Yo DonO, The Nor-Vise is fast and as Norm says, the vise allows you to "Tie Better Flies Faster". To me, that's less than half the picture though. The whole system was designed in such a well thought out manner that the tyer, in my opinion, "Gets more vise with a Nor-Vise". Some may not agree and personal preference is really the key to really having fun when tying, but of all the vises I have tied on, none has been as versatile or full-featured as the Nor-Vise. With the different vise heads and accessories available (travel kit, dubbing table, lamp, etc.), not to mention the bobbin, it's difficult to believe there are many tying scenarios that the system hasn't been designed to handle...except a DonO monster fly. I have tied on an 8-penny carpenter nail (green vinyl sinker in the small, in-line jaws) on the vise once so maybe it would work for your stuff too.
Tying flies in the round is but one aspect that the NV lends itself nicely. Relegating it to only those type of patterns or saying it is only good for commercial work is a bit of an understatement of the system's capabilities. The techniques that many tyers have come to use frequently such as making a chenille with herls, dubbing loops, ribbing bodies, hackling, etc., are not only easier and faster, but the tyer has more control and the precision and consistency from fly to fly has a great potential to be increased as well. Additionally, there are a few techniques I know of such as spun-dubbed deer hair and compound dubbing that are incredibly difficult with a tradidtional vise system yet deemed rudimentary with a NV system and probably possible with any system that you can get to spin at high RPM...and you already know about the furling techniques. When spinning deer hair, marrying feathers, etc., the onus is on the tyer and not the vise proper so I will have to politely diagree that the NV isn't as good for patterns that use those methods or techniques. As far as investments go, it is a lot of money and that cannot be denied. With that said, of the other vises on the market that spin freely and can do so at high RPM, only one is less expensive of which I am aware. If one wanted to get what I call the complete system, (vise plus a bobbin kit), I belileve the initial investment would still be less than a new Dyna King Barracuda or Sidewinder and way less than the Renzetti Masters. Until later... Don Johnson PS: The rudimentary website in the link gives some indication of the dubbed deer-hair and furling techniques, if any are interested. --- DonO <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Don S, > > I've been watching Norm wind flies for years with > his rotary. It is a great > tool. The retractable bobbins are neat, too. > > My opinion- if you are a serious commercial tier > that has to efficiently tie > 1000's of identical 'box flies', and the 'salmonfly > artistry' is not part of > the picture, the NorVise is for you. The vise does > a lot of the work for > you, fast and efficient, especially wound type flies > (like the wooly-buggers > mentioned). It is not as good with built-up or > stacked flies like > streamers, muddlers, classic salmonflies, & such. > > As for me personally, I enjoy tying my own flies, > that is, doing the tying > myself. Since I don't tie for speed or quantity, > the NorVise advantages > don't count for much. And since I tied for years > without a vise or bobbins, > I'm a 'hands on' type of tier anyway, not relying on > a lot of tools. > Anyway, my best selling flies are tied on a > mechanic's shop vise, not a fly > vise. > > So it's the type of tying you do that really > determines whether or not you > can put the NorVise to good use. It's a big > investment that would pay off > for the commercial tier or someone that has to stock > up a shop. > > Just MHO, > > DonO ===== "Come on baby buy my flies", Jim Morrison, The Doors www.geocities.com/salmn8r/northwestcountryflies.html - check it out! Want an email address that never changes? Just ask me about lifelongemail. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com
