# Fly Reels



## eotrfish (Sep 10, 2019)

Anyone out there making fly reels? - Let's talk.









Brent


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## YYCHM (Sep 11, 2019)

Wow, I saw this image you posted on the lube thread.  





Looks to be akin to watch making.

How many hours go into making one of your reels?


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## PeterT (Sep 11, 2019)

Sweet! My relationship to fish is confined to eating them LOL. Buddy of mine was into this. I just enjoyed fondling them. I remember him showing me some tricked out features that you couldn't readily buy in a commercial reels & they had the latest in exotic ceramic bearings & bushings before they were more commonplace.

Are you doing the (assume) anodizing yourself?


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## eotrfish (Sep 12, 2019)

I've never kept track of the time required to make a reel.  The time spent designing the reel is probably more than the time spent machining.

No - I don't do my own anodizing.  I found a great shop here in Calgary after the first shop I was using botched a job and then threw me out of the shop when I took the next job to him.


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## eotrfish (Sep 12, 2019)

Here are a few shots of a planetary gear multiplier from a few years ago..










The planet gear carrier / thrust bearing was probably the trickiest part of this reel.


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## Crankit (Sep 12, 2019)

Wow......great work!

Cheers

Wayne


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## PeterT (Sep 12, 2019)

Again, nice.
- care to divulge the anodizer? (#2 not #1 LOL)
- did you have to do any gear cutting yourself?
- how about hardening, any components require heat treating?
- how did you make the engraved pattern on the decorative brass medallion?


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## eotrfish (Sep 12, 2019)

Peter

The anodizer that I use (#2) is Alberta Base Anodizing Ltd. - located just off Edmonton Trail.  The story of anodizer #1 is long and convoluted - best discussed over coffee sometime.  I can forward the info by private message if you want to know who to avoid.

I used to cut some small gears but found it more cost/time effective to buy them.  I get all my gears and springs from SDP-SI.  Their shipping time is great and prices are reasonable.

None of the components require heat treating and with judicious material choice I can keep wear to a minimum.  I use a lot of Ampco45, 642 Bronze and Tufmet T3 for parts that may wear.  The reels should last at least a few more decades with average use.

The "engraved pattern" on the brass medallion is actually the centre of either a Mexican 10 peso coin or the centre of an Argentine coin - sorry don't remember which.


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## eotrfish (Sep 12, 2019)

Not all my reels are anodized. 

These two bi-metal reels are just natural 360 Brass and 6061 Aluminum.  They should develop a nice patina over time.





Here a couple of clones of an old Malloch's design circa 1890.  Again just 360 Brass and 6061 Aluminum left au naturel.


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## Brent H (Sep 13, 2019)

Beauty work fellow member named Brent 

Very cool!


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## YYCHM (Sep 13, 2019)

Is your EMCO set up with CNC?


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## eotrfish (Sep 14, 2019)

Nope - all manual.  It does have a 3 axis DRO which takes a lot of the tedium out of making the myriad of small fly reel components.


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## johnnielsen (Sep 14, 2019)

Wow. Your reels are showpieces.

John


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## Brian H (Sep 15, 2019)

That is some very nice work.


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## eotrfish (Sep 16, 2019)

Here's another one that I just finished  

This one is a 7" anti-reverse patterned after the Hardy Fortuna deeep sea reel circa 1921.




















It will likely never see water but it looks just fine on my reel shelf


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## PeterT (Sep 16, 2019)

Wow, cool. Are you reverse engineering some existing reel's or plans available or roll'n your own?
What is your CAD weapon of choice?
Would love to see some machining pics one day, you must have some interesting setup son some of those large diameter + skinny pieces.


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## eotrfish (Sep 16, 2019)

The plans for the Fortuna are “roll your own” based on archival photos of the original .  There are a few basic reel plans around but they are primitive at best.  I used AutoCAD from ‘82 till I upgraded to AutoDESK Inventor in’99.  Inventor rules!!  The setup for the large skinny parts is actually pretty simple.  I use a 6-1/2” 6 jaw set-tru chuck.  That’s why I made a 7” reel - 7-1/4” is about all the chuck can grab.  I’ll post some photos of my powered compound that I designed to turn shallow angle faces (32 surface finish) on some of my other reels.


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## PeterT (Sep 16, 2019)

Looking forward to the pics.

Coincidental you mention 6-jaw Set-Tru (Bison  assume?). I've decided I am going to spring for a 5C Set-Tru here shortly. My D1-4 direct mount collet chuck has served me well but I have finicky parts that need to be more concentrically repeatable than I can presently achieve. I looked at machinable collets but they are expensive & basically 1-shot use. Other options but kind of PITA. In hindsight I wish I just ponied the bucks & bought the S-T from the outset, Oh well. Anyways I was oggling the 6-jaw while on the website but it will have to wait. Gator makes something close called Tru Set for less $ but I will research user feedback first.


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## eotrfish (Sep 17, 2019)

Peter

Yes - Bison 6 jaw. 

I use this Hardinge 5C collet chuck (1-1/16" max collet) for small concentric parts.



I found it at a surplus store new in grease/box for a ridiculously low price.  I machined a D1-4 backplate for it and have about .0002" runout on the nose.  The only problem with these speed chucks is that if you're turning at high speed, then stop the lathe, the inertia of the outer handwheel will loosen the collet ever so slightly - can be a problem with part length if you're not careful.

Maybe you can find one of these used??


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## PeterT (Sep 17, 2019)

I've always lusted for a collet hand wheel chuck. Obviously the Hardinge must have a very accurate back to fit your in-situ back plate machining with a nice low runout.

I'm sitting at ~0.0025". Actually I was mulling over how I might modify my existing chuck/adapter interface to get it dialed in. The back plate engages the nose lathe spindle nose profile once the cam locks are tightened so that's established. The recess in the chuck back engages a matching boss on the back plate. I have had them apart, tried different orientations & the fit is nicely tight. So unfortunately this assembly combination gives me the resultant runout I'm seeing. I want it better. I was thinking of reducing the chuck boss diameter by a couple thou, coating the lip with machine tooling epoxy like that Moglice stuff, mount the chuck, dial in the runout to zero, secure the bolts & let it cure. Theoretically it is now matched to my lathe. And its probably permanent, or at least I'm on uncharted waters if they will ever come apart easily even with a release agent. The Set-Tru system is of course mechanically set-able. So I'm leaning towards getting it & selling my chuck to offset the wallet owie.


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## YYCHM (Sep 17, 2019)

eotrfish said:


> Nope - all manual.  It does have a 3 axis DRO which takes a lot of the tedium out of making the myriad of small fly reel components.



What DRO is on it and how are the scales mounted?


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## eotrfish (Sep 18, 2019)

I'm using a Newall 3 axis DRO.  Scales are mounted using the Newall hardware and some custom built supports.


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## YYCHM (Sep 18, 2019)

eotrfish said:


> I'm using a Newall 3 axis DRO.  Scales are mounted using the Newall hardware and some custom built supports.



Could you post a few images of the lathe scale installation please.


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## eotrfish (Sep 18, 2019)

This link is probably the best description of the generic installation procedure.

http://www.newall.com/upload/content/file/Spherosyn Microsyn Install Manual - 023-12620-UK-1.pdf

The cross slide mount on my machine was the only one that was a little out of the ordinary.  I had to make a few bits and pieces.


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## YYCHM (Sep 19, 2019)

The carriage to bed installation was the one I was most interested in.


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## PeterT (Sep 19, 2019)

I would have preferred my DRO on RHS like yours but there just wasn't great way to accommodate access to the carriage lock which is adjacent to the gib strip. So its on the chuck side (protected).

What model & vintage lathe is that? Am I seeing part of a mill column in the background (combination lathe+mill?).

Not sure if you follow Stefan Gotteswinter but he recently replaced his overclocked Asian machine with Emco Maximat Super 11.
https://www.youtube.com/user/syyl/search?query=emco


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## eotrfish (Sep 19, 2019)

Peter

Good eye - that is an Emco FB-2 mill column mounted on the back of the lathe ways.
The machine is an Emco Maximat Super 11 - one owner - new in 1984.
Thanks for the link to Stefan Gotteswinter - I’ll look at his stuff.

The carriage lock on mine is also on the right, hence the bridge shown in first photo.  An open end wrench fits under the bridge to operate the carriage lock.


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## PeterT (Sep 19, 2019)

Ack! I meant to say the cross slide lock, not carriage lock.


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## eotrfish (Sep 19, 2019)

Got it 
The cross slide lock on mine is also on the right.  Fortunately it protrudes as a 5mm SHC head.  A T-handle hex wrench fits nicely under the scale.  Both locks require some “feel” to engage the wrenches  but I can live with that .


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## eotrfish (May 15, 2020)

Another reel completed...

This one is a 5" OD centrepin reel based on very early British designs with a few modern touchs.

Here's a link to the spool spin/runout test...






I was able to get the runout down to .002" radially and .003" axially.  I was pleased with that considering that the spool is assembled from two rings screwed onto 12 dowels, then attached to the centre hub with 12 spokes.  Truing the spool by adjusting the spoke tension was easier than I initially thought it would be.  











I've got 5 other reels of various designs on the bench waiting for a trip to the anodizer.  I think I'll leave this one bright.


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## PeterT (May 15, 2020)

Beautiful work!
- in your video, is that a blast of air to get the assembly spinning & just using the chuck as holding fixture?
- I don't quite understand the overall tensioning procedure. Are each of the brass spokes threaded on one end like a bike spoke? What do you grip them with to turn in/out?
- what is the role of the 3 springs on those coaxial spokes?

Really nice detailing & finishing. I can totally appreciate the work that went in. Make some kind of sacrifice to the Annodization Gods Lol


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## eotrfish (May 15, 2020)

Thanks Peter

These reels are meant to spin freely so that a float or large fly can be carried downstream without any appreciable drag on the line - hence the spin test.

The spindle is mounted in the lathe chuck and the spool is spun with a short air blast.  For the runout test I rotate the spool by hand and measure runout as I adjust the spoke tension.






The spokes are two piece - a body and a 2-56 screw.  The spoke body is threaded 4-40 one end and has a 2-56 hole in the other end to accept the 2-56 x .25 screw which is fixed permanently in place with Loctite 680.   The underside of the screw head is then turned to give a good flat underside which bears on the spool rings.  The Phillips recess provides a way to tension the spokes.

Now to the three springs...

The longest spring keeps the spool retention fork engaged in the spindle groove.
There are two springs on the drag spoke.  The spring closest to the hub lifts the drag fork off the spindle when drag is set to mimimum.  The outer spring is adjusted via the drag nut.  It forces the drag fork against the spindle to provide a small amout of spin resistance.


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## PeterT (May 15, 2020)

Very neat. 
Also meant to ask, do you have to make your own springs for reels? Like flat style or custom wound? If so, just wondering about your choice of materials, heat treating, fixtures etc.


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## YYCHM (May 15, 2020)

Did you do the CAD drawings yourself?  That's as inspiring as your machining skills!


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## eotrfish (May 15, 2020)

PeterT said:


> Very neat.
> Also meant to ask, do you have to make your own springs for reels? Like flat style or custom wound? If so, just wondering about your choice of materials, heat treating, fixtures etc.



I generally design to fit commercially available springs although I do wind a few if can't find a good match.  Reel springs are quite forgiving so heat treat is not an issue.  I did make a fixture for winding springs in my lathe some years ago.  It's a simple tension tube mounted in a tool holder that let's me set pitch by using the half nuts.  You do have to do a little trial and error with the mandrel to account for springback.

0.029 bright spring wire on 1/8" mandrel





The backend has a set screw to tension the spring wire - again a little trial and error is required.




Then cut to length and grind ends square - you lose a couple of turns each end.

SDP-SI is my go-to source for commercial springs.


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## eotrfish (May 15, 2020)

YYCHobbyMachinist said:


> Did you do the CAD drawings yourself?  That's as inspiring as your machining skills!



YYCHM

I do the modelling with Autodesk Inventor - great software.  Once the model is done you can make any conceivable drawing in a matter or minutes.   I've been using AutoCad and Inventor since the early  80's.


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## johnnielsen (May 15, 2020)

What a pleasure it is to see the pieces you make and bring together to create a functional fly reel. The attention to accuracy and detail is, as always, impressive.


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## eotrfish (May 16, 2020)

johnnielsen said:


> What a pleasure it is to see the pieces you make and bring together to create a functional fly reel. The attention to accuracy and detail is, as always, impressive.


Thanks John

Indeed there is something special about assembling the myriad of small parts and actually having the reel work as planned.

Here are a couple of before pics of another reel.  I just have to take the body parts to the anodizer before I can make the final assembly.


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## PeterT (May 16, 2020)

What are the maroon colored parts - phenolic or something?
And the handles, are they finished hardwood or? 

If you happen to have some pics, I'd like to see some of the fixtures or methods you make these irregular geometry parts like the brass arms. I take it these are manual/DRO, not cnc?


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## eotrfish (May 16, 2020)

PeterT said:


> What are the maroon colored parts - phenolic or something?
> And the handles, are they finished hardwood or?
> 
> If you happen to have some pics, I'd like to see some of the fixtures or methods you make these irregular geometry parts like the brass arms. I take it these are manual/DRO, not cnc?



Peter

The maroon parts are Micarta brake shoes the ride on the Sprag bearing shown in the top of the parts photo.

The handles are polished Rosewood finished with many coats of Gorilla Glue.  I use different materials for handles - sometimes black Delrin, sometimes white artificial Ivory.

I use a lot circular fixtures for parts with irregular geometry because I can mount the fixture in my rotary table and orient as needed for a particular cut - Yes this is all manual/DRO work.  It's tedious but it works.  Solids modelling makes the layout a piece of cake.  I just project the part profile by 1/2 of the intended end mill diameter, extrude it .010 then add that to my drawing.  The extruded profile is then dimensioned and used as the endmill centreline.

The key to success is precise hole locations in the fixture and in the part blank material.

This fixture has multiple tapped and plain holes because I was able to use it for all of the irregular parts in this reel.


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## YotaBota (May 16, 2020)

Beautiful work. I'm not familiar with using Gorilla Glue for finishing, how do you keep it from expanding or do you let it expand and shape and polish on the lathe?


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## eotrfish (May 16, 2020)

YotaBota said:


> Beautiful work. I'm not familiar with using Gorilla Glue for finishing, how do you keep it from expanding or do you let it expand and shape and polish on the lathe?


You just put a little dab of GG on a bit of folded paper towel and apply to the spinning part.  Spin the part and polish until no longer tacky.  The glue should be dry enough to re-apply in less than 1/2 hour.  Half a dozen coats should be enough for a durable finish.  Rubbed on GG is a common finish for bamboo fly rods.


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## YotaBota (May 16, 2020)

I'll have to remember to try this for the next project, it seems to be a secret among the fly rod community. I just googled and got to the Classic Fly Rod forum and there is a lot of talk there but I've never seen it on any woodworking forums. Thank you sir.


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## Galoot (May 17, 2020)

Fantastic work!
Well done!


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## buckbrush (Jun 16, 2020)

top shelf work.


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## eotrfish (Apr 28, 2021)

Good morning!

It's time for an update of my reel production...

First up is a pair of 4" drawbar drag large arbor reels.  These are fairly simple to build, maintain and operate.  Drag is provided by a tension rod which loads the spool onto the cork covered drag plate.  A little Neatsfoot oil on the cork is about the only maintenance required.










Next a pair of 4" Rulon/Stainless sealed drag reels.  This is a more complicated design which requires a one-way bearing and a stack of alternating Rulon and Stainless discs.  The hex shaped Rulon discs are held stationary in an internal hex in the reel body.  A set of Stainless discs are pinned to the one-way bearing and rotate with the spool.  Drag is provided by compressing the wave spring onto the drag stack.















Drag assembly design




The guts of the drag assembly


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## PeterT (Apr 28, 2021)

Beautiful work as always!

Coincidentally I was just thinking of you the other day when I as watching this YouTube engraving artist. Have you ever considered going down this path? Or maybe these reels take enough of your fun time as is LoL. (random internet pic)


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## eotrfish (Apr 28, 2021)

Thanks Peter

That's a pretty looking reel.  I've seen a few more in person and always thought it would be a good idea.  I did consider going down the engraving rabit hole.  I joined an engraving forum, shopped for equipment and looked at registering for a week long course.  I guess that I just settled for basic information laser engraved on some of my reels.  When my buddy no longer has access to his laser engraver I may have to revisit the manual engraving plan.

I made 5 of these clock reels while I was working on the 4 that I previously posted - they would have been good candidates for manual engraving


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## francist (Apr 28, 2021)

Gosh those are fabulous looking things, aren’t they.


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## johnnielsen (Apr 28, 2021)

Beautiful to look at. I know it takes painstaking attention to do such work and ,Eotrfish, you accomplish it with every piece. Amazing.


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## YotaBota (Apr 28, 2021)

Are these awards for "Caster of the Year"? They could replace the Oscar.
Very very nice.


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## eotrfish (Apr 28, 2021)

Hmm “Caster of the Year" - interesting idea.  Actually they’re for a few of the interesting characters that I’ve met on the water over the years.  I just shipped one to a friend in Virginia who has more fishing stories than I’ll ever have time to hear.


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## eotrfish (Jan 3, 2022)

Renderings of a few more in the works this winter

All of the reel bodies are similar construction - the main difference is in the drag systems.


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## PeterT (Jan 3, 2022)

Nice. Can't wait to see them in 'REEL' life HaHa

I have a question - not sure if this is part of your designs. Do you use typically micro dowel pins in the mechanism? If so, are you buying specific reamers to achieve light press fit (for assembly) and/or for precision free rotation fit?


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## eotrfish (Jan 3, 2022)

I use 1/16" dowel pins sparingly - usually to lock a couple of threaded parts together.  I don't recall using any for a free rotation fit.  I just use a nominal 1/16" reamer or a 1/16" carbide drill.  If the pin is loose in the hole I'll either add a dab of Loctite 680 or flatten the pin a few 1/10ths for an interference fit.


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## Tomc938 (Jan 3, 2022)

Your reels are absolute works of art!  My guess is people will be talking about them - and collecting them - for generations to come.  Amazing!  You are an inspiration to us all.


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## eotrfish (Jan 3, 2022)

Thanks Tomc938

I came across some photos of another group of reels that I made last year.  I originally hadn't intended to make these but had purchased 3 leather cases that I thought would fit some of my other reels.  It turned out that the cases were too narrow for any of my reels so I designed this set of reels to fit the cases.  These use 0-80 screws for all the pillars and drag parts so there was a bit of a pucker factor making sure that I didn't have to remake any parts.  All's well that ends well!


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## PeterT (Jan 3, 2022)

Very snappy. Most mortals would design the gift box around the contents, not the other way around  HaHa. 
Are the leather cases a 'stock' item for reels specifically?  That looks like some intricate folding & stitchery.


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## eotrfish (Jan 3, 2022)

The leather cases are generally custom made for reels.  There cases are from Olaf Kundras in Germany.  There is also a fellow in Oregon, Arne Mason, who although recently retired, has outfitted untold numbers of reels with his fine leatherwork.  Here's an example of an Arne Mason case.


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## Dan Dubeau (Jan 8, 2022)

Wow, what a fantastic thread.  Absolutely beautiful reels.


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## eotrfish (Mar 1, 2022)

Here's another one from this winter's work...









These reels are an interesting challenge because of all the components that must stack up to +/- .001" in the final assembly.  I try for +/-.0005 on the critical lengths and then trim one bushing and one arbor of the final assembly.  Usually I only have to remove .003 - .005 to make everything stack up correctly.


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## DPittman (Mar 1, 2022)

Makes me want to fly fish so I could justify owning one of those beautiful reels.  Awesome work. I would never have guessed such precision was necessary in such a component.


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## PeterT (Mar 1, 2022)

Very nice. Just wondering, some reels have solid faces & others are heavily swiss cheesed with radial holes. Is there a dynamic aspect to them like when casting or more about overall weight or maybe just aesthetics? Also do you do any contour turning on handles like using radii lathe accessory? I knw nothing about reels but it almost seems fitting that the same engineering types who studied machinery handles in the hand would have had some influence there too. LOL.


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## johnnielsen (Mar 1, 2022)

Amazing craftsmanship!


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## eotrfish (Mar 1, 2022)

DPittman said:


> Makes me want to fly fish so I could justify owning one of those beautiful reels.  Awesome work. I would never have guessed such precision was necessary in such a component.





johnnielsen said:


> Amazing craftsmanship!



Thanks guys - I’ll try to put together an overview of most of the tolerances involved.



PeterT said:


> Very nice. Just wondering, some reels have solid faces & others are heavily swiss cheesed with radial holes. Is there a dynamic aspect to them like when casting or more about overall weight or maybe just aesthetics? Also do you do any contour turning on handles like using radii lathe accessory? I knw nothing about reels but it almost seems fitting that the same engineering types who studied machinery handles in the hand would have had some influence there too. LOL.


Peter
The holes and cut outs are primarily cosmetic. Originally the radial holes were meant to assist with drying silk lines when left on the reel.  Silk lines are seldom used these days but the holes do help a little with drying the backing. There is really not much  weight reduction possible without making something that looks more like a salad spinner.
Most modern reels resemble the spinner hubcaps on Shaq’s Escalade.
I don’t normally do any radius turning on the handles but you make a good point.  I typically just taper the handles.  I have done the odd concave radiused handle but just eyeball it and finish with 600 grit paper.  Some reel makers do offer concave radii on their handles.


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## Susquatch (Mar 2, 2022)

Wow, I am VERY impressed at your reels.

I have a custom flyrod I bought in Calgary while on a business trip there back in 2000 or so. We were heading into the rockies to test vehicles with a bunch of auto journalists and I had a weekend to myself so I figured I'd find a mountain stream to catch a few fish and camp under the stars - the rest of the team went golfing.

It has an off the shelf reel. I've always wanted to buy a nice custom one to match my fly rod.

To be honest, I never even thought about making one!

Would you consider selling me one of yours?


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## eotrfish (Mar 6, 2022)

And another reel finished - only two more to go before I hang it up for the summer and spend some time on the river.


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## PeterT (Mar 6, 2022)

Nice again. I beet there are some hours in there. 
Are bearing types a consideration for any particular reason or does it mostly come down top size? I notice they are always coated in happy red stuff. Would something like ceramic make sense from moisture standpoint? Where do you buy them?


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## 140mower (Mar 6, 2022)

Absolutely beautiful work, very clean looking design. I'm looking forward to seeing the next two, if I started now I doubt I could finish one before next summer's end, assuming of course I had your skill set. My work is much more..... Utilitarian.


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## eotrfish (Mar 7, 2022)

PeterT said:


> Are bearing types a consideration for any particular reason or does it mostly come down top size? I notice they are always coated in happy red stuff. Would something like ceramic make sense from moisture standpoint? Where do you buy them?



Peter
Bearing selection comes down mostly to size. Often it is a case of trying to fit 10# of crap into a 5# pail.  In this reel the drag drum rides in a bronze bushing.  Side play of the whole assembly is limited by the two home built thrust bearings.  This fly reel thrust bearing assembly dates back about 120 years.  Originally the balls were just placed in a groove and the outer rim rolled inward to retain the balls.  I changed the layout to use a press fit ball retainer.

The happy red stuff is a special reel grease.  The big advantage of this grease it remains visible so you can see when it's time to re-lube.

I use 2RS bearings whenever possible so there is no need for ceramics.  Having said that I have used ceramics in a few reels when they were the only size available.

I couldn't find a ceramic roller clutch so I designed the drag drum with an internal quad ring each end to retain the roller bearing/clutch grease and to prevent water intrusion.  

BOCA BEARING https://www.bocabearings.com/ is my go to supplier for small / odd bearings.  I tried to source the roller clutch locally but got "never heard of that size - no one makes that size roller clutch" from the order desk at Transmission Supply.  Oddly enough the best price and delivery for the roller clutch was from Amazon.

PM Hobby Craft https://www.pmhobbycraft.ca/ on 32Ave N.E. also has an excellent selection of small 2RS bearings, both inch and metric.


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## eotrfish (Mar 17, 2022)

Another reel nearly complete.   This one is a sun and planet multiplier based on a centuries old design.  It'll be interesting to see how it works when finally assembled.
All parts finished - just need to assemble, polish and set on the shelf.

The plan...


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## RobinHood (Mar 17, 2022)

Yet another masterpiece!


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## Dabbler (Mar 18, 2022)

Perfect Craftmanship!


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## eotrfish (Mar 18, 2022)

Dabbler said:


> Perfect Craftmanship!



Thanks Dabbler but it turned out to be not so perfect.  I had hoped to have the reel finished this morning but it looks like I'll have to run in the gear set with some lapping compound.  There's some hit and miss noise from the gears meshing.  Lots of concentricity concerns in this build.  Possibly I should have chosen larger tooth profile gears.  Oh well - I'll make it work.  Patience will be the key.


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## Dabbler (Mar 18, 2022)

eotrfish said:


> but it looks like I'll have to run in the gear set


One more step of craftsmanship, if I may say so.


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## eotrfish (Mar 20, 2022)

The sun/planet multiplier is finally done.





















The spool button latch was an interesting part of the build.  It turned out perfectly as there is only .002" side play in the spool/winding plate combination.


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## DPittman (Mar 20, 2022)

I totally love the craftsmanship and detail.  
Sorry if this was explained in earlier posts but I want to ask if those reels are from commercial plans or is of your own design and plan capabilities?  
Boy if you fly fish that's got to be a rewarding project.  You get the fun of making AND using such a fine piece of work.


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## eotrfish (Mar 20, 2022)

DPittman said:


> totally love the craftsmanship and detail.
> Sorry if this was explained in earlier posts but I want to ask if those reels are from commercial plans or is of your own design and plan capabilities?
> Boy if you fly fish that's got to be a rewarding project. You get the fun of making AND using such a fine piece of work.



Thanks

These reels are from my own designs and plans.  The basic concepts of most of these reels have been around since the 1880's but the devil is in the details.  

The design process is a juggling act to incorporate most if not all of the client requirements...

- spool volume
- spool arbor diameter
- spool width
- outside diameter
- outside width
- width
- drag type - clicker / cork disc / carbon disc
- drag sealed or open
- weight ***
- colour
- right hand or left hand wind
- s-handle or plate wind
- ease of disassembly for maintenance
- fresh water or salt water use
- and the list goes on

Although the latest reel is 4" OD it has a relatively small spool volume due to the cage pins that serve as the 0-80 threaded anchors for the sun gear.  It'll become a Bow River trout reel in about 3 weeks.


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## eotrfish (Mar 23, 2022)

Last one of the winter batch...

This one may be going to a board member


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## DPittman (Mar 23, 2022)

Fantastic.


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## Tom O (Mar 23, 2022)

Nice as usual.
I‘m a bored member but I don’t fly fish.


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## Dabbler (Mar 23, 2022)

I usually fly airplanes, but what do I know


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## PeterT (Mar 23, 2022)

The workmanship is top notch, but I still feel like they are somehow missing some key features around the perimeter. LOL.


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## Susquatch (Mar 23, 2022)

PeterT said:


> The workmanship is top notch, but I still feel like they are somehow missing some key features around the perimeter. LOL.



Pretty sure that is regulated for pollution, safety, noise, energy efficiency, etc etc. Prolly scare all the fish away too......


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## Six O Two (Mar 24, 2022)

Absolutely amazing detail and craftsmanship on those reels.

Not sure if you mentioned this already, but are the black pieces painted or anodized (or delrin)?


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## eotrfish (Mar 24, 2022)

Six O Two said:


> Absolutely amazing detail and craftsmanship on those reels.
> 
> Not sure if you mentioned this already, but are the black pieces painted or anodized (or delrin)?


Thanks

The black pieces are anodized 6061 although I have made a few with Black Delrin and either Brass or 6061.  I had not posted those so here goes...

Delrin / 360 Brass reel











Delrin / 6061 reel






I have another design in the works - Delrin / 6061 with a 2.25 multiplier gear box in the handle side.  The gearbox design is a simplified version of the gearbox from another reel that I made about 15 years ago.  It'll probably be a next winter project.


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## eotrfish (Mar 24, 2022)

PeterT said:


> The workmanship is top notch, but I still feel like they are somehow missing some key features around the perimeter. LOL.



Peter

Do you mean like this one?  I modeled most of it, acquired the material then moved on to other projects.  I still have the drawings and book if you are interested.

Bentley BR2


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## PeterT (Mar 24, 2022)

Nice. Is that Lew Blackmore's 1/4 scale Bentley BR2 rotary by chance? If so, I do have the book already but thanks for nice offer. I take it off the shelf, thumb through the pages... and put it back on the shelf. This 5-cyl radial I'm working on was a big enough step for me, never mind cylinders that spin.   IF...  WHEN! mine runs I may have to take a step away from 'round' engines just to clear my head. Thinking maybe a Vee and maybe 12 cylinders. Go big or go home LOL.


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## eotrfish (Jul 21, 2022)

I just finished a custom reel that a fellow ordered in May.  I had to take a short hiatus to recover from thumb surgery but am back making chips


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## DPittman (Jul 21, 2022)

Love it, absolutely a work of art.


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## PeterT (Jul 21, 2022)

Nice. 
What's the purpose of the part with right angle partial slits? It kind of reminds me of those 'alignment' hubs when like marrying 2 shafts in a driveline


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## eotrfish (Jul 21, 2022)

PeterT said:


> Nice.
> What's the purpose of the part with right angle partial slits? It kind of reminds me of those 'alignment' hubs when like marrying 2 shafts in a driveline



The slotted bronze sleeve provides axial preload between the outer races of the two bearings that are a slip fit inside the spool.  The material between the slots allows for a small deflection based on how many slots and the thickness of the remaining material.  It is an empirical design at best.  There's a lot of tolerance stack up in the assembly so I needed to account for at least 0.005" variance in the final assembly.  It worked out fine.






There is another similar slotted spring in the gear case assembly.


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## eotrfish (Oct 25, 2022)

Yet another fly reel - who would have suspected

This reel is an adaptation of a design from Popular Mechanics ca. 1950 entitled "Make your own fly reel".  I can't find the original PM drawings but as I recall the design definitely need a little cleanup.

I sent a copy of my drawings to a board member in case he found time to make one.  In the meantime I built this one to verify that the drawings were correct.  All worked out well - hope he gets around to making his own.

The only item of note is that I designed a hex captive washer to hold the spool onto the spindle.  It was a little finicky milling the hex in the end of the spindle with a 1/16" dia. end mill.


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## DPittman (Oct 25, 2022)

Your beautiful work makes me want to learn fly fishing just so I could justify owning one of your fine pieces of art.  Very nice, thanks for sharing.


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## eotrfish (Oct 25, 2022)

Thanks Don

There's some great fly fishing on the Oldman, both upstream and downstream of Maycroft - perfect place for you to learn and not too far from home

Here's a rendering of my next project.  I'm making this as a custom order for a spey fisherman in Ontario.  It really is 10# of crap in a 5# pail.  Fully sealed multiplier gear box with removable spool.  This one presented some challenges which I didn't consider when I agreed to make it - deep small bores, trepanning, a lot of precision bearing fits, multiple concentricities, stackups out the wazoo and the list goes on.


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## DPittman (Oct 25, 2022)

eotrfish said:


> There's some great fly fishing on the Oldman, both upstream and downstream of Maycroft - perfect place for you to learn and not too far from home


That's good to know, I've been driving past that area for almost 40 years for hunting/camping and have really noticed the dramatic increase in fly fisherman especially the last 20 years and I wonderd if the fishing could still be good.  I used to do some spin cast fishing on the rivers up there but never got into fly fishing for some unknown reason.  Maybe had I been aware of reels like yours at the time, I might now be a seasoned fly fisherman!


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## eotrfish (Nov 9, 2022)

Finially finished the reel mentioned in Post #95 - thank God - at times it seemed like I would never get it done.


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## DPittman (Nov 9, 2022)

Wow. Beautiful as expected. That's gotta feel good.


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## PeterT (Nov 9, 2022)

Very nice @eotrfish What is the (silver) alloy?


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## eotrfish (Nov 9, 2022)

Thanks Peter

The reel body including the gearcase is 6061.  The pillars, S-handle and S-handle retaining screw are Nickle Silver 752.  Gears are 360 Brass cut from pinion wire.  There are some 642 Bronze parts where part strength or wear may be issues.  All screws are 18-8 SS.


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