Philster
09-08-2007, 10:00 AM
I know my answer. About a year ago I got an HMH "supreme" tube vise. This is basically the HMH Spartan vise, but instead of normal fly tying jaws it comes stock with the optional tube fly conversion kit. Prior to the HMH I owned the Norvise tube vise, and the Renzetti tube vise, and of the 3, the HMH with it's drill chuck style head FAR exceeds the other two styles for my tying style, and preference in tube flies.
Amazingly NONE of them do everything.
For tying on tubes with Junction tubing attached (Many of the patterns in the original tube flies books say start tying over the junction tubing) the renzetti is best as it will hold all sizes of tubing and junction tubing, but of the three it is the least secure and most fragile, as you WILL bend the fine mandrel at some point and the fly does rotate on you at times. The HMH can do it with small and micro tubing, so you are covered for steelhead and sound flies, but for big game you have to tie on large tubing without junction tubing and slip the junction on after. The upside is that it is the most secure setup. The Norvise can do it by putting a piece of scrap tubing in the vise, and then slipping the junction tubing of your tying piece of tube over that, and inserting the mandrel into both. Kinda convoluted, and can be hard to get the junction tubing off the scrap tube without screwing up your fly.
For holding none junction tubing tube the HMH is the star hands down. Very secure. pretty much no waste as the amount of bare tube you need to hold junction tubing is all you need to hold the tube in the vise securely! Works with shumikov style tubes like it was custom made for them. Does not hold Loop style bottle tubes. Norvise really only works with plastic tubes. The reason is the mechanism that holds the tubing is pretty far back in the vise head. A half inch brass would only have a teeny amount sticking out to tie on. You can do the same cheat I described above with the scrap piece, but once again it has drawbacks. Renzetti works with any material, but with hard tubing it spins pretty easily and once again that fine mandrel bends if you breath on it too hard.
So for all but loop bottle tubes and large tubing WITH junction tubing attached the HMH is the rockstar. For just bulk plastic tubing the Norvise works well. For holding anything badly the Renzetti works well:rofl: That's an overstatement but it really doesn't hold things securely. Do not use a Norvise automatic bobbin on the renzetti. At some point you will unwind your fly in the blink of an eye. It's actually funny to see the material go flying in the air.
So combined with the ability to use any of the HMH standard vise heads for about $40, my vote goes to the HMH. There are of course cheaper alternatives, but I like nice tools. If you don't need one that converts, they have the "spinner" model now for under $120. I think the above assessment is fair and even handed. As I said none do everything well. I look forward to hearing if anyone else has come up with cheats to deal with the shortcomings of the tools.
Amazingly NONE of them do everything.
For tying on tubes with Junction tubing attached (Many of the patterns in the original tube flies books say start tying over the junction tubing) the renzetti is best as it will hold all sizes of tubing and junction tubing, but of the three it is the least secure and most fragile, as you WILL bend the fine mandrel at some point and the fly does rotate on you at times. The HMH can do it with small and micro tubing, so you are covered for steelhead and sound flies, but for big game you have to tie on large tubing without junction tubing and slip the junction on after. The upside is that it is the most secure setup. The Norvise can do it by putting a piece of scrap tubing in the vise, and then slipping the junction tubing of your tying piece of tube over that, and inserting the mandrel into both. Kinda convoluted, and can be hard to get the junction tubing off the scrap tube without screwing up your fly.
For holding none junction tubing tube the HMH is the star hands down. Very secure. pretty much no waste as the amount of bare tube you need to hold junction tubing is all you need to hold the tube in the vise securely! Works with shumikov style tubes like it was custom made for them. Does not hold Loop style bottle tubes. Norvise really only works with plastic tubes. The reason is the mechanism that holds the tubing is pretty far back in the vise head. A half inch brass would only have a teeny amount sticking out to tie on. You can do the same cheat I described above with the scrap piece, but once again it has drawbacks. Renzetti works with any material, but with hard tubing it spins pretty easily and once again that fine mandrel bends if you breath on it too hard.
So for all but loop bottle tubes and large tubing WITH junction tubing attached the HMH is the rockstar. For just bulk plastic tubing the Norvise works well. For holding anything badly the Renzetti works well:rofl: That's an overstatement but it really doesn't hold things securely. Do not use a Norvise automatic bobbin on the renzetti. At some point you will unwind your fly in the blink of an eye. It's actually funny to see the material go flying in the air.
So combined with the ability to use any of the HMH standard vise heads for about $40, my vote goes to the HMH. There are of course cheaper alternatives, but I like nice tools. If you don't need one that converts, they have the "spinner" model now for under $120. I think the above assessment is fair and even handed. As I said none do everything well. I look forward to hearing if anyone else has come up with cheats to deal with the shortcomings of the tools.