Best Vice For $120

[Gene L 0]

While it's a great idea to try various vises, it's also virtually impossible. There are plenty of reviews of almost all vises, my advice would be read and research and then make a decision. Chances are it won't be perfect but it will still be an outstanding tool. If you can't be with the vise you love, love the one you're with.

[Dave G. 0]

The Odyssey And Odyssey Spider vary. There is a cam lock and screw lock version of the first , not sure on the second but I want to say screw only.. It's no Mongoose though either way. I'm reasonbly sure there are folks here who own them and love them.

 

I know nothing about the vise you say you bought on Ebay. Ebay *can* be good but I would only buy a reputable brand from a reputable dealer there..

[branden_fritzemeier_67 0]

I didnt buy that raptor. And I'd much rather have a cam lock vise. Ill probably end up getting the odyssey spider. Looks like what i need and the one I'm looking at comes with a bobbin cradle as well

[Dave G. 0]

Ya know a person can do way worse than buy a rotating inline vise. I've used one for a couple decades now and while I dream and keep trying out vises and have used others, I can't really find the optimum reason to move on. A good example of one might be the Anvil Apex. I used this vise and it rotates super smooth and pretty much in balance. There are others too.

 

How bad do you need this true rotary feature anyway ? What are you tying for flies that you specifically need that function ?

 

OOps Edit ! Didn't see your reply above !

[branden_fritzemeier_67 0]

Im a production tyer so the rotary feature would help a ton

[branden_fritzemeier_67 0]

Would anyone recommend me getting the odyssey spider? Or is there a better one out there in my price range?

[Dave G. 0]

Im a production tyer so the rotary feature would help a ton

ya

[branden_fritzemeier_67 0]

Guess I'm getting it then haha

[Dave G. 0]

I'm anything but a production tyer myself but if I were considering doing that, it would probably cause me to look long and hard for the purchase of a vise that really suited my most tied ( in demand) flies.. I might even set up a station just for that purpose. Just sayin.. I mean , I'm Not one of those guys but it might change my demands on a vise if I were and I'd probably have a pretty good idea going in of what I needed.

[mikechell 0]

I've got the odyssey spider cam vice.

I love the jaws. Very easy to set, and will hold a hook securely.

It's not a good vote for true rotary function though, in my opinion. The lock is a clamp onto a rubber o-ring. If you try to clamp it too hard, the o-ring starts squeezing out and the clamping action falls off. The same handle is used to clamp the rotation or release it. When the clamp is backed off for rotating, you can't really use the handle to rotate the vise.

I didn't get it for the rotary function ... and thus, I am very pleased with the vise.

[retrocarp 0]

I have a few vises as do all the above probably .....( It's an Obsession )

My Anvil Atlas ( Wolff Industries ) is a great tool...true rotary... I think eide uses one too. ( He ties some great flies )

But so is my Barracuda and my Danvise which I still like to tie on when travelling. The danvise is well within your price range and will do the job .( the ext jaw head works great )

[retrocarp 0]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Great-Homemade-Fishing-Fly-Tying-Work-Station-With-Six-Adjustable-Vise-Clamps-/262092830728?hash=item3d05f33808:g:5jkAAOSwBLlU~0a5

Thought this would suit production tying.

[RogueFlies 0]

Save up and grab the mongoose, it's the bee's knee's, plated with gold and various rubies and diamonds. I love the damn thing like a child

[Dave G. 0]

I've stopped suggestions to this thread now that I see the OP wants to do or is involved in production tying and is limited to $120 max investment. I mean you can tie flies with any vise but once you start down the production road you don't want things like O rings spitting out, delrin bushing wear or non or difficult replaceable jaws wearing out. IMO, he needs to up the class of vises he is looking at. I personally would want as a minimum a real drag system, not just a friction screw in the rotary function and I would want a minimum of brass bushings. That's minimum but really ball bearing rotation. Just Sayin.and it really is just my view on the matter. I'm sure people do it with less. But people also do it with more, with some of the better vises and even multi vises pre set up for a given task..If you are going to be whipping up 1000 size 14 caddis for instance, maybe followed by another 1000 size 14 BWO tied on the same style hook, you don't want to be futzing about with adjustments for each of 2000 flies ( maybe his volume is not this high but same point non the less, even if only say 200 flies).. You don't want an O ring drag spitting itself out of the Collete etc. when someone is waiting for an order. I'm sure some of you get my point.

[epzamora 0]

The Griffin Blackfoot appears to have a segmented shaft judging from the photo (and my owning an older Griffin 2A vise which is also segmented). you might be able to unscrew it and have a half length shaft for pedestal use. contact griffin to ask, they are very responsive.

 

I have the Wolff (formerly Anvil) Atlas vise, bought last spring. It is true rotary. A nice thing about the Atlas is it has only one jaw. there are no optional midge or large jaws to have to buy, or fiddle with (or misplace/store) and the default jaw holds a wide range of hooks (i fish for trout and bass and i've been tying from size 2/0 down to size 22 hooks) . Another nice thing is it comes with both a pedestal and c-clamp. One "bad" aspect is they saved money by not machining certain parts they deemed not necessary. this is good, it brought the overall price down. An HMH Standard vise is nicely machined everywhere, but then that's way out of your budget. It was a wise compromise in design. It's also made in the USA and has a limited lifetime warranty.

 

My Atlas vice felt a bit rough when it first arrived. I questioned this with the seller and the next day i had an email from the owner and designer of the Atlas vice. He provided me with his phone number, we chatted, he was friendly, explained the design and answered any questions I had. The vice was smooth as butter after one quick adjustment and 1-2 flies. It's a heavy duty vise. It feels like something that will last a long long time and the designer said replacement parts are available if ever necessary. No buyer's remorse at all.

 

Cons: It does not come with a bobbin cradle but you can pick one up from $12-$20. and it does not come with a carry case. also, the material spring isn't the best design but it's of a design many use and works. it just could work better. I think a Peak material spring can work great with some tinkering for attachment. But that goes with many vises, they could all benefit with the Peak design of material spring. The Blackfoot's spring design seems to be slightly better too. Also, there are three screws which use a black plastic head on each, plus on the c-clamp. I don't think it's a serious flaw, they should work fine and have so far. in fact, i haven't touched them since the first week of use.

 

eric

fresno, ca.