MY 349

[Alto Mare]

I was finally able to assemble Tom's 349 kit.
Tom, this is one of the best looking kit I've seen and milled to perfection...thank you!
I have a bunch of 6/0 narrow, but when I saw your 349. I had to have it.
Here are a couple of pics:




Arm and star are from Adam, wood knob and inlays are designed and made by me.

I used Ironwood, this wood is just as strong as the stainless steel and very hard to work with.
It would be easy shaping it on a lathe, but you won't get the shape I came up with.
The shape feels very comfortable in my hand.
It really looks amazing, actually pics don't do it justice.

Sal

[Swami805]

Beautiful Job Sal, that handle is a beauty. We remove ironwood trees from time to time, they're aptly named. It really stands out on the motive fab arm. Must be some time invested and a tube of Ben-Gay to get that finish on the wood,outstanding. It looks great in the pictures.
I built mine yesterday too, hadn't gotten pictures yet. You're right about the fit and finish, I got it working perfectly on the first try.

[oldmanjoe]

  beautiful wood work ..   Knife making in your future also ?   

[steelfish]

ayaayay caramba !!

now thats a beatiful reel with a really unique handle knob

now thats a perfect reel to go knife jigging (pun inttended)

[mhc]

Nice work Sal, that's a truly unique custom handle. Tom's kits are a masterpiece in their own right but your custom timber grip and inserts on the handle arm give your reel an old school 'luxury model' look. I'll bet a lot of work went into shaping the ironwood pieces, particularly getting the fine inserts to match the curve of Adam's handle perfectly - were they the first attempt?

Mike

[Donnyboat]

Beautiful Sal,to good to fish with, enjoy, thanks for posting, cheers Don.

[Tiddlerbasher]

Lovely job Sal - now go and make a similar shaped knif handle

[Keta]

WOW!!!!

[CapeFish]

Fantastic, so many amazing works of art on this site!

[STRIPER LOU]

Nice work Sal!

The Ironwood has a  look to it like burly Walnut.

Nice detail on the inserted arm. We have been casting them in Acrylic but haven't made enough to test for durability yet.

Another added to the one of a kind list.

.................Lou

[vilters]

handle and arm accents are awesome! so many great craftsmen on this site. you guys continue to impress, keep it up.

[xjchad]

 
Beautiful work Sal! I'm awed once again!

[Rothmar2]

Beautiful piece. As others have alluded to, have you ever dabbled in knife making before? The handle/crank is very inspiring.

[Maxed Out]

  Sal strikes again !! It's easy to see where we all get our inspiration from.


  Is that stock screw for that custom shift lever ??

[Tightlines667]

Holy cow Sal!

That is a beautiful piece of art, and should definitely be kept behind glass.

Very impressive!