Newark Needle float

[DaceAce]

According to a framed advert I saw for sale, Walter Bower's 'Newark Needle Floats' were introduced in 1979 - a little more 'recently' than I'd imagined, but still 45 years ago!

I added a few more to my collection on Sunday, including one with a black tip - which is not a version I'd seen before.

As I now have a few duplicates, I'm going to give one a try soon - just out of curiosity.

They certainly existed in 1977 because the 1977 Gladding Masters was fished on Walter Bower's stretch of the Trent at Muskham and there was the infamous demonstration tank with a piece of hinged wood hitting the top of one of these floats and a standard stick float demonstrating, supposedly, that the needle float was more sensitive as it dived underwater further (it actually had more momentum as it was a much heavier float). None of the assembled floatfishong superstars used them that day....

The design was based on the acquisition of a load of cedar pencil blanks which had the hole for the lead hence the need for a plastic cap.

[Duckett]

According to a framed advert I saw for sale, Walter Bower's 'Newark Needle Floats' were introduced in 1979 - a little more 'recently' than I'd imagined, but still 45 years ago!

I added a few more to my collection on Sunday, including one with a black tip - which is not a version I'd seen before.

As I now have a few duplicates, I'm going to give one a try soon - just out of curiosity.

They certainly existed in 1977 because the 1977 Gladding Masters was fished on Walter Bower's stretch of the Trent at Muskham and there was the infamous demonstration tank with a piece of hinged wood hitting the top of one of these floats and a standard stick float demonstrating, supposedly, that the needle float was more sensitive as it dived underwater further (it actually had more momentum as it was a much heavier float). None of the assembled floatfishong superstars used them that day....

The design was based on the acquisition of a load of cedar pencil blanks which had the hole for the lead hence the need for a plastic cap.

The cedar pencil blanks with a hole for the lead is a great angler’s tale Mark. However, sadly, it simply can’t be true because pencils aren’t made that way. They are manufactured as a glued together sandwich of: grooved cedar wood, extruded graphite-clay cores inserted in the grooves and ungrooved cedar wood. The resulting sandwich block is then machined into several individual pencils. The pencil blank with a hole in it never exists.

Enjoyable and informative as it was, I never thought I’d have reason to quote from my visit to the Keswick Pencil Museum! Next up, The Orkney Wireless Museum

Phil

[DaceAce]

According to a framed advert I saw for sale, Walter Bower's 'Newark Needle Floats' were introduced in 1979 - a little more 'recently' than I'd imagined, but still 45 years ago!

I added a few more to my collection on Sunday, including one with a black tip - which is not a version I'd seen before.

As I now have a few duplicates, I'm going to give one a try soon - just out of curiosity.

They certainly existed in 1977 because the 1977 Gladding Masters was fished on Walter Bower's stretch of the Trent at Muskham and there was the infamous demonstration tank with a piece of hinged wood hitting the top of one of these floats and a standard stick float demonstrating, supposedly, that the needle float was more sensitive as it dived underwater further (it actually had more momentum as it was a much heavier float). None of the assembled floatfishong superstars used them that day....

The design was based on the acquisition of a load of cedar pencil blanks which had the hole for the lead hence the need for a plastic cap.

The cedar pencil blanks with a hole for the lead is a great angler’s tale Mark. However, sadly, it simply can’t be true because pencils aren’t made that way. They are manufactured as a glued together sandwich of: grooved cedar wood, extruded graphite-clay cores inserted in the grooves and ungrooved cedar wood. The resulting sandwich block is then machined into several individual pencils. The pencil blank with a hole in it never exists.

Enjoyable and informative as it was, I never thought I’d have reason to quote from my visit to the Keswick Pencil Museum! Next up, The Orkney Wireless Museum

Phil

I'm pretty sure that a) Newark needle floats are made of cedar, and b) they have a hole through the centre (snap one in half and have a look!). I'm quoting the story doing the rounds at the time. They're unusual in that most floats of similar type are made from balsa and are also shaped with tapers.

[Duckett]

According to a framed advert I saw for sale, Walter Bower's 'Newark Needle Floats' were introduced in 1979 - a little more 'recently' than I'd imagined, but still 45 years ago!

I added a few more to my collection on Sunday, including one with a black tip - which is not a version I'd seen before.

As I now have a few duplicates, I'm going to give one a try soon - just out of curiosity.

They certainly existed in 1977 because the 1977 Gladding Masters was fished on Walter Bower's stretch of the Trent at Muskham and there was the infamous demonstration tank with a piece of hinged wood hitting the top of one of these floats and a standard stick float demonstrating, supposedly, that the needle float was more sensitive as it dived underwater further (it actually had more momentum as it was a much heavier float). None of the assembled floatfishong superstars used them that day....

The design was based on the acquisition of a load of cedar pencil blanks which had the hole for the lead hence the need for a plastic cap.

The cedar pencil blanks with a hole for the lead is a great angler’s tale Mark. However, sadly, it simply can’t be true because pencils aren’t made that way. They are manufactured as a glued together sandwich of: grooved cedar wood, extruded graphite-clay cores inserted in the grooves and ungrooved cedar wood. The resulting sandwich block is then machined into several individual pencils. The pencil blank with a hole in it never exists.

Enjoyable and informative as it was, I never thought I’d have reason to quote from my visit to the Keswick Pencil Museum! Next up, The Orkney Wireless Museum

Phil

I'm pretty sure that a) Newark needle floats are made of cedar, and b) they have a hole through the centre (snap one in half and have a look!). I'm quoting the story doing the rounds at the time. They're unusual in that most floats of similar type are made from balsa and are also shaped with tapers.

I’m certain you are right about that Mark. I’m now wondering if cedar tubes are manufactured for any purpose.

Phil

[DaceAce]

According to a framed advert I saw for sale, Walter Bower's 'Newark Needle Floats' were introduced in 1979 - a little more 'recently' than I'd imagined, but still 45 years ago!

I added a few more to my collection on Sunday, including one with a black tip - which is not a version I'd seen before.

As I now have a few duplicates, I'm going to give one a try soon - just out of curiosity.

They certainly existed in 1977 because the 1977 Gladding Masters was fished on Walter Bower's stretch of the Trent at Muskham and there was the infamous demonstration tank with a piece of hinged wood hitting the top of one of these floats and a standard stick float demonstrating, supposedly, that the needle float was more sensitive as it dived underwater further (it actually had more momentum as it was a much heavier float). None of the assembled floatfishong superstars used them that day....

The design was based on the acquisition of a load of cedar pencil blanks which had the hole for the lead hence the need for a plastic cap.

The cedar pencil blanks with a hole for the lead is a great angler’s tale Mark. However, sadly, it simply can’t be true because pencils aren’t made that way. They are manufactured as a glued together sandwich of: grooved cedar wood, extruded graphite-clay cores inserted in the grooves and ungrooved cedar wood. The resulting sandwich block is then machined into several individual pencils. The pencil blank with a hole in it never exists.

Enjoyable and informative as it was, I never thought I’d have reason to quote from my visit to the Keswick Pencil Museum! Next up, The Orkney Wireless Museum

Phil

I'm pretty sure that a) Newark needle floats are made of cedar, and b) they have a hole through the centre (snap one in half and have a look!). I'm quoting the story doing the rounds at the time. They're unusual in that most floats of similar type are made from balsa and are also shaped with tapers.

I’m certain you are right about that Mark. I’m now wondering if cedar tubes are manufactured for any purpose.

Phil

What if a pencil maker goes bust, Bower picks up the ready cut cedar blanks and finishes the gluing without the lead in the middle?

[Duckett]

According to a framed advert I saw for sale, Walter Bower's 'Newark Needle Floats' were introduced in 1979 - a little more 'recently' than I'd imagined, but still 45 years ago!

I added a few more to my collection on Sunday, including one with a black tip - which is not a version I'd seen before.

As I now have a few duplicates, I'm going to give one a try soon - just out of curiosity.

They certainly existed in 1977 because the 1977 Gladding Masters was fished on Walter Bower's stretch of the Trent at Muskham and there was the infamous demonstration tank with a piece of hinged wood hitting the top of one of these floats and a standard stick float demonstrating, supposedly, that the needle float was more sensitive as it dived underwater further (it actually had more momentum as it was a much heavier float). None of the assembled floatfishong superstars used them that day....

The design was based on the acquisition of a load of cedar pencil blanks which had the hole for the lead hence the need for a plastic cap.

The cedar pencil blanks with a hole for the lead is a great angler’s tale Mark. However, sadly, it simply can’t be true because pencils aren’t made that way. They are manufactured as a glued together sandwich of: grooved cedar wood, extruded graphite-clay cores inserted in the grooves and ungrooved cedar wood. The resulting sandwich block is then machined into several individual pencils. The pencil blank with a hole in it never exists.

Enjoyable and informative as it was, I never thought I’d have reason to quote from my visit to the Keswick Pencil Museum! Next up, The Orkney Wireless Museum

Phil

I'm pretty sure that a) Newark needle floats are made of cedar, and b) they have a hole through the centre (snap one in half and have a look!). I'm quoting the story doing the rounds at the time. They're unusual in that most floats of similar type are made from balsa and are also shaped with tapers.

I’m certain you are right about that Mark. I’m now wondering if cedar tubes are manufactured for any purpose.

Phil

What if a pencil maker goes bust, Bower picks up the ready cut cedar blanks and finishes the gluing without the lead in the middle?

That would certainly work. We need one snapped to look for a glue line in the join!

[Wallys-Cast]

Here we are boys and girls, a Newark Needle float in bits.
Yes they are cedar wood and there is a hole right through, though I am sure if it was grooved into the two halves just like a pencil. The wire stem only went so far into it, I suppose, giving a lower centre of gravity. I seperated the two halves at the point where they were glued together.

There was quite a lot of work involved whan you consider how it was made and all the components involved.
One little thing I noticed when I took the top off was a red plastic insert fitted inside the cap which acted to lock the line in the angled groove. I had not noticed this before, hopefully you can see this on the bottom two pictures.

I think if these floats had been balsa bodied, they would have been a lot more popular.



Wal.

[Barbelseeker]

Poor old Walter will be turning in his grave at such butchery of his products

[DaceAce]

Here we are boys and girls, a Newark Needle float in bits.
Yes they are cedar wood and there is a hole right through, though I am sure if it was grooved into the two halves just like a pencil. The wire stem only went so far into it, I suppose, giving a lower centre of gravity. I seperated the two halves at the point where they were glued together.

There was quite a lot of work involved whan you consider how it was made and all the components involved.
One little thing I noticed when I took the top off was a red plastic insert fitted inside the cap which acted to lock the line in the angled groove. I had not noticed this before, hopefully you can see this on the bottom two pictures.

I think if these floats had been balsa bodied, they would have been a lot more popular.



Wal.

Thank you for helping solve the mystery.

I think Bower saw an opportunity to make a lot of cheap floats without the costs of setting up from scratch the type of lathe/balsa setups used by Gerry Woodcock (Ivan Marks/Pete Warren floats), Ultra (Billy Lane) and Peter Drennan, nor trying to emulate their designs.

[Duckett]

Here we are boys and girls, a Newark Needle float in bits.
Yes they are cedar wood and there is a hole right through, though I am sure if it was grooved into the two halves just like a pencil. The wire stem only went so far into it, I suppose, giving a lower centre of gravity. I seperated the two halves at the point where they were glued together.

There was quite a lot of work involved whan you consider how it was made and all the components involved.
One little thing I noticed when I took the top off was a red plastic insert fitted inside the cap which acted to lock the line in the angled groove. I had not noticed this before, hopefully you can see this on the bottom two pictures.

I think if these floats had been balsa bodied, they would have been a lot more popular.



Wal.

Only just spotted this Wal. Thanks for solving the mystery. I think that counts as experimental archaeology of sorts!

Phil