Doug Stout is not only a fly tyer, but one heck of a tool and vise smith. He makes his tools, vises, fly rotators, bases, and fly boxes. You can see for yourself in the pictures below of some of Doug’s handy work. I fell in love with some of the stuff he has created and you just might too!
First up, is Doug’s main fly tying vise. Doug explains, “Body like an Abel, jaws like a Mongoose. All 6061 Aluminum, and stainless steel. The jaws are D-2 tool steel hardened to 56-58 Rockwell, then peen blasted, hard chromed, peen blasted again, and chromed again. Industrial chrome not bumper chrome. Hard as hell. Never rust.
The halogen light, magnifier, are made by me ,as is all parts you see.
All made on a hand controlled mill, not cnc. All engravings are done on mill and filled with black enamel.”
In this pic notice the jaws are in the “Clouser position”. Notice the counterbalance weight. Buy the way it is equipped with stainless steel high speed ball bearings. With the counterbalance weight it will spin.
Note: Design credits need to go to Abel and Griffin. I just put them together. All parts I drew in AUTO Cad. and made my self. None of the parts are from manufacturer vises.
This is a 3/4 scale LAW copy I made. Main design credits go to Lawence A. Waldren creator of the LAW vise. Modifications I made are, The bearings are high speed stainless steel ball bearings in a brass housing, not delrin. The jaws are 440C stainless hardened to 56-58 Rockwell, not A-7 or D-2 like on a LAW. Mine will never rust. Vise is made of stainless steel and brass. Delrin used for the drag washers and bobbin rest. Base is solid walnut. So is the handle on the vise and the shroud over the brass bearing housing. Hope you like it. Again this is 3/4 scale. Nice for small flies.
This is the full scale Law vise I made. Main design credits go to Lawerance A Waldren creator of the LAW vise. Modifications I made, stainless steel ball bearings in brass housing, not delrin. The jaws are 44oc stainless hardened to 56-58 Rockwell not toll steel. Also note the jaws are cam not screw tightening. Cool HUH!! Counterbalance weight, and granite base. Vise is all stainless and brass. Never rust. Once again all parts made by me on hand controlled mill. Not CNC.
Walnut on the bearing housing and handle on vise.
This is The Nor-vise I made. Main design credits go to Norm Norland creator of the Nor-Vise. Vise is shown with trash catcher, back drop, dubbing brush attachment, and in front are large jaw option. The base is black granite. All parts are stainless steel or brass. Jaws are 440c stainless hardened to 56-58 Rockwell. All parts made by me on hand control mill. Not CNC. Not in the picture are the C-clamps option. I forgot them. All engravings are filled with black enamel.
This is the portable travel kit vise I made. Main design credits go to Lawerance A Waldren creator of this vise. Modification I made are the box has a complete set of tools all made of brass, stainless and some copper in the lid. Brass hair stacker with copper lid. All tools except the bobbin and scissors I hand made. The clips on the rotary hackle pliers are from another tool. This vise has a bobbin rest unlike the original and the jaws are stainless steel not D-2 or S-7. mine never rust. And believe me they are hard. All parts are made of stainless, brass and copper. This took a long time to do. The box is made from a solid piece of walnut that was split to create the bottom and the lid. So when closed the grain lines up. The box was I think the hardest thing I have ever made. All on a hand controlled mill. Not CNC. Box is 7 1/2″ wide x 4″ deep x 1 1/2″ tall when closed. There is a stainless steel plate on the bottom to give the base weight for stability built into the walnut.
This is the portable fly tying station I made. It comes with head cement compartment, Tool holders, fly dryer stations, etc. Made of oak and brass. The lid has a wood burned trout spying a nymph fly hitting the water. I did it myself. I got the picture of the internet. I would give props to the photographer but I don’t know the name. Sorry. The handle on the lid is deer antler with an Adams fly engraved in it. The vise clamp knob is the fork of a deer antler with a elk hair caddis engraved in it. The tools are all made of deer antler. Most have a half-hitch tool on the ends. The bobbin is a griffin. I only added the deer antler. All tools have a different fly engraved into the handle. Did it with a metal scribe and a magnifying glass. I went a little overboard on this one. What the heck. The vise in the pic I made my self. See my post “Vises I Made” for details.
These are some other things I made. Design credits go to, Vossler for the Vossler tool, Oasis for some the wood stuff, and Pat Cohen for the fugley hair packer. I made my packer out of stainless not mild steel. Note: That is a rite bobbin by the fugly packer. I did not make it. I only put it in the picture for scale. I only made the packer.
Doug’s other stuff will be posted in another post. The items in the next post are items he normally sells, so stay tuned for that.
Awesome looking stuff. wow! that 3/4 LAW is sweet!!!!!
Haha, I know!!
-Paul
Simply, “Wow”!
Awesome stuff, where can I find doug?
Here is Doug’s contact info. Follow the link:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/37313383/PICT0135.JPG
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Vise Envy……..
Exactly!
hi do you sell any o your vise regards p mellor
Unfortunately, Doug isn’t selling any of his vises.
Thanks,
Paul
Love it how much and how long to get it?
Thanks, Angelo
Doug doesn’t sell them.
Nice stuff on the Stout vises, what is the adjusting mechanism on the first law style vise for hook size?
If you mean the 3/4 scale Law, The adjusting is a threaded screw. The brass star is the finger knob for the screw. Basically the same as most screw jaws.
To be exact, it is 1/4-20 UNC threads.
I was referring to the front end of the vise, where you see a small rectangular insert. How does this accommodate various hook sizes? On simpler type jaws you would have an adjustment screw in front to open or close the pivot point adjusting the vise opening gap for thick or thin wired hook models, like, size 20 vs 3/0.
The machining and overall finish on all parts are clean. Very impressive and detailed. Thanks for sharing.
Is there any chance that you will make to order the full size Waldren vise
Colin,
I’m sorry, but Doug is not making vises to order.
Thanks,
Paul
I was wondering where I could buy the brass piece to epoxy to granite for my Renzetti vice. I have a piece of granite and wanted to mount my vice to it. I haven’t been able to find that piece anywhere.
Lane, did you get an answer? I’m looking as well
I’ll see if I can get in touch with Doug to see if he knows the answer.
Thanks guys,
Paul
I’ve spoken to Doug and he just makes his in the machine shop. He can only make these for himself or he would get in trouble with his company.
Sorry fellas.
-Paul
the portable travel kit vise I really like. Do you sell on cetain website?
Thanks for reply.
Doug your craftsmanship is stunning and that is why I’m here today asking a question. I recently pickup a LAW vise at a garage sale. The vise had only one issue, it is missing the law tightening (star-shaped) screw. Would it be possible for you to fabricate the missing part for which I would gladly pay for the job. Thank you for your time… Jim
You can get one of these if they are for sale? This is the full-scale bitten Law which I did. Main design credits go to Lawerance A Waldren creator of LAW vise.
Engineering and vices look fantastic, so does the other equipment you manufacture for the fly tyers of the world. Would you please send me a price list of your Norvise that you manufacture.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Regards
Malcolm
Waiting for replies in anticipation.
Kind /regards malcolm milner
Doug does not sell any of the items he makes. He only does it for himself.