The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I must take this little baby out more:

It spins very well, and is more comfortable in the cold than an all-metal reel.
I'm told that the hollowed-out back of the spool marks it out as a Sheffield reel:


One thing has always troubled me, though: what's inside that latch?
Do bits ping out at all angles to be lost forever, if one is rash enough to unscrew the cover?
Does anyone have any pictures or diagrams of the innards of a Slater latch?

I'm afraid I can't help you, but must say I do like your reel a lot!!! :thumb:

What a glorious looking reel, simply quite lovely.

A lovely piece of timber but it would appear that the Slater latch is an enigma

A nice reel is it made from walnut?
I've always taken everything apart but often regretted it!
I still would though just to see what's in there take pictures as you go along.

Sadly, the only timbers I can make a stab at identifying are beech and oak, and its neither of those!
Haydn, any ideas? Anyone?

If I knew it were safe, I would indeed consider a stepwise disassembly, but I'm not risking it! There's a spring in there, and I remember trying to reassemble bicycle freewheel blocks... if we'd had a swear-box, I'd be rotting in a debtors' gaol...

This new "Tiny" device makes uploading pics really easy, doesn't it? Good find!

It looks like a light mahogany to me Luke but I'm not 100% sure.

Glad you like the tinypic uploads Vole.

Right; this is what's inside a Slater-style latch, not the real deal, but close; I bought a doer-up cheaply enough to take a gamble (and the rivets looked reassuring...)

Simple, but effective.

And an internet first for the forum, I believe. The only inside shot of anything like a Slater Latch, unless someone's posted one up since I started this thread!

This is my Slater Latch but with the alloy back rather than the all wooden construction.








And a recent catch, still nothing wrong with these reels...I'm a big fan...

That's lovely Tadpole..a real/reel transition job!

The latch, when revealed, is much like the earlier 'telephone' latches under a dust-cover.