Hey,
this may be old hat to old you experts, but I ran across a great technique today for doing parachute posts. After you tie in the post material, you reposition the hook in the vice so the post is now horizontal. This makes winding the post easier. Then a drop of zap a gap and the post stays up nicely. I've also taken to winding the hackle down the post and finishing the fly on the post. This leaves the thorax area nice and clean and leaves the eye nice and clear(yes I've crouded the eye on some flys). Hope this is usefull. I must admit I've fallen in love with parachutes. Toodles,Frogge.