Here we go

I have a bunch of reloading gear in the shed and I'm tired of it collecting dust. When it goes away I'm looking to buy a vise first and then gather the other necessities. I have no clue who's vise is 1- versatile, 2- easy for my thick head to understand, 3- quality enough to go the distance. To this beginner it seems there is a forest of offerings and I have a pocket knife to get to the prize. I've seen a few vises and know I need a rotating version to wrap chenille and such. Help me out fellas. The cold weather is almost here and I need to be set up before cabin fever sets in. Thanx in advance, I already know you're a bunch of stand up guys.

I bought a jig tying kit at BPS to see if this was something that I wanted to do. It turned out to be something that I wanted to do and so far I am still tying on the el cheapo vice that came in the kit. It seems to work okay for me. I did buy some bobbins and some more materials but thats about it.

I tied my first 2-3 hundred with a pair of vise Grips !! LOL!!

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Originally Posted by sticksteer

I tied my first 2-3 hundred with a pair of vise Grips !! LOL!!

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I know a guy that has been tying for years. He does good work. All he has ever used is needle nose vice grips. He places then in a small shop vice, LOL.

spending alot of money on the best and greatest rotary vise, may not be the best approach until you are sure you will want to stick with the hobby. I would buy a 50 dollar griffin superior 1a or 2a vise, with no rotary feature. you do not have to have rotary to wrap chenille. buy a couple bobbins with the ceramic insert in the end of the tube, a small pair of pointy sissors from anvil, they have blue finger loops, and some 140 denier ( weight ) thread for chenille jigs, and maybe some 210 denier flat waxed nylon thread for hair jigs. some head cement for securing the finish knot. chenille, marabou, jigheads, strung neck feathers, jighead paint. I use the liquid vinyl, more vibrant colors and tougher than the powder paint. all this is just my own preferences tho. I do have a 260 dollar rotary vise now , but tied on the ole cheaper ones for 40 years.

i bought a kinda exspensive vise when i first started and rarely use it now. I find myself grabbing the cheap travel box i bought at cabelas and it holds all my tools and is very portable can set on any table and tie away.

But i believe skip has made a list for starters check the sticky post at top

any questions be sure to ask there is alot of great guys here that will do anything to help you out.

JJ

It really depends on what you want out of a vise and for me I had a cheap vise that I wouldn't use and just stayed in my cabinet. I finally decided I wanted to try tying jigs and got that thing out and tied a few, but hated the vise a lot.

So I bought a tying station and the Danvise and worked pretty well, but I was not satisified with the plastic parts and it was just not what I wanted. I then sold it and bought a Renzetti Saltwater traveler and that is a bit over $200. I like it a lot and still do with lots of room around the jaw to work. However then I saw the video of the Nor Vise and since I do tie some flies and was doing some dubbed bodies I could see it was head and shoulders above any normal vise so I bought one and they are high end and I still use it most of the time and I like saving time even wrapping the thread on. See with the Nor you can spin it very fast and some thing work better and faster like that.

About that same time I saw the Peak and heard how great the machine work was on it and how it's kind of built like a tank, heavy and last forever. That is why I wanted to carry them on my web site and I wanted one to tie with my self some. I still love both my Renzetti and my new Peak with will use them all at times, but have to admit I use my Nor way more, but like I said it's hard on the pocket. I have 3 conversion kits for my Nor including the fine point and the large jaws so that is even more money in the pots.

OF all my vises though if money was a question at all, then I would probably would choose the Peak now as it will last forever and is built great.

I like a rotary not just for wrapping chenille and other things even though some chenille does wrap better using the rotary function to wrap instead of using your hands to wrap. First and foremost I like to see the jig/fly for all sides at any given time and I use the rotary function for a lot more than just looking. I even use it when I place my drop of glue on the finish.

So if you only want to buy one vise and not want to replace it a year later then maybe there is a shop you can go to and put hour hands on some different vises?

Personally I had to use that stationary vise and feel sure I would have quit if I didn't buy the Danvise as that makes a lot of difference to me. However if I had it to do over again I would have bought a true rotary a little better than the Danvise first.

Of course this is all just my opinion and to each his or her own, so this and a buck will get you a cup of coffee (not Starbucks though, LOL)

If I can help you with a Peak or any other info please just ask.

Skip

I started with a Griffin 1a and now have a Griffin Odyssey.
I use and like them both.
mikeb

Started with a worth jig tying kit, went to a Herters #9 a buddy gave me, then to a Thompson AA I got on Ebay and my current vise is a Dyna-King Kingfisher.

I've tried a few rotary vise's and I like the Barracuda but I'm not able to shell out that much cash. I can do without rotary and use the rest to buy hooks and materials.

Fatman

Skeetbum,If you didn't see this then here you go.

http://www.flyfishohio.com/Vise%20Re...es_summary.htm