How to make a Fly Reel

[goosander]

Think this the best and most intresting thread i have seen.
Threads like this is were this forum stands out. Pity we can not get more threads like making rods/lines/hooks etc.
Bob

 

[gwelsher]

Brilliant BZ thanks for sharing and I look forward to your next project. Hope the reel gets you a big springer.

 

[jockparr]

What a great piece of engineering , fantastic, this one needs to go to the great threads

 

[acerspader]

Blue Zulu,

What a brilliant piece of work and illustration. Well done.

 

[Altmor]

We are indebted to you BZ, a great thread and a great subject to follow. Fascinating to see how the complete article has been lovingly created .
Altmor.

 

[NEbody]

Like everyone else, I've really enjoyed following this: a proper bit of engineering

 

[j.mac]

Stunning reel a work of art BZ

 

[SammySalmon]

Reel

It's the reel thing, fantastic Blue Zulu. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together. You've reeled me in and had me hooked all the way.Brilliant to see it finished.

 

[munro]

Excellent from start to finnish,kept me interested all the way,great skills and great end result hat off to you

 

[Blue Zulu]

Thanks for all the replies folks, it’s nice to know that you enjoyed following each step. I have also been updating the opening post of this thread so that you can see everything from start to finish in one complete page.

Since joining the Forum the amount of information I have gained from it is amazing and I am sure that there is not a day goes past that I don’t learn something new or get enjoyment from reading all the posts. I felt that it was only right to put something back in return and this was what I came up with.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Fruin]

I have to agree with the other members that have commented on this thread; it has been excellent from the start and as I said before shows the kind of skills that draw admiration and envy in equal measure. Great skills and great thread - thank you Blue Zulu.

 

[auldsalmon]

brilliant write up and one good looking reel how much has it cost you to make also how many man hours to make it tight lines

 

[Blue Zulu]

brilliant write up and one good looking reel how much has it cost you to make also how many man hours to make it tight lines

Hi auldsalmon,

I wish I had counted up more accurately the amount of time it took me to make the reel but I would imagine it could be approaching 100 hours A lot of this time was spent changing set ups on the lathe which could have been done separately on a separate milling machine.

With regard to cost then I suppose I was quite lucky as I had some of the materials already but you could be looking at about £100 or more if you had to buy them.

Cheers
Neil

 

[saltire69]

Brilliant work and nice to see the old equipment being put to good use .
Are you a machinest for a living .
Thanks for posting .

 

[Lancsflyman]

I would say it's the satisfaction and very rewarding to be able to make a reel of that quality all by yourself, and the cost wont come into it.
A brillant thread and thanks for sharing BZ

 

[juri tube]

reel...

amazing bit ov machinery and quailty reel.. your the man....

 

[hurricane]

I think this is easily the best thread I have ever seen on the salmon forum, such skill and percision. Fantastic work, you should be very proud of yourself.

 

[bullfinch]

how to make a fly reel

Hi blue zulu can you tell us how the reel has performed for you since you finished making it ? thanks for sharing your skill .

 

[Blue Zulu]

Hi bullfinch,


I had to do a few modifications to make the winding plate/handle/check gear assembly fit more securely as a complete unit and a bit of tweaking with the check spring. I took it out for a test run earlier on in the year but to be honest it is slightly bigger than what I need and I found it to be a bit too noisy for my liking - others have said it sounds great.

I hope to solve this problem with my latest project which has a “poachers” knob to switch on or off the check.

Cheers
Neil

 

[silverleapers]

Never heard it called a poacher's knob

Fantastic thread. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers;
Silverleapers

 

[clydesider]

Does anyone agree that this classic deserves to be included in "Great Threads" so that it doesn't disappear into the ether?
Mike

 

[gwelsher]

I agree it's brilliant.

 

[Oscar]

AWESOME.

Truly inspirational.

 

[Juno]

What a fascinating thread, well done.

 

[The Black Douglas]

Excellent, it must be great to have such engineering skills.

Hope you manage a fish or two on your new reel, it must be satisfying catching on a reel you have made yourself.