Tube Vise Which One?

[Marty Tannahill]

Greetings. I think I'm in the market for a tube tying vice. I would welcome those of you who are willing share your experience with me so I might narrow down the options. I currently tie with a Regal. Thanks.

Marty

[speyman]

The HMH Pin Vise style which I sell and use every day is the best tube vise I have seen or used. The fact that it locks on the tube instead on spinning around the liner makes it perfect from my point of view.

Try one and you will see what I mean.

[MJC]

In my opinion the HMH Tube Vise that Jack mentions is the very best if you want a dedicated tube vise. If you don't need a full time tube vice the HMH Starter Tube Fly Tool is quite servicable clamped in the jaws of your current vise.

[Norseman]

HMH all the way..........second and third what Jack and Mike say about it. Stay away from the Renzetti one....I have had two and sold them both.

If you do get the HMH tube fly system, get the good adapter kit ....the good one has tapered mandrels and the vise adapter has a knife edge that the back of the tube sits against keeping it very snug.

Then if you are going to be tying the Mikael Frodin style of plastic tubes I would highly recommend the Stepped pin Mandrel that Jack sells at his store. You cannot beat them for plastic tubes. In fact they are so inexpensive I would recommend getting one with your order for the HMH vise adapter, if you decide to go that way. Might as well save some on the shipping.

The Mikael Frodin pin is about $7, but it is not suited to other types of tubes other than plastic

Paul

[reely]

Another vote for HMH.

[prairiespey]

Just started on tube flies- but have to say the HMH adapter with the tapered mandrels works like a charm:)

http://www3.mb.sympatico.ca/~wmilne/spfly/hmhtubevise1.jpg

Will

[speyman]

For the HMH Adapter approach Veniards makes a very similar device which is half the price. I quit carrying the HMH mandrels after I tried the Veniards.

[Igor]

While my day-to-day vise is a NorVise, the HMH Tube Fly Vise and Tube Fly Tool certainly get a thumbs up from me.

Now that I think about, I really can't remember the last time I actually dressed a fly on regular irons.

Igor

[Marty Tannahill]

Hi All:
Thanks for the replys. I'm convinced.
Marty

[Rip-tide]

I'll put another positive vote on the HMH deluxe tube tool. Mine works great. I had tried a Griffin tube vise first and didn't like it, but have had no problems with the HMH.

[Philster]

The HMH Pin Vise style which I sell and use every day is the best tube vise I have seen or used. The fact that it locks on the tube instead on spinning around the liner makes it perfect from my point of view.

Try one and you will see what I mean.

Hey Jack, been offline with a "bagle" virus it took me a week to get rid of :mad: Anyway, how far inside the collet does the tube go? I'm not asking how much needs to be griped, but rather how much beyond what is gripped is obstructed by the mechanism. My one complaint with the original norvise tube vise is so much of the tube is wasted, and tying on a half inch copper, my favorite tube, is pretty much impossible. Are short tubes usable on this one?

[speyman]

The good news is there is no obstruction. All that is wasted is what is required to grip it, about 2mm. Sometimes, like on dries, I want to go right to the end so I put the tube in the pin vise backwards. Then when I am done I cut off the extra and melt back to the head.

Mostly I am using Shumakov style tube bodies which have a 2mm collar for the connector tubing. The vise grips perfectly there.

I am happy to give mine up for a week or so if you want to play with it and see how it does. Nothing like hands on.

[steelhead bum]

hmh is the best tube vice that i know of. i recently bought one and love it. the only way i could keep tubes from spinning on my renzetti was to put a piece of rubber tubing on the end of the mandrel. it sucked. the piece of crap is for sale if anyone dares.

[Philster]

Well, I picked up the HMH tube vise, not the tool that fits into other vises, but essentially the spartan vise body with the pin vise/drill chuck head. All I can say is DAMN! Total control on everything I have tried to tie except loop bottle tubes, which do not fit into the chuck system, but are usable if you use the supplied pins. The good news is the shumikov tubes do fit, so if you like this style of tube, you can use those. The supplied flared pins really support plastic tubes. Incredible tool.

As a bonus, for another $39 you can buy the standard "Omni" jaw, and you have a full on HMH vise as well. If you don't want that feature, they also have a model that is completely dedicated to tubes for about $120. Too cool. Thanks to Jack at Irish Angler for hooking me up, though HMH made us wait awhile...

[BThomas]

As a bonus, for another $39 you can buy the standard "Omni" jaw, and you have a full on HMH vise as well.

That is the setup I have . Although I haven`t yet used it much , when I have , the performance has been great . The Omni jaws will hold , securely , any hook you`d ever care to use for steelhead or salmon . This will be the setup I take with me on any future road trips

[Lawrence S]

The HMH tube fly adapter works really well for @$25.

[gregt]

hmh adapter is what i have clamped in my antique hmh vise. i have found it much easier to skip the mandrels and simply put the tube under the 'O' clamp. never twists and you don't end up scaring the back of the tube from the 'V' on the adapter. works with brass, aluminum and plastic.