Category Archives: Process

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

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

Technical Data on Anodizing

Posted on March 3, 2012 by dave49

When I first started anodizing (this blog, 4 May 2010) I followed instructions from DIY web sites, and felt that I had satisfactory results. Recently I borrowed a technical reference book set that covers anodizing, dyeing, and sealing. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Anodizing/Plating | 3 Comments

Sherlock Holmes, Metallurgist

Posted on December 15, 2011 by dave49

Recently I anodized two reels. All end plates and pillars (6061 aluminum) look right. The feet (7075 aluminum) look right. Of the 20 screws (all 7075 aluminum), 14 look right but 6 of them are dark and dingy. What happened? … Continue reading →

Posted in Anodizing/Plating, Materials | 5 Comments

Bonding Fixture

Posted on November 23, 2011 by dave49

The Delrin assembly on the left is a fixture that holds the spool ends square on the shaft while Loctite 609 adhesive sets up. The ends fit a bit loose (0.001-0.002) on the shaft because there has to be some … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonding, Fixtures, Spool | Leave a comment

Aluminum End Plates

Posted on November 12, 2011 by dave49

I have been having trouble making end plates for my “aluminum frame reel”, and had to scrap a couple of parts that were nearly finished. The problem was pillar lugs that were not symmetric. At 1.5 inch radius, an 0.1 … Continue reading →

Posted in End Plate, Milling | Leave a comment

Boring with the Lathe

Posted on November 2, 2011 by dave49

I have been making end plates for my “aluminum frame reel”. I start with a section of rectangular bar, round the corners for lathe clearance, then remove almost all the material with a roughing end mill. Then I make the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cutting, End Plate, Turning | 2 Comments

Fixtures for Spool End

Posted on October 17, 2011 by dave49

After deciding that the expanding mandrel (previous post) was inadequate, I started thinking about ways to support the spool end blank at its rim. Axial runout must be minimized. This is what I made and think works well. Here you … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Milling, Spool End, Turning, Work Holding | 2 Comments

Sole of the Foot

Posted on September 25, 2011 by dave49

The AFFTA standard for fly reel feet calls for a 0.350 radius on the bottom. It seems strange that they chose this decimal fraction of an inch; why not 11/32 so the radius can be cut with an 11/16 ball … Continue reading →

Posted in Abrading, Foot | 5 Comments

Roughing End Mill

Posted on August 30, 2011 by dave49

I will be building several copies of my “Aluminum Frame Reel” this winter, and I am beginning to think about quicker ways to move metal. At present I have 0.1 hp lathe and mill from Sherline. I think that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cutting, Milling | 1 Comment