Wooden reels

[Scavenger]

Yes, I see that there is a (roughly) triangular bit in mine with a spring pressing against it and a toothed wheel on the spool.

Thanks everyone and especially Vole.

[Estaban]

Missed this earlier in the week, I think you questions about the latch have been answered, as far as your question about fly reels not being made of wood, I believe early on wooden reels may have been used for both fly and coarse fishing as they would have been little more than a winch to hold the line. I'm not sure when the two would have separated ways but fly reels in the early 19th century were being produced from nickle silver and ebonite (hard rubber) while wooden Nottingham style and other wooden centerpins were still being made into the 20th century. I may simply be a case of fly fishermen were able and willing to pay more for a reel....take all of this with a grain of salt though as I have researched it only a little.

[Vole]

Doesn't it just?
Not sure if the front is wood , or bakelite, or, if such a thing exists, brown ebonite; the seller only mentions ebonite, which the backplate certainly looks like. Wouldn't want to drop it, but it looks a belter.
The trouble is, the only way to find out for certain if it runs as well as it looks is to buy it!

[Scavenger]

. . . as far as your question about fly reels not being made of wood . . . fly reels in the early 19th century were being produced from nickle silver and ebonite (hard rubber) while wooden Nottingham style and other wooden centerpins were still being made into the 20th century. I may simply be a case of fly fishermen were able and willing to pay more for a reel....

Thanks but the question about wooden fly reels was not mine. It is an interesting one, though and it is interesting to learn that not only metal but also ebonite was being used early in the 19th century for fishing reels.

Apropos affluent anglers (=fly fishermen) using reels of materials other than wood because they could afford them: is it correct that the performance required of a coarse fishing reel is higher than that required of a fly reel because of its role in casting and in giving/taking line to/from a float as well as - the only demand made on a fly reel - retrieving line against the resistance of the fish?

If the wooden Nottingham reels were not as free-running as the metal & ebonite ones those who had to make shift as well as they could with the former must indeed have been constrained by something - presumably limited finances!

Of course, with today's technology it is metal and plastic of various sorts that gives us the cheapest reels on the market but at that time . . . ??

[Scavenger]

I see that bidding on this reel now stands at GBP22.00 and the auction has entered on its last day.

Seller confirms that the front facing is not wood.

Maybe there is a way of adding something cosmetic to the surface of an ebonite article? Certainly there is a way of putting gilt &c.lettering onto such things as ebonite clarinets. Onto bakelite articles also.

[Vole]

Ebonite was viewed as an improvement on wood, presumably because it won't warp every time a warm front comes in, and I suspect that another part of its appeal was the clean, uncluttered surface it gave - rebellion against the visual over-stimulation of the Victorian mantel-piece. A quick Wiki of "ebonite" shows that the great leap forward in vulcanising rubber came in 1905, by which time the world was ready for a few smooth, wipe-clean surfaces! A Google of "ebonite vs Bakelite" is also quite illuminating: http://www.theoldtelephone.co.uk/ebonit ... kelite.htm

Ebonite is tough enough for bowls (the bowling sort), so I'd have thought it could be engraved, but I wouldn't use a Coxon aerial as a test piece. It may also be safer to work when the stuff is new.

I never realised that sawdust was a common filler of Bakelite till I read that; I wonder how many potential vintage reels were lost to manufacturers trying to stretch the blend a bit too far?

Much chat on this thread, too: viewtopic.php?f=279&t=1765&hilit=ebonite&start=30. Perhaps there ought to be a new thread on plastics.

[Nobby]

A pal of mine has turned his own centrepin in ebonite. I've held it and it was both hard, very hard indeed and light.

Short-lived but a rather special material.

http://www.thepathbythewater.net/bb_tpb ... nite#p9573

[Wallys-Cast]

I thought I would share some pics of my three wooden reels with Slater latches, 3" dia, 3.5" dia and 4" dia.
They dont get used much these days but the 3.5" is the one most used as it has a shallow arbour, made for light line match fishing so has the faster line retrieve which is useful when trotting a longer swim.
They all spin freely enough to trot but sometimes need a bit of a kick start to get them going if the flow isn't very strong.
They have been more ornamental for the last few years but Vole's post has renewed my interest in them so they will probably get an outing very soon. They do look nice on the sideboard though and my wife gives them a polish over once a week so that's a bonus.





The bottom pic was taken in 2009, it is the 4" reel which I used mainly for tench and carp, the rod is a Alex Martin "The Martofloat". A very nice rod now in someone else's collection.

The little 3 inch reel is perfect for Gudgeon and small Roach on a light cane rod. I have some action shots somewhere, if I can find them I will post them, some of the Gudgeon are huge. Honest..

Regards.
Wal.

[Wandler]

Thanks but the question about wooden fly reels was not mine.

is it correct that the performance required of a coarse fishing reel is higher than that required of a fly reel because of its role in casting and in giving/taking line to/from a float as well as - the only demand made on a fly reel - retrieving line against the resistance of the fish?

The 'wooden fly reels question' was probably mine. I have never done classic coarse fishing (long rods with floats / ledgers / carp rigs.. stuff like that) having always fished with a fly rod and reel. Very occasionally I have used a fixed-spool reel on a light line spinning rod with a bubble float and a fly.

From what I see on the river bank I think it is probably true that the quality and design of the reel seems to be much more important in classic coarse fishing than it is in fly fishing (even for 'coarse' fish!). This is evident even from the number of different designs available to the long rod users. While it is nice to use a good old J W Young's Beaudex I don't think it actually makes much difference in fly fishing which particular fly reel one uses. What is much more important is the quality of the line on the reel. Fly fishing seems to be one of the few cases where spending that little bit more on the line really does make a difference to how successfully one can get a cast to where one wants it.

[Mark]

They are lovely reels Wal.