Best Vice For $120

[retrocarp 0]

LMAO !!!!!!

[retrocarp 0]

Goduster should Know he sells them lol

I have to agree with him though ....the damn vise is indestructable ...or at least feels like it .

I'm not sure why I use my dynaking over it

Mind you I have just tied a couple of buzzers / emergers on my danvise lol

[retrocarp 0]

Oh Cheech !

The mongoose was an option a couple of years ago but upon examining it ....(wasn't sexy enough ) It was almost like the robotic arm in a car factory...LOL

No offence intended.

[Dave G. 0]

Just buy one of the Wolff Ind Atlas vises for 125.00 shipped. Lifetime warranty and totally US manufactured. Comes with both a clamp as well as a nice heavy base

Yes, I like the friction drag setup on the Atlas better than on the Peak . I've used both. the sale is off now at J Stockard but the Atlas had been on sale at $119, now returned to full $148 price tag, plus shipping.. So if you sell these for $125 shipped or know who does, that's a very good price. that would be about equivalent to J Stockards sale price.

 

For those who don't know about the friction drag difference between the Atlas and the Peak, because at a glance they look the same. They are not the same, the side screw on the Atlas is a lock, not the resistance drag. The drag is set off the end of the vice at the very end opposite end to the jaw end. The Peak only has the side screw, basically a bumper that rubs against the arbor. The Atlas has a true drag. No question in the examples I've either used or tried out the Atlas ran smoother. much like a disk drag reel is always smoother than a click drag but not as drastic obviously. What needs machining is very well machined in the Atlas and what isn't needed to be machine is just bead blasted keeping cost down but leaving a satin looking finish.

 

Atlas Rotary Vise review ( notice the knurled knob at the left end of the arbor past the handle is the drag adjustment, also notice the next knob in is used to spin the vise at speed with thumb and fore finger when not using the handle at slow speeds): http://www.flyfishohio.com/Vise%20Review%201/Anvil_Atlas.htm

 

Peak Rotary vise review ( notice only a screw to set drag and no means, no knurled knob, for higher speed spinning): http://www.flyfishohio.com/Vise%20Review%201/peak_rotary_vise.htm

 

Danvise Rotary vise review ( rated in between the other two fwiw, it may or may not have features you enjoy using but it has ball bearings and drag is set with teh two big knurled nuts at the left and of the arbor assembly): http://www.flyfishohio.com/Vise%20Review%201/danica_danvise.htm

 

Spinning is something important to me, I use it to form dubbing ropes and peacock herl ropes. Once accustomed to this exercise it's faster and more accurate than pressure twisting on or hand wrapping dubbing or than dubbing loops ( for me). Each of us gets to assess such features for ourselves though, it may not be important at all to someone else.

 

Just sayin.

[branden_fritzemeier_67 0]

So atlas or peak?

[Gene L 0]

Just buy one of the Wolff Ind Atlas vises for 125.00 shipped. Lifetime warranty and totally US manufactured. Comes with both a clamp as well as a nice heavy base

 

I've got a Wolf Apex (formerly Anvil Apex) which is a great non-rotary vise. I think it cost me $75 and will hold any hook...it's a "rotaing" vise, not a true rotary. It's not as smooth as my HMH vises ant the threads on the draw collet are kind coarse, but it's a great vise for the price. The Anvil rotary vise appear to bee the same collet and head type as the Apex, I don't know.

 

I'm not a fast-tier and don't need a full rotary. Looks kinda simple but works great.

[Dave G. 0]

I tried out an Apex not so long ago. It doesn't have the resistance drag feature of the Atlas but it can be set horizontal and spin like crazy LOL ! It rotates very smoothly, the drag is just a screw ( like the Peak), that may cause a little roughness compared with the Traveler or Atlas or Danvise ,which all have rear drag. But I spun it with the drag set free and it was super smooth set that way. I wouldn't throw any of them out if I owned them, what I own is much more rough than any of them and I get my flies tied. Anyway, I was very impressed with the Apex actually.

 

I'm not a fast tyer either,Gene, but I still like spinning ropes of dubbing and peacock herl vs any other way. In fact I'm a rather slow tyer !

[Dave G. 0]

So atlas or peak?

Ha Ha, you decide, it will be your vise going forward !! I doubt anyone is going to say you made a bad choice. But you have reviews and comments and even videos full of information to go on. You should be starting to see a feature set that leans itself to your tying style.

 

What I need to do is tie some baby herring now that I have some pink DNA. My herring needed just a few strands of pink in them. These are really baby herring. tied on #8 and #6 Nymph hooks. The herring should cruise by the beach at this pond I go to in a couple of hours and the trout will be on them, LOL.

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Try some, buy one & just get use to using it! A Belgian tyer told me at the fly expo he is very happy with the Chinese knock off of the famous vise from South Africa!

[heavynets 0]

It pains me to add yet another post to this ridiculously long thread, however, I'm a very weak person. "Try some, buy one & just get use to using it!", is the only advice you need. You are not buying your tombstone. If you don't like the vise, sell it and buy another.

 

My 5-8 year old Peak vise has as "real" of a brake as any other vise. It is a plastic screw which bears against the steel rotating shaft. It is smooth as silk, yet will lock the rotation at any angle. If older (or newer) models use a steel screw, just replace it with a plastic one or put a small piece of plastic between the steel screw and the shaft.

 

Based on looks alone, I could never own a Danvise or some others. To me, flies are little works of art. Putting art in a clunky vise is akin to serving a fine steak on a paper plate. The vise should not only be functional, but also inspirational and compliment the fly. My modified Peak vise, to me, does this. That J-vise from South Africa is also real nice. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

You can't go wrong with the Peak or the Anvil or any vise that YOU like.

[nick2011 0]

Thanks everyone!! I believe i would be needing a true rotary vise for my needs though. Still looking do please keep the answers coming!

i use a peak rotary, its a great little vise for the money and the base is excellent, specially if you buy a 3 dollar magnetic bowl from walmart to sit it on there and hold hoooks ect.

[flytire 0]

 

renzetti traveler

[retrocarp 0]

DAD .....ARE WE THERE YET !!!!!!

[Dave G. 0]

 

renzetti traveler

Love It LOL !

[Gene L 0]

So atlas or peak?

Buy one or the other or an entirely different vise close to your budget, for Christ's sake. You'll love it. Buying a vise isn't like getting a tattoo. If you decide to get rid of it, it's not painful.