FFIM

I'm thinking of dropping some hints for a pedestal style rotary vise, that's economical.

The old clamp on vise from high school has had its day.

Appreciate any input.

Peak; Renzetti Traveler; Atlas. Look on EBay for some pretty good deals.

Dave M

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"Fish the West every year. Life is short; and you'll be dead a long time." Chris Hutchins--2009

Don't go cheap on a Rotary if you tie regularly. You'll end up spending more money to buy a quality vise eventually. Renzetti or Peak are probably the best bang for your buck. HMH just introduced a rotary vise, I'm not sure what the price point is on that.
Again, I can't stress enough if you tie on a regular basis (I'd say at least twice a week) buy quality.



A couple things to consider, Do you want true rotary or rotating? Big difference, especially if you are dropping hints to someone who might not know the difference.

You also mentioned that you were left handed. I'm being 100% serious here, The tension adjustment knob on my Renzetti faces me, with the vise jaws to the right. I'd never considered it before, but to tie left handed, simply turning the vise around to tie left would put the knob on the back side, which would be a PITA. Believe it or not, when setting materials you use it a lot. Might want to look into who offers vises set up for left handed tying.

Edited to add, definitely go pedestal.

I love my HMH Spartan... it's not a true rotary, but I don't often find myself wishing I had one. It's it's economical but still quality. I know people who have Renzetti and Peak and they love them, they are good choices.

Peter

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"A good game fish is too valuable to be caught only once"
Lee Wulff

Not to steal a thread but.... Get the TRUE rotary vise. Parker has for years told me to use the ability of my vise, but only in th elast year have I forced myself to actually USE the rotary function....it is better. That said, I tied on a Renzetti- and having had it for nearly 20 years, I have broken it twice, and sent it south to Gainsville- and they have been excellent to me. Personable on the phone (once we each dealt with the other accent). On the other hand, I Have a Regal and it is a fine vise but it does not like small hooks much unless perfectly placed. Camp had a donated DynaKing- which I have only used a few times, but it is a nice working vise.

I go w/ pedistal vises, but have been throwing a C-clamp on to really put the base tight to the bench.

Hutch

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Time to tie- Best wishes.

I e mailed HMH about that new vise. It’s as close to a no longer made British LAW (Lawrence A. Waldron). The introductory price will be $499 for the non fancy base, and I think somewhere in the $650 range for the fancy brass pedestal base.

I’ve always tied on pedestal vises.......but if I tied mostly Bass Bugs I’d go with the clamp, as you can really clamp down on those suckers.

If I didn’t already have an Abel I’d be jumping on that vise.

Dave M

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"Fish the West every year. Life is short; and you'll be dead a long time." Chris Hutchins--2009

I have a Renzetti Traveler (gifted) and I like it. But as Hutch alludes to, have yet to unlock the potential of the true rotary. I'm not a serious or frequent tier, and basically tie the dozen or so patterns which produce best for me and that's about it. Most of them are quite simple ties.
But I'm happy to have it for the time I decide to step it up.
It appears the Traveler is available in left or right-hand setup for both clamp and pedestal options. Retail $169.

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"It gets late early out there" - Yogi Berra

The renzetti is really nice, so my suggestion is geared more toward what you mean by economical. If you don't have or don't want to spend the money on a renzetti, take a look at the Griffin Odyssey spider. It's a true rotary for under $100, great quality. Comes as a clamp style, but you can buy a pedestal and it should fit. I think you can easily reverse the jaw mount for left handed and have the adjusting knobs face you, but they can answer any questions about that. They also now make a cam action model that may fit that bill just fine. I've been happy with mine. Beans used to sell it, not sure if they still do, but if so, there you go as far as if it doesn't quite meet your needs, no risk.

I've also had a Traveler for about 20 years. I distinctly remember paying $99.99 for it thinking Wow I could buy a couple of Thompson A's for that. If the new Traveler is now $169- that's a hell of a steal for a great tool.

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You see that dimple way over there? Well I couldn't hit it with a cruise missile.

This is a "who's better Superman, or Batman" type of thread. Ask 5 tiers and you will get 8 opinions on the "best" vice. My advice is to "test drive" a few at your local shop and figure out what works for you in your price range.
Personally, I tied for a very long time on a Thompson "A" vice and produced many flies which would never make it into a shadow, but, non the less, caught fish. I now tie on a HMH Standard which although is not a "true" rotary, however it does give you the chance to spin the fly. For my purposes, it is fine and I bought it used (after trying it out) from a friend who was no longer tying.

I am a minimalist on vices... I won a HMH SX (cheapest one) in a raffle 12 years ago and I haven’t looked back. It works great for salt to midges. The only flaw I have found is the polyester rings that wear out, but I sent it in for a tune up and it came back with a few spares. All good!

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"Fishermen...spending their lives in the fields and woods...are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals of their pursuits, than philosophers or poets even, who approach her with expectation." - Thoreau

Being like Dave M "A gear hound" I have three vises, and many vices. Two are always on my tying desk. One a regal Inex that's primary function is to mash barbs or to tie big spun deer hair bugs. The other a Renzetti Traveler. Like others I don't get the full benefit of the features, but it has never let me down. From size 2 streamers to 26 midges it has always done the job. I also have a Norvise which I use maybe about 15% of my tying time. This again I barely scratch the surface on what it can do. I must say though I really love the Norvise bobbins and spools. The bobbins are a bit pricey but thread management is a joy. And just having the extra spools loaded and changing them can limit the $ spent for bobbins.
If i had to do it all over again it would be the Renzetti.

Ron

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The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of something that is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.

Sir John Buchan

I used a Renzetti traveler for years. No problems on my part it worked great for me. I bumped up to a Dyna-King Trekker only because the jaws on the Renzetti were getting worn and the fly shop I deal with didn't have Renzetti. Renzetti is a good bang for your buck in my opinion. Although the Dyna-King is treating me well. As far as true rotary goes I love it for applying dubbing, tinsel etc. I wouldn't be without it.

The Griffin Spider is an economical choice. All 3 of my sons have had them for about 5 years now.

I've got two Renzetti Travellers (as a result of wanting to tie a few flies while working in far flung locations out west). They're not bad. I use them when I'm tying away from my home tying station mainly. I prefer to use a Dyna King "Trekker" Barracuda.

Pros:
Dyna King: The base is a lot heavier- which I find a BIG improvement over the Renzetti's. I've been tying a fair amount of stuff with spun deer hair lately and find the heavier base adequate while throwing enough tension on the hooks to bend them.
Dyna King: Cam lock feature is light years ahead of the Renzetti lever-action feature.
Dyna King: Grooved jaws hold larger hooks really well (I have the midge jaws installed, but can hold saltwater hooks no problem).
Renzetti: Smooth tension mechanism on the rotary feature.

Cons:
Dyna King: Tension screw does not make even contact on the shaft, making the rotary feature not smooth all the way around (this is due to their manufacturing process, which involved bending the shaft, putting some camber into what is supposed to be a straight section of shaft).
Renzetti: Light base.
Renzetti: Multiple adjustment features for tension on the shaft loosen up easily.
Renzetti: O-ring tension mechanism weak for larger hooks.

Also- I snowmobile into camp a fair amount of time in the winter, which leads to fine powdery snow getting into a number of things, and usually bring tying gear with me. I've noticed the Renzetti's seem to rust easier than the Dyna King, so if you'll be tying around any sort of moisture (say- at a camp site picnic table)- this is something to consider.

Edited to add- the Thompson A-vise is a big improvement over the old Herter's vise that I learned to tie on.

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"You never miss the water until the well runs dry" - traditional blues