DIY Fly Tying Vise

Built this fly tying vise for a bout $20 in material.

Used Drill Press

Grinder

Tap and Die

drill press vise

You can use any material that is sturdy enough , such as wood, metal, or solid plastic. I used steel for this project. Bar stock was 3/8-1/2" thick with the base at about 3/4" to 1" bar stock from a metal supply company. The trick is to find a metal that is soft enough the grasp the hooks yet still provide enough friction for the hold. It is also a matter of your point angles as well in determining your hold surface area. Have fun!

I drilled a hole in the flat steel first 1/8", this cuts out a notch on either side of the to be jaw for good holding contact point for the hook. I then cut the jaw material to length 3"-4". You can go smaller if you like. Then keep the jaws together in a drill press vise or other portable vise. Before using the angle grinder for the tapering of the jaws, I then started with the drilling of the holes for the set screw closest to the jaw and then the drilling for the jaw tightening screw. It’s best to find set screws that have a welded hex top as there is a lot of pressure through these knobs during use. All screws were 1/4", so find the right tap for this size thread, I believe I used the 7/32 drill bit size and this worked fine.

There is round stock going through the hardened steel that is a little less that is 3/8" thick. This is the rotatory component of the vise and where all other pieces that have been drilled to the 3/8" holes are attached and secured with 5/32" screws (these can be cut down and made into set screws), I left them as this is just easier for the time being. you will have to tap them with the correct tap size, there is some variation allowed as I did not have the correct size drill bit. So, I improvised as the overlap of the threads just has to be enough to tighten without slipping 50% or greater is acceptable.

So overall cost: $20-$32

Mild steel for body, handle, and jaws

Round Stock for rotary component.

1/4" lag bolts cut to smaller length as needed

1/2" or bigger plumbing plug for tightening cap

Small bits of cherry wood for knob material (other hardwood is acceptable)

Mortise cut to fit the hardened steel solid stock in 12" by 8" piece of wood (customizable if needed)

Epoxy for securing cut lag bolt threads to wood.