How to Get Rid of Old Vintage/Antique Reels

[foakes]

Was looking through some of the boxes and bins --

Realized that there were quite a few older reels from the 20's through 60's.

Baitcaster, fly, conventional, spinners, salt, and fresh -- maybe 800 to 1000.

They are worth very little as they are --

Idea:

Make desk, table, den, or office lamps out of these -- or bookends.

Get a complete offset lamp kit for around $6.50, add a lampshade that looks like the outdoors, use a solid base made out of broken granite counter-top material, or 8/4" stained and lacquered finished Oak, or?

Seems to me the market could be around $75 to $100 for these.

Might be fun -- what other ideas can you come up with?

Best,

Fred

[Tightlines667]

That's alot of old reels there.  Fred, what is that reel in the bottom picture right-side, second box up far right?  A dam Garcia, or fox?

[foakes]

An old Sears Trolling reel, John -- obviously, made by some other company such as Pflueger, OC, or who knows -- maybe A. J. Fox Gun Co?  Spool looks like True-Temper, though.

Sears sourced many quality companies over the years -- and just rebadged the reels as per contract agreement to provide.  I even have an old JC Higgins, Sears Roebuck, or Ted Williams spinner, somewhere -- that is made by Alcedo in Italy.

No handle, busted tailplate -- but a good display item for a lamp -- with a quick squirt, wipe down, and a replacment crank.

Might be from mid 50's to late 60's?

Best,

Fred

[Tightlines667]

I am sure a few of those reels are surely treasures... Ted Williams, and Alcedo spinners are cool.  So are some of the earliest Shakespeare casting reels.  A few of the regional named trade reels produced for hardware stores (i.e. Arrowhead) have some cool history, and collectable value as well.  

[Shark Hunter]

Fred,
I have access to pieces of countertop material. Some pretty unique.
This particular piece is polyester, but pretty neat.

[Swami805]

This is kind of odd ball but drill holes in spool like the areo-spool thread and wire some LED lights inside. 1 reel for a night light or something and multiple reels for a candelabra or chandeliers. I've seen all kinds of stuff made out of antlers, seashells and the like, it's not that much of a stretch. Hey they might even provide some useful light.

[whalebreath]

I've heard there's an EBay Expert on the forums somewhere.

[philaroman]

take all the worst, most incomplete & useless ones & make one REALLY BIG "THING"...  a backyard fountain, a statue of a fisherman, A THRONE (maybe a torch could mimic Dragon Fire, LOL)...  Swami's chandelier idea is pretty good, if you really THINK BIG!!!

it may go against the grain, for such a handy, practical guy as yourself, but "BIG & interesting-looking" should supercede "functional" to enter the Modern Art territory

[Swami805]

THINK BIG! If you look at them as a mass of gears, wheels and metal, Maybe a Rube Goldberg, Jackson Pollack kind of thing. Just what you need is another project in all your "spare" time right?

[foakes]

I am always trying to think big -- but sometimes it hurts too much!

However, I have thought about this for some time, now.

Here are my parameters so far:

-- Must be in the $75 to $95 price range

-- Must be practical as a light

-- Must have a heavy base of 2" hardwood, or rough broken granite for that natural look

-- Marketing would be online, craft shows, and other opportunities

-- a reel would be fastened to a slightly raised area under the light -- so that the handle, spool, and clicker all
    operate smoothly

-- Must be non-labor intensive to a point -- a sharp little project that I might be able to knock out 5 or 10 a day
   of -- that would hopefully be a desirable item for some folks

-- These reels would be clean -- but have the Patina of age on them

-- Must be easy for a wife to buy for someone special who likes fishing -- for their den, cabin, office, etc..

Found another few hundred this afternoon -- that are from the 20's through maybe the 60's. 

Mostly US made -- no Asian stuff -- Pflueger, Sumco, 4 Brothers, OC, True Temper, South Bend, Bronson, Shakespeare, Johnson, and many others.

Conventional, baitcasters, old pillars, fly, spin, spincasters, automatic fly reels, etc..

Around 500 so far -- this does not get into the Mitchells, Quicks, Penns, Abus -- and others that I keep separate.

Most women would not know the difference, anyway -- except for Aiala & Mo -- so, basically a nice light with a good old reel.

This is going to happen -- so I will start.

Figured out that these reels are doing no one any good just in bins.

Best,

Fred

[theswimmer]

Fred,
Call me about base material.
Let's see here, just this week,
Granite , onyx , quartz crystal , limestone , marble , volcanic tuff ,  ummmmmmmm I know I missed something😁
I throw away 3-4 tons a month of stuff that will work for you......
Best,
Jonathan

[foakes]

That sounds perfect, Jonathan...

I will call you tomorrow --

Should be a couple of lamps in this for you --

PGE wasn't scheduled to drop trees on our property for a couple of months -- but they came by yesterday, and started at 6:10 this morning.  Worked until 4:00 -- seven guys -- super professional -- tree climbers and directional tension line fallers.  So the tree is safely dropped.

We had already dropped 38 that we were responsible for -- because they were dead, but not close to any power lines -- and we will have more to do.

PGE dropped 22 out of 33 marked today -- up to 145' tall and 5' at the base.

They will be back tomorrow to get the larger and tougher positioned ones.

They are limbing and chipping -- but we will be handling the wood.

Not much work for me today -- but a lot of supervision and watching so the trees are positioned the best possible for cutting into rounds and splitting.

Glad they are doing it now both for fire safety and also so their heavy equipment doesn't tear up our meadows come October or November..

Best,

Fred

[Dominick]

It's about time PG&E spent money on something worthwhile, instead of useless commercials on TV.  Dominick

[theswimmer]

We have dropped 28 and PG&E has made a huge mess with 7 out of 11 down. Left massive slash piles and trash from their lunch just thrown on the ground. That was 2 weeks ago. They left the tech trees closest to the house standing and those are the trees that are hazarding the 12 kv line.
Hope I get your crew next.
I'm calling PG&E again this morning.
Call me any time Fred and I will send some photos of  pieces for you to select from.
Most of the material is 2 cm thick,perfect for lamp bases.
Best
JT

[foakes]

Thanks, Jonathan --

Plus, everyone for your comments & ideas.

As to the art forms -- experience is a cruel teacher...and I have somehow learned to run all ideas through the War Department.  Then it will become a team effort (great idea, Honey...sez I).

She sez I have good taste -- and it is mostly in my mouth...

Best,

Fred