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hmh trv review

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I suppose if I didn't copy the picture every time I commented on something we wouldn't have as much trouble with Band Width space.

 

 

yup you quote just about every time smile.png

 

its a photo from reddit or the suspicious "instagram". i forget

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Enablers! I did it, but since I already have a standard HMH, I just ordered the head. $425. Not that I need it, but I wanted it. I'll sell my Renzetti Master with all the bells and whistles including the parachute tool, which I've never used if the TRV works out.

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I'm first in line for the master!

wink.png

I'll take some photos in the next couple of days...if you're interested, PM me. I's in great shape.

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Well I opened my much anticipated HMH TRV Exhibition Model Vise, which was a Christmas present from my wife, and to say the least I was a little surprised and disappointed in the quality of the cast jaws. We use a lot of size 20's when midge fishing in my part of ther country and working on a size 20 would be difficult. My current vise is the Renzetti Master Series and to be honest you can't begin to compare them. I do understand the difference between a machined vs. cast jaws but I thought the finish would have been much better considering the cost is almost equivalant to the Renzetti Master. For years I have tied on the Renzetti's from the Traveler, Presentation 4000 and now the Master and the only jaws that the HMH could even compare to is the Traveler. It's just one guys opinion but I think the reason you don't see this vise in shops is because they could never get $690.00 for it if you had the time to get your hands on it. I have been following this thread for a while now and brazzer's comments on the vise brought him a lot of greif but I do agree with his review of the vise. This vise is NOT a cheaper option to the LAW which is what I was hoping it would be. If HMH would ever offer machined jaws (price is indicitive of a machined jaw) then the high price tag may be worth it.

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Maybe a valid concern and review JPA but I'm always am a bit concern

when reading a review from someone who has never posted before . This

was the one subject that got you to post JPA?

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jpa

 

how many size 20's have you tied on the trv?

 

Nj51AUq.jpg

 

size 20 is my limit (bad eyes) and theres plenty of room for tying

 

size 28 - 32 might be pushing the limits of the jaw but i dont think it was designed for those sizes

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What's the deal about cast v machined? Both seem to work well for low pressure applications, and while machined probably is "nicer", why is it better? Sturm/Ruger made very fine rifles using cast receivers, and may have been a bit less in size they were fine. I have a TRV I got yesterday and haven't used it yet, but I like it fine. Since I've never had a LAW and am selling my Master vise, I think this one is certainly more compact and figure it will work for my "intermediate" skills.

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Why are machined reels better or more expensive from cast reels? For the money they want I would want machined parts. Expensive vises are just like expensive fly rods, nobody who pays a ridiculous amount of money for fly tying/fishing gear is ever going to give it a bad review. human nature at work.

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Regardless of the application, forged or machined metal is always stronger than cast metal. You're right, Gene, that it might not matter as long as you don't over pressure the jaws. It's also true that thin pieces of cast metal will NOT take as much pressure as forged or machined. So, the first time you apply a little too much pressure ... the tips of the jaws will fail.

 

I definitely agree with JPA ... if I am going to pay top dollar for a tool, I'll expect top dollar worth. Cast metal is NOT top dollar equipment.

 

Oh, and JPA ... if you're staying to participate in more conversations ... Welcome to the site !!!

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Mike is correct about cast being weaker. The reason for this is grain structure. A casting does not have any grain structure. The material you are casting is in a molten state and poured in to a die/mold.

 

If the item is machined from a billet you have a grain structure created from the rolling operation in the steel mill. You may be machining with or against the grain.

 

With forging, the material is not in a molten state but is heated so it is pliable and easy to move. As a result you can manipulate the grain pattern to create the strongest piece possible.

 

Think of it as a piece of solid wood versus a piece of particleboard.

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Your welcome Chugbug. Over 20 years in the forging industry comes in handy sometimes. Even in my present job.

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JPA,- there is a post from MValbano on the first page of this thread you should read. He owns both a LAW and TRV. There were finish issues with the first production jaws and you probably have one of those, if so reach out to Jon at HMH. The jaws on my TRV are as nice as my Renzetti, Also the standard TRV list for $495 and a Renzetti master comes in at $689-$815 depending on options.

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Mine came today and I am pretty happy about it.

 

I agree with most of flytires review.

 

I did find that I could pull vise angle clamp screw and put it on the near side of the vise for convenience. Now all my screw heads are on the same side of the vise.

 

I also found the two threaded knob screw holes on the brass palm wheel, it appears they are provided solely for a finger knob or rod if you want one, there is no other use for them. Mine did not come with any set screws in them.

 

The jaws are investment casted and super strong. I'm not sure why strength of the jaws became part of this discussion. Investment casting is used on the space shuttle (was), firearms and knives. Tool steel is often times investment casted with great success. These jaws are not going to break. IMO it would be un-necessary and cost prohibitive to have machined jaws on this vise. It may be the reason the LAW vise is no longer made. It's for that reason I went to some cast parts on my knives.

 

I found it easy enough to adjust the vise jaws to hold the hook dead on center on the up/down axis. However, the hook was not on center in the side to side axis so when the vise was rotated the hook was an eighth inch high on one side and eighth inch low when rotated to the other side. A little polishing in the right places and now the hook is very close to dead center all the way around it's rotation.

 

I honestly don't know how the hook grooves are going to work, they are shallow and far back in the jaws, especially the largest one. In my mind they will be mostly ineffective. That's the bad news, the good news is, I don't think you need the hook grooves. I put a few hooks in my vise and it holds them all quite well from size 24 to the biggest hooks I use, like 10/0. I may have some trouble with the heavy shank 10/0s. If I do I will go back to my other vise for those flies.

 

I was quite intrigued by the Norvise, and tried to do the Norvise thing with this vise, it was not impossible but not like the Norvise either. I'm going to toy with a small fly wheel on the palm wheel so I can spin the vise. It will be counter balanced to offset the weight of the vise. I may even make a new knuckle for the top of the stem with bearings in it so the vise shaft spins nicely in it.

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