Fly tying vise

A fly tying vise comprising:

• a. a C-shaped frame including
• 1. an upright post,
• 2. an anvil mounted as a cantilever on top of said post, and
• 3. a bearing block mounted as a cantilever on the bottom of said post;
• b. a drawing stem translatably mounted on said bearing block, the axis of said drawing stem extending toward said anvil;
• c. a band mounted at its lower end on said drawing stem, the upper end of said band including a loop extending over at least a portion of said anvil, said loop being effective to clamp an interposed fish hook against said anvil in a lower position of said drawing stem and being capable of releasing the hook in an elevated position of said drawing stem,
• the top surface of said anvil being slotted to receive and orient the fish hook,
• said anvil including means for guiding the upper portion of said band in a predetermined path relative to the fish hook as said drawing stem is moved between said elevated position and said lower position, said guiding means including a spaced pair of grooves in said anvil parallel to said axis of said drawing stem,
• said loop including a bight and a spaced pair of legs depending from said bight, said legs of said loop sliding to and fro in said grooves as said drawing stem is moved between said elevated position and said lower position;
• and,
• d. means for translating said drawing stem between said elevated position and said lower position, said drawing stem extending through a bore in said bearing block and projecting downwardly beyond the bottom of said bearing block,
• said stem translating means including a transverse axle mounted on the lower end of said stem, and a cam eccentrically journaled on said axle, said cam being movable between a first position corresponding to said elevated position of said stem and a second position corresponding to said lower position of said stem, said cam bearing against the adjacent bottom surface of said bearing block as said cam is moved from said first position toward said second position, the reactive force of said bearing block against said cam being effective to urge said stem downwardly so that said loop is biased into clamping engagement with the fish hook as said cam reaches said second position,
• said axle including a pair of oppositely projecting end portions, said cam comprising a bifurcated pair of bearings journaled on said end portions of said axle, one of said bearings including a slot enabling said cam to be separated from said end portions by aligning the slot with said stem and axially moving said cam in a direction such that said stem passes through the slot until said cam disengages said axle.