon almost all the flies I tie.
The more I do the easier it gets.
Much easier to “palmer” anything with the rotary function.
Rick
I use rotary on my Danvise for dubbing, ribbing, hackling and palmering on any fly those functions are called for !
I also use the rotary feature almost constantly while tying.
I learned, and tied on, non-rotary vises for many years. When I first tied on a rotary vise it was like a revelation. I use rotary all the time, bodies, hackles, ribbings, any material that gets wrapped around the hook pretty much automatically gets applied by spinning the vise, not wrapping with my hands (with a few exceptions I’m sure.) It’s not a matter of speed for me, because speed is not generally a factor of why I tie flies. I am much more consistent applying materials using rotary versus hand-to-hand-to-hand-to-hand.
Interestingly, not all rotary vises are “true rotary” in the majority of hook sizes.
Most rotary vises have some sort of adjustment which allows the jaws to maintain true rotary even if you change the size of hook you are using.
The beautiful, and heavily sought after LAW Vise does not have such an adjustment, for example. Thus, tying rotary with the LAW is not smoothly done unless you are using a hook which corresponds to the preset position of the jaws in true rotary - something like a size 10 or so hook.
I don’t tie rotary all the time. However, even for just fly inspection, I like the fly to remain on a fixed plane…
The small axial variance, even on large bassbug or saltwater hooks, is of no consequence to me on my Peak. With the exception of the Nor, fly tying as I know it does not involve high RPMs.
Even IF the hook shank is perfectly centered with the axis of rotation, the hook shank flexes due to the tension of the material being applied. When that fact is taken into account, there really is no such thing as “TRUE” rotary tying.
I had been tying for nearly 50 years when I got my Nor-Vise, but had many “rotary” vises prior. The true rotary nature of the Nor-Vise speeds up so many things I tie that were not done prior. I cannot imagine going back to a Renzetti, let alone a Thompson A…
Hap,
Correct me if I’m wrong. I had a Norvise many years ago. The Norvise is in-line rotary…not true rotary?