Need some input on a couple of vises

[BrianMyers67]

In the market for a new vise , currently tying on a Thompson A, and want a rotary vise. Think I am down to a Peak rotary or Griffin Montana Mongoose. Have looked up and down the web at written reviews and vids , still have a question or two. I have not seen them in person and don't expect to until I order one. I tie mostly flies for smallmouth , carp and panfish, sizes ranging from 14 on up 1/0 . Most flies are commonly size 10-4 tho.

(1) The distance between the arm and tip of the jaws looks a bit short on the Peak, anyone with one find the arm gets in the way? It just looks a bit crowed to me, can't easily tell the distance on either vise from pics.

(2) I have seen comments on tying Clouser minnows on a full rotary and still needing to flip the hook over in the jaws to finish it. I really hate having to do that as it just interrupts the flow but if I need to then oh well but on flies like most carp flies, headstands and back stabbers , do you feel you still need to flip the hook over in the jaws or just rotate the vise?

Any other input on either vise would greatly be appreciated.

 

[quillfly]

the peak feels weird for like a week or two then you get used to the spacing, is it close yes is it a pain or incumbersome, not in my opinion. i've tied everything from 28's to 5/0 salmons on my peak with the basic jaws , as for the closers if your nit picky maybe if your ok with a little bit of flaw that will still catch fish you can just turn um if you go the peak route get the turning arm thingy you tack on it makes it nicer to wrap with

best of luck


also sorry spelling and grammer guys done on my phone

 

[BrianMyers67]

quillfly wrote:

as for the closers if your nit picky maybe if your ok with a little bit of flaw that will still catch fish

lol mine are far from perfect now

 

[Cold]

I won't say my clousers are flawless, but I'm pretty nitpicky about my flies and I never felt the need to remove the half-completed fly from the jaws.

In fact, clousers are one of the very few patterns where I do have a strong preference to use a rotary over non-rotary, specifically for that reason.

I'll take a picture or three of the process this evening if I get a chance to tie a few...I think if you use a rotary to tie a clouser in such a way that you need to remove the hook...well you're probably making it harder than it needs to be.

 

[nfrechet]

I use a renzetti traveler and have tied quite a few clousers. never had to remove the hook and rotate it. or rotate the vise for that matter

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Can't say anything about the Peak as I have no experience with it. The Griffin Montana Mongoose on the other hand is a different story. I bought one factory direct about eight years ago and have tied many flies on it with no complaints. It's well made, has a good warranty and is made in the USA.

 

[BrianMyers67]

WildTigerTrout wrote:
Can't say anything about the Peak as I have no experience with it. The Griffin Montana Mongoose on the other hand is a different story. I bought one factory direct about eight years ago and have tied many flies on it with no complaints. It's well made, has a good warranty and is made in the USA.

Has the rotating stayed smooth over that time?

 

[WildTigerTrout]

BrianMyers67 wrote:

WildTigerTrout wrote:
Can't say anything about the Peak as I have no experience with it. The Griffin Montana Mongoose on the other hand is a different story. I bought one factory direct about eight years ago and have tied many flies on it with no complaints. It's well made, has a good warranty and is made in the USA.

Has the rotating stayed smooth over that time?

Yes, it works as well today as it did the day I bought it.

 

[BrianMyers67]

Thanks WildTigerTrout , that's very good to know.

 

[Cold]

Okay, here we go, a short sequence of how I'm currently tying them. Apologies in advance for crappy cell pics. On a D-K, but it'd be done the same on any rotary:

Mount the hook and lash on the eyes. Coat in CA.

Tie down the white belly behind, over, and in front of the hook. Trip on a taper and cover up the butt ends.

Invert the vise. Tie in the flash.

Tie in the wing. Trim on a taper and cover the butts in thread.

Stroke the wing hairs back. Coat head in UV resin and hit it with the light. (Note: I'd pulled the hook down a bit while tying. Before taking this pic, I pushed it back into place.)

Fin.

 

[BrianMyers67]

Ok , thank you Cold . You tip the hook a little to get the top wing on, makes sense.

PS . The pics are just fine

 

[BrianMyers67]

Thanks guys, I went and ordered a Griffin Montana mongoose.

 

[Cold]

Ok , thank you Cold . You tip the hook a little to get the top wing on, makes sense.

That was purely accidental, though I suppose it did provide slightly better access.

I'm tying a bunch of smallmouth patterns on heavy size 2 hooks, so going to the standard wire #6 I should have adjusted the jaws a bit. The little bit of play that I didn't correct for is why it slipped, but normally, there'd be no issue tying in that top wing even without the hook moving at all.

 

[BrianMyers67]

lol ok