Question For Nor-vise Users

[headscan]

I'm almost certain that I'm going to replace my Renzetti with a Nor-Vise. I've heard lots of the pros of using a Nor-vise from various people, but what I want to hear are the downsides. What are the things that it doesn't do quite as well as a more standard vise like my Renzetti? I'm already aware of the annoyance of having to put your thread on the automatic bobbin spools or buying an Ekich bobbin ($$$) instead, and to be honest that's almost a deal breaker for me. I tie everything from size 18 trout flies to big intruder-style streamers.

[Din]

The only downside I found was the spool issue like you said. But in reality it only takes about 2 minutes to put it on a spool if you have a power drill, so it's not that big of pain IMO.

 

The odd occassion when your thread doesn't stick in the bobbin thread holder after you cut your thread and your bobbin flies across the room is kind of pain as well.

 

Had to relearn how to tie for a bit, but I wouldn't tie on anything else now.

[Badger]

...

 

[Simpson]

7. At fly tying get togethers you crank out more flies than anyone else. Nobody likes a show off.

 

lol, nice!

 

 

Sorry no experience on the Nor-vise, but a buddy just picked one up and he loves it.

 

On another note let me know if you going to put your other vise for sale as I have interest

 

cheers

[SilverDoctor]

On the plus side- I love tying on it, have the small jaws and tube system, love it.

 

On the minus side - Have a few other vices I need to sell that I haven't used for a few years now.

 

Personal notes:

Spooling auto bobbins has never been a hassle, takes about a minute, I label the sides of the spool with tape and a sharpie. I have two auto bobbins and about twenty spools, fill em once and they hold a lot of thread. I have a pal in BC that mounted his Nor on a steel base along with the thread holder on a separate base. Has made it wonderfully portable.

[CrisD]

Another downside: you tend to go thru materials a lot faster!

[headscan]

Another downside: you tend to go thru materials a lot faster!

Oddly this isn't the first time I've heard that about the Nor-Vise.

 

Badger, how did you counterbalance the arm on the fine point jaws? I tie 99% of my nymphs on scud hooks, so if the regular jaws don't work well with them that's another thing I need to take into consideration. The conversion kits seem to be pretty pricey too. Looks like the vise, bobbin, some spools, and conversion kit would be running close to $600 altogether.

[flyfishfairwx]

Oddly this isn't the first time I've heard that about the Nor-Vise.

 

Badger, how did you counterbalance the arm on the fine point jaws? I tie 99% of my nymphs on scud hooks, so if the regular jaws don't work well with them that's another thing I need to take into consideration. The conversion kits seem to be pretty pricey too. Looks like the vise, bobbin, some spools, and conversion kit would be running close to $600 altogether.

 

It only takes some creative hook positioning to tie scud hooks, on the inline jaws, I do it all the time.

 

Two ways to counter balance the fine point jaws , use the heavy second part of the SW jaws as it is heavy , or use the counter balance that is provided the one with the thin arm sticking out, you can see it on the youtube vids of the Nor-vise, or just link through the Nor-vise site.

 

Price - some how I never get the high price (600$) on the web site it does not look to add up to that much, I must be missing something?

 

[headscan]

The counterbalance is brass tube with melted lead. Or you could machine a new screw with more mass.

Ah, I get it now. I thought you were adding the counterbalance to the front hub somehow.

 

Ray, I'm ballparking based on prices I saw locally - so CDN$ plus I figured in the GST. Probably a little less than $600 overall, but damn close enough to make me pause

[flyfishfairwx]

Ah, I get it now. I thought you were adding the counterbalance to the front hub somehow.

 

Ray, I'm ballparking based on prices I saw locally - so CDN$ plus I figured in the GST. Probably a little less than $600 overall, but damn close enough to make me pause

 

Ebay has them up all the time, just have to watch quality, you can order straight from the Nor-vise web site, piece at a time if needed..Norm is great to work with..

 

I have tied down to 22 on the small inline jaws..

 

 

 

[Rp3flyfisher]

I am a Nor Vise rep in BC.

 

Obviously, I love them, that is why I became a rep.

 

The two only issues I have ever had with the vise are:

 

-As others have stated, the auto bobbin, if the thread breaks you need to re-spool it and that can take a minute.

-The one Big beef I have, (And I have spoke to Norm about it) is the Material holder. On most rotary vises, the Holder or spring like item is easily accessed, with the Nor-Vise, it is difficult to use because of the size of the main Mandrel.

 

Besides these Items, Since starting to use the Nor-Vise, my tying has speed up exponentially!!!!

 

Rick

[hopdrop]

I've had a Nor-Vise for about four months, put somewhere around 300 flies through it. I love it.

 

I only have the small inline jaws and don't see myself getting any others. They handle the big bully hooks and will hold down to 20s without issue. Probably won't fish anything smaller anyways.

 

I have a love hate relationship with the auto bobbin. It's miserable to thread, and having to put a friction lap around the frame is plain stupid. The connection between the frame and the spool hub is a thread trap (when threading). There has to be a better way and I think the answer is Ekich. The Ekich has the added bonus of not having to spool thread. It's not a big deal, but it's one less thing you have to do, label, buy, ect. $100 for a bobbin is ridiculous, but Norvise is $50 and a never ending need for more spools. That said, the auto feature is great. If you can, try them both before you buy (then you can confirm my suspicions). SilverDoctor's tip about the two bases is a good one. I mounted the thread post just a touch to far from the vise, occasionally I'll exceed the limits of the clutch and the bobbin won't retract all the way back to the hook.

 

Scud hooks are a bit of a problem, but manageable. You're not going to be spinning materials onto the hook shank at top speed anyways (maybe dubbing), and the process for applying dubbing to the thread doesn't change regardless of straight or curved shank.

 

Hope that helps.

 

[johnk]

I am a Nor Vise rep in BC.

 

Obviously, I love them, that is why I became a rep.

 

The two only issues I have ever had with the vise are:

 

-As others have stated, the auto bobbin, if the thread breaks you need to re-spool it and that can take a minute.

-The one Big beef I have, (And I have spoke to Norm about it) is the Material holder. On most rotary vises, the Holder or spring like item is easily accessed, with the Nor-Vise, it is difficult to use because of the size of the main Mandrel.

 

Besides these Items, Since starting to use the Nor-Vise, my tying has speed up exponentially!!!!

 

Rick

 

Hey Rick,

 

Back in the day when I was tying on a NorVise, there was no material clip so I developed a way to attach a material clip and showed it to Al Long, former owner of Kamloops FlyShop, who in turn took it to the Calgary show and it was an instant hit.

 

Simply take a spring and pass a zapstrap through it and attach the zapstrap to the front of the mandrel behind the jaws, tighten it down and voila!

 

[headscan]

Thanks for all the info everyone. I went to Fish Tales yesterday and Aaron and Terry showed me some of the ins and outs of the Nor-Vise. Ended up leaving with one and now I'm not sure why I waited so long. Like Din said there are some things I have to learn to do differently but I can also see that once you figure those things out it's really efficient.