# Vise



## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

My vise sucks. Its as cheap as the come. So what do you have? What would be your next vise if you were to upgrade? What would be your dream vise?


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## flytieguy (Jan 12, 2007)

Peak Mountain rotary vise... c clamp version
purchased the extender, saltwater tip and base at a later time[smiley=1-biggrin.gif]

also have the"generic" vise that came with my bass proshop fly tying kit when i started... simple very rugged... learned a lot with it.  [smiley=1-biggrin.gif]


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## aaronshore (Aug 24, 2007)

Tom. Renzetti Saltwater Traveler Pedestal base cam jaw. All you will ever need. Best vise ever.


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## captkenroy (Jan 10, 2007)

I have a Nor-Vise rotary that will handle hooks from tiny up to 8/0.  I seldom use it anymore.  When we were tying commercially, Sharon probably used it more than i did.

For most of the SW flies I personally use, I don't bother with a vise.

I can tie Glass minnows easier without a vise than with.

Most of my flies are mighty simple and they simply catch fish.
I can buy everything I need to tie any fly that I use these days at Wal-Mart.

If you are a flyfisherman who ties an occasional fly and absolutely must have a rotary vise, you can make your own out of PVC pipe, a 5/8" dowel and a 3/16" bolt with wing nut. You will need a drill and a hack saw and about 15 minutes.

Think about it this way: Suppose you tie 2 dozen flies in a year. Spending $300 or more on a vise doesn't make much sense nor does it make the wife happy.

For about $10, you can tie a million flies. (not including hooks) Road kill is a pretty good source of bucktail and Squirrel tail.

We killed a half dozen roosters from the last batch of chicks we bought. I have a ton of mighty fine hackles for no money at all. The roosters became chicken salad.


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## Spook (Apr 6, 2007)

Seconding the Peak, although I prefer the pedestal base. That way you can use it anywhere. For the price, it rules. The standard jaws will handle pretty much anything that you'd be tying for inshore. A friend of mine uses the Danvise, and it also does well for the price, but does have some polymer components.


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## Guest (Jul 2, 2008)

I have been using the Griffin Spider vise, holds the hook great and it's only about 75 bucks. But the Renzetti is REALLY nice!!


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

So far I am leaning towards a Renzetti. If I am going to spend the money on a quality vise I would rather support a local business. I thought about picking up one on ebay but I think I am going to wait until the Fly Fishing & Rod Building Fair Scheduled for Dec 5 and 6, 2008 and buy myself a Christmas present.

http://www.renzetti.com/news.php


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## Spook (Apr 6, 2007)

If you can swing the cost, I don't think you can go wrong with Renzetti. I've never used one, but I get the impression that they are generally regarded as the best around. The only suggestion I would have is to go with the cam jaws. For big saltwater or spinning bass bugs, it's nice to be able to really crank the jaws down.


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## aaronshore (Aug 24, 2007)

> So far I am leaning towards a Renzetti. If I am going to spend the money on a quality vise I would rather support a local business. I thought about picking up one on ebay but I think I am going to wait until the Fly Fishing & Rod Building Fair Scheduled for Dec 5 and 6, 2008 and buy myself a Christmas present.
> 
> http://www.renzetti.com/news.php


Great choice. The best part is they are in Titusville in case you have any problems


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## aaronshore (Aug 24, 2007)

> Most of my flies are mighty simple and they simply catch fish.
> I can buy everything I need to tie any fly that I use these days at Wal-Mart.
> 
> If you are a flyfisherman who ties an occasional fly and absolutely must have a rotary vise, you can make your own out of PVC pipe, a 5/8" dowel and a 3/16" bolt with wing nut.  You will need a drill and a hack saw and about 15 minutes.
> ...


No offense Capt. and not to take away from your post, but Tom asked for your dream vise which makes me think money is not an option. If he is complaining about his current vise I doubt he wants to make one from pvc, wood, and a wing nut. And I would hate to hang out in someones tying room who gets their materials from road-kill. All are good ideas, I just dont know anyone desperate enough.


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

> The only suggestion I would have is to go with the cam jaws. For big saltwater or spinning bass bugs, it's nice to be able to really crank the jaws down.


Thanks for that advice. I am suffering from oversized fly disease. I hear its pretty common for bass fisherman who are use to traditional tackle. Lil' deerfly actually spotted it when we were fishing outside of Darwin's Place in ENP. I couldn't even cast the fly I had on my 8 wt more than 30 ft. I don't think its curable so I will probably end up getting a vice that can handle the bigger hooks, Then its bigger fly rods and ultimately target bigger fish ;D


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

> So far I am leaning towards a Renzetti. If I am going to spend the money on a quality vise I would rather support a local business. I thought about picking up one on ebay but I think I am going to wait until the Fly Fishing & Rod Building Fair Scheduled for Dec 5 and 6, 2008 and buy myself a Christmas present.
> 
> http://www.renzetti.com/news.php


Tom, there's nothing quite like spoiling yourself, something us sportsman types rarely do.  

Imagine if you can, that our wifes had equal liberty to buy themselves a new skiff when they got tired of their old one? 

Just think how cool it would be if our wifes came to the realization that 4 strokes really will make the earth a better place to live for our beloved children and their children of course, so they decided to get a new 4 stroke for their rig before us men folk were able to abandon our favorite 2 smoke for a new 4! 

I've tried this, but it hurts... imagine if your wife decided the new Tibor quick change models were vastly superior to the original design and just "had" to have one or maybe two, ya know standard stuff #8 and #12 equivalents to replace the "entry" level reels she's been "living" with for the last year or two? 

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm kinda glad my wife doesn't share the same hobbies as me. 

Ok back to spoiling ourselves with fly tying vises... Being the devout minimalist that I am, I tend to side with captkenroy here. The reality is you can tie 99% of the flies you'd ever need for saltwater and probably at least 89% for the kind of freshwater fishing we do around here with a pair of Vise-Grips spot welded to a C-clamp.  

Now I'm not recommending you do that of course unless you already own a welding machine.  Then I would say have at it, since its probably way more fun making something like that than tying flies anyway, lots more flames, sparks and smoldering metal to deal with than any clouser pattern you could ever dream up. 

Just for the record, here's a $27 vise I picked up a few years back at Swann's fly shop in Dade City:









As hard as it might be to believe, I've honestly tied all the flies I've posted around here with it. One in fact I tied live with JRH standing(maybe swaying at little) next to me and miraculously hooked a 70 something pound tarpon the next morning. :-?

You don't "need" any more than this, really you don't, but if you want to spoil yourself, then buying a fancy new vise from a local company is the next best thing. Just hope your wife doesn't want the fancier model that you decided was too expensive and really a bit overkill, so you got the $180 model instead


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Thanks for chiming in Rambo. I like the signature line too.


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Oh yea, the only Sage flyrod that I own I got from you  Before that I was fishing with a Fenwick for about 15 years.


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

> I would hate to hang out in someones tying room who gets their materials from road-kill.


aaron the trick is fresh road kill.  they don't smell any worse than anything you might kill during hunting season. I hate to admit it, but during the "off" season I don't try quite as hard to miss "material" candidates while driving.  

Ironically too, there were a million more "yard birds" around in Hialeah and Miami than in the ranch and farm country I live now. A pellet rifle was all ya needed down there to get all the saddle and neck hackle you could ever use in a season.


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

> Thanks for chiming in Rambo.


huh? :-? that guy makes a living with make believe stunts and is a steroid freak at that! Me, I'm for real baby and I don't even take multi-vitamins every day.


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

> .....they don't smell any worse than anything you might kill during hunting season. I hate to admit it, but during the "off" season I don't try quite as hard to miss "material" candidates while driving.
> 
> Ironically too, there were a million more "yard birds" around in Hialeah and Miami than in the ranch and farm country I live now. A pellet rifle was all ya needed down there to get all the saddle and neck hackle you could ever use in a season.


Not the actor. The character Rambo. He ain't got nothin' on you ;D


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## flyfshrmn82 (Oct 12, 2007)

I use a Renzetti. I have had mine for over 10 years and have no complaints. I used to tie commercially for several flyshops in Colorado and South America. It has been very dependable for me.


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## aaronshore (Aug 24, 2007)

> > I would hate to hang out in someones tying room who gets their materials from road-kill.
> 
> 
> aaron the trick is fresh road kill.   they don't smell any worse than anything you might kill during hunting season. I hate to admit it, but during the "off" season I don't try quite as hard to miss "material" candidates while driving.
> ...


In the florida heat fresh means you killed it..LOL. I would rather spend the 5 bucks for a bucktail than the time it would take me to preserve on from a deer I killed. My time is worth more to me than than.


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## mwk (Jul 3, 2008)

Tom check out the Dyna King trekker..............OO has them.

I would try tying on a couple diferent vices. The angle of the dyna king works much better for me.

http://www.dyna-king.com/flyvise_dtl.asp?itemval=19&pv=0&pid=005


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Your right. It wouldn't hurt to check a few out first. I also want to go over there and start participating in the flies and lies they do on the first Wednesday of every month.


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## flyfshrmn82 (Oct 12, 2007)

Bring it on man. I try to make it every month, but missed July.


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Good to to know other forum members are going! I will try to see you over there in August. Anyone else?


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## Gartooth (Mar 18, 2008)

Main thing to keep in mind with these dream vises is that they must hold a bulldog grip on the hook- no slipping.  A 20 dollar pair of needle nose Vise Grips welded to a rod and base/clamp will do it, so will most (not all) premium 200+ dollar vise.

My first vise was the Vise Grip one.  Worked great... still does after 30 years.  Only thing, it's not rotary.  I do love the rotary feature, so I use the Renzetti Traveler pedestal and have tied thousands of flies on it.  It is a great vise.  If you are tying primarily saltwater flies, you might want to consider outfitting it with the  Clouser jaw assembly (extra 30 bucks).  I have found the flat vertical orientation of these jaws makes accessing the hook easier on a variety of patterns.

Casey


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## White_Fly (Jan 15, 2007)

Tom,
Just go to town and buy a Renzetti Travler with a cam jaw. You will be happy forever with it. It will handle small and large hooks with ease. Waste your time fishing or tying, not looking at other vises.  You won't do any better!! 
"JUST THE FACTS,MAM"

Jim


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## beavis (Dec 11, 2006)

I guess I went against the grain and bought the cadillac. I like it!

small hooks (24) to big hooks (10/0) and it cranks down on hooks


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2008)

> I guess I went against the grain and bought the cadillac. I like it!
> 
> small hooks (24) to big hooks (10/0) and it cranks down on hooks


Duh. And probably the reason you were in time out?


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## aaronshore (Aug 24, 2007)

WELL........LOOKY LOOKY. El Diablo himself


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

> I guess I went against the grain and bought the cadillac. I like it!
> 
> small hooks (24) to big hooks (10/0) and it cranks down on hooks


so what do those things do again?


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## Bob (Feb 2, 2007)

> > I guess I went against the grain and bought the cadillac. I like it!
> >
> > small hooks (24) to big hooks (10/0) and it cranks down on hooks
> 
> ...


He puts decorative wraps on gaff hooks with his DynaKing Barracuda - I know I do .


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