Author Archives: dave49

Bougle

Posted on May 26, 2012 by dave49

Alan is a member of my Select Advisory Panel on Reel Aesthetics, and he owns this Bougle. It is not an antique, but it is certainly a classic. Legends engraved on the winding plate are: * Made in England by … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Reels | 1 Comment

Brown Drake Spinner

Posted on May 24, 2012 by dave49

The premier insect event on the North Branch of the Ausable is Brown Drake emergence and (3 days later) spinner fall. This year I have arrived at a satisfactory spinner pattern. Hook: 2X long #12 or #10 (Mustad 94831 or … Continue reading →

Posted in Bugs | 4 Comments

Dyed End Plates

Posted on May 9, 2012 by dave49

Having dyed some scrap metal parts (this blog, 23 April 2012), I moved on to some machined reel parts. On my first attempt, the result was not satisfactory. There were small but obvious flaws, like this spot on the rear … Continue reading →

Posted in Anodizing/Plating, End Plate, My Reels | 3 Comments

The Last Word on Alignment

Posted on May 5, 2012 by dave49

I am a great admirer of Starrett “Last Word” indicators. My collection is now quantity 4. These are lever type (as opposed to plunger type) indicators that look like they were designed in 1914. The range of measurement is only … Continue reading →

Posted in Alignment | Leave a comment

43 Parts

Posted on April 30, 2012 by dave49

Here are 43 parts that will become reel #23. Just finished sealing the anodization on the aluminum parts. Update 1 May 2012: Here it is all screwed and glued.

Posted in My Reels | 1 Comment

Anodize Dye Samples

Posted on April 23, 2012 by dave49

I finally got around to trying some anodize dyes. Dyeing is an extra step in between anodizing and sealing. First, I did a normal anodization to obtain a 0.001 inch thick coating. Conditions to achieve this are discussed in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Anodizing/Plating | 1 Comment

Ratchet Teeth

Posted on April 17, 2012 by dave49

When I made my first reel design, I had to find a way to make a serviceable ratchet. First there was the problem of what material to use; this blog has several post on material testing. But there was also … Continue reading →

Posted in Milling, Ratchet/Gear | 2 Comments

Digital Micrometer

Posted on April 15, 2012 by dave49

I recently bought this micrometer from Anytime Tools. It is a standard micrometer with a vernier scale on the handle that allow interpolation to 0.0001 inch. What is different is that there is also a revolution counter that shows the … Continue reading →

Posted in Measuring, Tools | 2 Comments

Abrasive Grits

Posted on March 27, 2012 by dave49

A recent discussion at Reelsmithing caused me to think about the size of abrasive grits and the roughness of the surface that they would produce. My intuition was that an abrasive particle of 0.001 inch diameter might produce a surface … Continue reading →

Posted in Abrading | Leave a comment

Progress Report #8 : Little Progress

Posted on March 20, 2012 by dave49

This is how far I got on the next two reels before I was rudely interrupted: Last Wednesday I set these front end plates down and left the house for an evening meeting. Just before walking out, I took the … Continue reading →

Posted in End Plate, My Reels | 3 Comments