Danvise.... very frustrated with jaws

[artimus001 0]

in this day and age, i'm surprised that flaring is an issue at all.

 

from my experience of work with metal; selection, machining, hardening/tempering, and grinding; a solid design should be a no-brainer.

"I don't know if it is possible to temper something that thick." yes it is possible, with a proper soaking oven.

my call on this is, poor material selection (higher grade of tool steel), and poor heat treatment (tightly controlled temps). as well from what i can see; the jaws come to too fine a point, which leaves very little material for strength.

 

just my thoughts......

[wschmitt3 0]

I don't even think it is steel. I'm pretty sure it is aluminum.

 

This is what it looks like.

[SilverCreek 0]

Wow, that is terrible.

 

I've tied on the same Renzetti for 30 years. I had the knurled plastic top of a screw break. Renzetti replaced for free with the replacement that was all metal.

 

If Danvise will replace those jaws, replace it and sell that vise and get one that will hold up. They are many good vises. I have two Renzettis and am very happy.

[artimus001 0]

thanks for the photo of the jaws from that angle. i think it helps to prove my point that there isn't enough material, because the jaws come to a conical point.

a close look at the jaws on a Law vice, shows that the jaws come to a point but have enough material through the cross-section to handle the clamping pressure.

 

function, fit, and finish are the three sides to the manufacturing triangle. in this day and age; most manufactures drop one leg to maximize profits.

[TheCream 0]

The same issue led me to the HMH Spartan I now own. That thing is bullet proof. With the midge jaws as an add-on, I can tie flies from 6/0 musky flies to size 32 midges on that vise.

[wschmitt3 0]

I ordered a new set of jaws to get through until I can make a purchase of a new vise. I didn't get to stop by the fly shop in Lebanon, NH today to look at a new vise as I intended. So I'll have to wait a little while until I can do some hands on shopping, I'm hoping to go to the Fly Rod Shop in Stowe, Vt on Monday since I will be in the area.

 

I have tied on a Regal Medallion a few times and I tied one fly on a Renzetti (Traveler I think). I used both at Project Healing Waters a couple years ago, it was the first and second time tying flies so I cant really say weather or not one of them were a vise I would want to buy. I do like that the jaws on the Regal don't need to be adjusted just open and close but I don't know I am planning on just trying them out in the store. If I remember right The Fly Rod Shop had a pretty good selection of vises so we will see I guess.

[heavynets 0]

If it were mine and the company won't replace the jaws for free, I would grind off the bad part and reshape with more meat in the tip. It could easily be done with a cheap bench grinder or hand grinder. Just be careful to not overheat the tip while grinding. If the metal changes color due to heat, any hardness the metal had (if any) will be lost. Nothing to lose but a little time.

[flytire 0]

looks like hooks were placed too close to the tips of the jaws and may have been over tightened and over time have spread out as shown in the photo. as the spread progressed the hook needed to be placed further back inside the jaws where it should have been placed in the first place. the jaws didnt flare by placing the hook inside the jaws

[artimus001 0]

If it were mine and the company won't replace the jaws for free......

i'd cut bait and run, and let a couple of thousand other fly tyers know what happened with my vise jaws.

 

 

 

I would grind off the bad part and reshape with more meat in the tip. It could easily be done with a cheap bench grinder or hand grinder.

not even worth the time plugging in the grinder. you'd lose the parallel faces on the inside of the jaws, and take the heat treatment out for sure.

 

this would be a job for a cylindrical and surface grinders. precise holding, small cuts and coolant go all way. if you had access to grinders like this, then you would probably have made your own vise in the first place, lol.

[Stippled Popper 0]

I have a Danvise clamped to my tying desk and a newer one with a pedestal base that I use when tying away from

home.(I am too lazy to keep screwing and unscrewing the thing and some conclave's tables don't have table rims

thin enough for the clamped version). My refrigerator magnet is attracted to both. So my two at least don't have

aluminum jaws.

[heavynets 0]

"not even worth the time plugging in the grinder. you'd lose the parallel faces on the inside of the jaws, and take the heat treatment out for sure."

 

You are trying to do it the hard way. Just grind the nose back past the deformed area (looks like about 1/8") and MAYBE regrind the taper (leave more material at the tip to add strength). Don't grind on the "parallel" surface, but remove the portion that is no longer parallel. It's easily done without any fancy equipment.

 

In the future insert the hooks a little deeper into the jaws

[SilverCreek 0]

I do like that the jaws on the Regal don't need to be adjusted just open and close but I don't know I am planning on just trying them out in the store.

 

You have to be very careful on how you place small hooks into a Regal. It can spit hooks and chip the jaws. The automatic jaws do save time but for me the "ping" and another lost hook was what made me sell my Regal.

 

http://www.kiene.com/forums/showthread.php?22562-Anyone-use-a-Regal-Vise

 

http://forums.flytyer.com/forum/7-tools-material/11984-the-regal-vise

 

http://www.regalvise.com/service.html

 

"This warranty does not cover damage caused by :

(1) Improperly placing hooks into jaw mechanism; Improper hook placement will invalidate your warranty and may cause damage to the vise jaws. Your regal vise is designed in a specific manner to hold hooks securely while tying. Care must be taken when both placing a hook into the jaws and taking a hook out of the jaws. When a hook is properly placed and secured you will find tying easier and safer. Improper hook placement may also cause sudden release of the hook from the jaws under tension. Always wear eye protection when using a fly tying vise. Please read and review Proper Hook Placement information that is on the warranty card and/or the web site."

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/forum/index.php?threads/regal-vise-projectiles.90724/

"If you will look on the instructions provided by Regal, the suggest wearing safety glasses"

[mikechell 0]

Just grind the nose back past the deformed area (looks like about 1/8") and MAYBE regrind the taper (leave more material at the tip to add strength).

I think he means, like this ...

 

[artimus001 0]

if you do try to rework your jaws by hand, i would suggest light cuts with a dremel, and cool in water often. any discolouration, past the colour of straw and you risk the loss of your hardness.

[wschmitt3 0]

I'm not going to be doing any reshaping. I have a thing about reengineering something that I purchased that probably should have been engineered properly in the first place (not a big fan). But thanks for the input.

 

Popper - Your right it is magnetic. So not aluminum. My bad. I knew that it was magnetic, slipped my mind I guess. I'm glad your so happy with your Danvises. I actually have been pretty happy with mine as well but not happy that the jaws keep giving me problems like this. As I said before I follow directions pretty damn well, I couldn't have been more careful or vigilant in my efforts to prevent this and it still happened.

 

Flytire - In short, no I didn't put it in too shallow. If I put hooks in any deeper than I do I wouldn't be able to tie on them especially in the smaller sizes like 18-20.

 

My final thoughts on this topic -

 

This is not a user error issue and I am not one of a small number of people that have had this problem. This is a pervasive problem with this device in my opinion it is a design and engineering problem. A quick internet search will reveal quite a few forum discussions and even 2 bad reviews on the Orvis website. Here is a thing to consider. Why did both Cabelas (the place I originally bought it from) and Orvis discontinue sales of this item? I am betting it is because it isn't a quality product and they got tons of negative customer feedback.

 

But....I like tying on this vise it was a great purchase as a starter vise and its ok its not perfect. It just irritated me that I have to replace the jaws again to continue to tie on it and because of this irritation I have decided it is time to move on to a vise that is designed and built better.