Underhead 501 jigmaster

[mhc]

Last update (for a while)
The stand assembled;





I checked the stand for fit in a couple of reel seats, a smallish fuji seat on a Tcurve deep jig rod;



and an unmarked seat on an old Penn powerstick;



And then screw on a set of Penn side plates with stainless rings, clicker button and locking screw made by Chis (Rothmar2), and Adam's (threesevens) counterbalanced handle and star. Pro Challenger internals and spool.









I'll weigh it before I spool it and compare it to a stock 501, but it is pretty heavy.

Mike

[oc1]

Beautiful Mike.  Really stylish too.
-steve

[Donnyboat]

Mike that is fantastic, as good or better than a brought reel, you lost me a bit, not being involved with the metal industry, this could be a stupid question, but what is a 1/2" sanding drum, cheers Don.

[hurt locker]

 Amazing, Impressive!!! Thank you for sharing.

[mhc]

Thanks guys, there is a heap of 'mistakes' if you look closely but overall I'm pretty happy with it so far - the next test will be using it. Don, no such thing as a dumb question, the 1/2" sanding drum I mentioned is the small 1/2" dia sanding attachment for rotary tools like a dremel.



Mike

[Alto Mare]

Amazing!

Sal

[broadway]

I'm speechless... you got some serious skill, Mike!
Would the cortez plates fit on that baby? ...It sure would be sweet with a set of silver plates.
The stand itself is like a sculpture of fine art.
Great job!
Dom

[Gfish]

Dude! That looks like some serious "old world" style craftmanship with all of the hand-work you've put into it.

[xjchad]

Really freaking cool build!!

[STRIPER LOU]

Super nice job Mike. Man, you put some love into that baby!!!!

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

[basto]

Wow, that's a solid rig Mike, and looks fantastic. Congrats on a fine job!
Greg

[Dominick]

I have to say that is fine work.  Dominick

[mhc]

Thanks again for the kind words everyone, I've said before the work done by many members here over the years is my source of inspiration to try these experiments - particularly Sal for pioneering modifying reels and opening our eyes to what can be done.

Would the cortez plates fit on that baby? ...It sure would be sweet with a set of silver plates.

Any jigmaster plates should fit without modification Dom, I haven't tried them yet but agree silver cortez plates would look great. I made the spacer rings with the countersunk screw attachment to the frame so that any side plates could be used without modifying them - if I was prepared to drill additional holes in a set of aftermarket plates, I could do away with the extra rings and just make the frame standard width.

Out of curiosity, how much more will it weigh than the stock 501 and the aftermarket frame, spool, and side plates made 501's?

I weighed the underhead and a stock 501 with a penn stainless spool today, both without line. The stock reel came in at 540.1 gms (19.05 oz) and the underhead at 767.3 gms (27.06 oz) - a difference of 227.2 gms (8.01 oz). To be honest I thought it might have been a little heavier than that, but it is still a significant weight increase. I don't have a full after market aluminium frame, side plate and spool 501 to weigh for comparison.





I think the best way to reduce the weight would be to make it out of aluminium - but I'll wait until I've tried it (and like it) before I try to make another one.

Mike

[foakes]

You are an engineering marvel, Mike!

Like so many others on our site.

Truly the most impressive group of reel nerds ever assembled in one place.

That reel shows great metalworking skills, and maybe more importantly — seemingly making the impossible jobs real.

Thank You for showing us the basic idea, process, and excellent result.

Best,

Fred

[Alto Mare]

Mike, I've been admiring your masterpiece and it is gorgeous, but what really caught my eye is that stand.
I didn't think it would be possible to create a piece as suck, that piece alone should go in the museum, the rest of the reel could go to me .
The bevels are perfect, you got some serious talent my friend, and patience
Yes I sound like a broken record and I'll say it again, because I don't know of a better word...AMAZING!

Sal