Author Archives: dave49

Parting

Posted on December 19, 2010 by dave49

Parting, or lathe cut-off, is the operation of sticking a narrow blade straight into a rotating part, and (hopefully) making a continuously deeper groove until the part drops off of the chucked rod stock. A Google search on “lathe cut-off” … Continue reading →

Posted in Cutting, Tools, Turning | Leave a comment

Screws

Posted on December 14, 2010 by dave49

For my first reel, I used stainless flat head machine screws to assemble the frame. This was expedient. For the group of 5 reels that I am now making, I want the appearance of “gun screws”, which have a simple … Continue reading →

Posted in Screw | 2 Comments

Furled Leader

Posted on December 4, 2010 by dave49

This post isn’t about machining fly reels, but North Branch Reels is the only blog that I have.  This is about making furled leaders, a craft that takes less equipment and less skill than tying flies. Furled leaders have no … Continue reading →

Posted in Fishing, Line/Knots | 1 Comment

Pawl Wear Test, Redone

Posted on November 16, 2010 by dave49

Refer to earlier posts titled “Results of Pawl Wear Test” (Aug 2010) and “The gearmotor that wasn’t a gearmotor” (Sept 2010). After discovering a possible misoperation of my first pawl test fixture, I built a new tester using a real … Continue reading →

Posted in Click, Pawl, Testing | Leave a comment

End Rings

Posted on November 7, 2010 by dave49

To fabricate nickel silver end rings, you have to neatly silver solder the flange to the web, then machine. But for aluminum end rings, you can find heavy wall tubing. I was able to get 3/8 wall tubing from Speedy … Continue reading →

Posted in Ring | 1 Comment

Spool Ends

Posted on October 31, 2010 by dave49

Spool ends are a straightforward lathe-made part, if the design allows grip by a 3 jaw chuck. My design has a recess on the back side that lets the jaws grip in either the normal or reversed position. I use … Continue reading →

Posted in Spool, Spool End | Leave a comment

End Plates

Posted on October 23, 2010 by dave49

Antique Vom Hofe reels have end plates made of hard rubber. The modern version of this is Ebonite, used to make bowling balls. This material is available in a suitable form to those who want to be as authentic as … Continue reading →

Posted in End Plate, Frame | 1 Comment

Turning a Crank Counterweight

Posted on October 15, 2010 by dave49

The counterweight on my reel crank has hemispherical shape. Sherline sells an accessory that turns spherical shapes, and it is just what you would need to make more than a hemisphere. But I have found that I can get by … Continue reading →

Posted in Crank, Turning | Leave a comment

Milling an S Shaped Crank

Posted on October 4, 2010 by dave49

My first design for the reel crank (here in brass) was too “heavy” in the middle. So back to the drawing board. Here I have reduced the diameter of the center circle, and moved one small inside radius to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Crank, Milling, Work Holding | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Milling a Reel Foot

Posted on September 28, 2010 by dave49

There is a standard for the shape of a reel foot, and I observe it to a reasonable degree. To hold the stock for initial sizing and drilling, I have made vise jaws with rabbets. The standard calls for an … Continue reading →

Posted in Foot, Milling, Reel Parts | Tagged , | Leave a comment