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birddog1

VISE

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Hello, ive been tying for a few monthes now on a starter vise, but want to upgrade to a rotary vise but dont want to break the bank, any suggestions?

thanks

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You can go the cheaper way and end up with a vise that in a year or two you wish you hadn't bought, or you can go with a higher quality vise that will last a lifetime. Personally, if I was to start over and get a GREAT lifetime rotary vise, it 'd be an HMH. Opinions vary and your best bet is to try different ones at a fly shop to make up your mind. You can search "vises" in the search forum at the top right and get past discussions on vises and their pros and cons

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I can understand your dilemma. My first vise came with a fly-tying kit, worked okay for about the first year. Once the "fly-tying bug" bit me, I knew I needed to upgrade. After hanging around with other fly-tiers and reading several on-line reviews and comparisons, I knew I wanted a rotary vise of some sort. I opted to purchase a Peak vise and haven't regretted it. It has the rotary capabilities I was looking for and the price was right. Here's a url to a fly-vise review that was helpful for me at the time I was looking for information: http://www.flyfishohio.com/Vise%20Review%201/Fly_Tying_Vise_Shoot-Out.htm

Including the other post, I hope this helpful for you.

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You can go the cheaper way and end up with a vise that in a year or two you wish you hadn't bought, or you can go with a higher quality vise that will last a lifetime. Personally, if I was to start over and get a GREAT lifetime rotary vise, it 'd be an HMH. Opinions vary and your best bet is to try different ones at a fly shop to make up your mind. You can search "vises" in the search forum at the top right and get past discussions on vises and their pros and cons

 

I didn't think HMH made a rotary vice? Prepared to stand corrected however!

 

I agree with the main point though, you should carry on with the cheap vice and keep saving your pennies. Pick your dream vice and save up for it. Money spent in the middle ground is wasted in my humble opinion.

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You can go the cheaper way and end up with a vise that in a year or two you wish you hadn't bought, or you can go with a higher quality vise that will last a lifetime. Personally, if I was to start over and get a GREAT lifetime rotary vise, it 'd be an HMH. Opinions vary and your best bet is to try different ones at a fly shop to make up your mind. You can search "vises" in the search forum at the top right and get past discussions on vises and their pros and cons

 

I didn't think HMH made a rotary vice? Prepared to stand corrected however!

 

I agree with the main point though, you should carry on with the cheap vice and keep saving your pennies. Pick your dream vice and save up for it. Money spent in the middle ground is wasted in my humble opinion.

 

Right you are....about saving for the vise you really want :lol: As far as the rotating HMH...looks like all of them do but I may have misread it

http://www.hmhvises.com/

That first one on the list has me drooling... :lol:

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Good suggestions about trying out different vises if you can. Read all the reviews you can get your hands on. The article on choosing a vise in the latest (I think - don't have it in front of me right now) Fly Tyer magazine is very good. It explains the different styles of vises and pros and cons. Grab that issue if you can. Also the vise review mentioned on the flyfishohio site is very informative.

 

Don't get confused between "rotary" and "true rotary". HMH, Regal, etc are rotary, but not true rotory. A rotary vise enables you to turn the fly, but not on the axis of the shank - handy for looking at the back or bottom of a fly; a true rotary turns the hook on its axis, enabling you to wind bodies, hackle, ribbing, etc by turning the handle an holding the bobbin in one position.

 

I think when most tiers talk about a rotary vise, they are thinking of a true rotary. I've had some true rotary vises over the years, but finally ended up with a Regal Medallian. Not a true rotary, but very easy to use, and built like a tank. Most tiers with true rotary vises don't use them to thier full potential anyway.

 

 

Just my $.02 worth.

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I second the vote for HMH, I've had mine for less than a month, but it has performed flawlessly on everything, salmon flies, wet flies, dry flies, stacking deer hair, everything. And in the event of something on it failing I've heard quite a few stories about their customer service and they are amazing, just like customer service should be. They have a lifetime warranty, btw. I think "true" rotary is over rated, but rotary is almost essential, I really don't care what axis it is turning on, just as long as it spins. There are a few other vises that look interesting to try, but I don't have that kind of money. HMH is tops in my book.

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I currently use a Renzetti Traveler, and it's great. Yes it's a true rotary. It's the best vise I've owned.

 

 

Like what others have said about the true rotary vise, rotating on it's axis. You're able to keep great amount of tension over the "rotary" vise. As it spins on its axis, it will always be perpendicular to your thread, unlike the non-true-rotary vises out there which will be perpendicular but you'll have to level it every spin, kind of a pain in the a$$.

 

 

oh they spin faster aswell.

 

 

maybe i'm wrong, maybe i'm not, but that's what i think.

 

 

 

If you're looking for a cheap ($) true rotary vise then ask the guy at your local fly shop to see if he'll discount display vises...

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