Pflueger Autopla

[The Great Maudu]

I was wondering if anyone here has ever fished one of these? This one is from the 30's and has an automatic line take up to keep the line tight.

[oc1]

No, but it certainly is shiny and pretty.
-steve

[Tightlines667]

Intetesting reel.  I always wondered what it looks like inside.   I think I may have seen a patent for this one somewhere.

[The Great Maudu]

I will take it apart and post some pics later this evening

[broadway]

The reel is an Autopla as in auto-play.... and a fine example at that.
Nice find once again,
Dom

[Shark Hunter]

Mike is on a roll here lately.

[Dominick]

Wow! 86 year old bling.  Love it.  Now stay away from Daron's house.  The reel bug is catching. After a while you will break into sweats bidding on ebay.    Dominick

[Alto Mare]

Another nice reel Mike, are you buying these on line or from a private stash?...just wondering.

[The Great Maudu]

Another nice reel Mike, are you buying these on line or from a private stash?...just wondering.

Sal I get them "where ever better reels are sold", lol. Auctions, online, private individuals, antique stores, and some I can't remember where they came from. Typically I've bought vintage and antique reels and rods over the years because I like the challenge of fishing with this stuff. I asked the question in my original post if anyone has used an Autopla before because it is such a weird system and seems like it requires some finesse and timing or you break the spring. But anyway I occasionally come across examples like this that are really nice and I enjoy sharing my passion with the guys and gals following this forum.

Wow! 86 year old bling.  Love it.  Now stay away from Daron's house.  The reel bug is catching. After a while you will break into sweats bidding on ebay.    Dominick

Going to Daron's house is like going to see the Wizard of Oz. One of the most amazing coincidences in my life was when I learned the mighty Shark Hunter lived on 10 minutes away.

The reel is an Autopla as in auto-play.... and a fine example at that.
Nice find once again,
Dom

Dom it's nice when a collector of your stature appreciates this stuff. God knows you got an unbelievable collection.
Here's a couple pics of the reel disassembled by loosening two thumb screws on the head plate and pulling it apart. Going any further is way above my pay grade on a reel like this. You can't really see the auto-wind mechanism behind the plate. I'm afraid if I try to open that up stuff will start flying and I'll never get it back together. My guess is it's a very complicated system based on what I know about how the reel works.

[Alto Mare]

Well Mike, thinking about it, it doesn't really matter where you get them from, as long as you keep on sharing your treasures with us .
Looking at the pic, it seams the main gear moves towards the pinion. Very clever design, no need to worry about engagement.
Now got me thinking how doesn't that gear slide off when under pressure .

Keep them coming Mike and thanks for sharing!

Sal

[Tightlines667]

Cool beans!

Here are a few posts on this reel from the ORCA site...

http://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13004&hilit=Autopla

It sounds like a sound decusion to leave that bridge, and the wound flat spring contained beneath in place!

http://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8225&hilit=Autopla


Wow!

They made this guy in a 9/0...

How cool would that be!

http://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4461&hilit=Autopla

Looks like there is a cool article available on the Pflueger automatic reels in a Reel News back issue... I may have to see if I have it in my stack of old issues.

Also found this...

"There were some interesting patents for the Autopla, notably those of J.F. White (1,914,470 and 1,914,471) that were originally assigned to a Mr. Henry D. Lane of Richmond CA. Enterprise later acquired both and incoporated them into their Autopla."

[oc1]

That's a coincidence.  I've been using a little Shakespeare reel that also disengages by swinging the main gear away from the pinion.  It seems weird, but is a very compact and simple approach. 

It sounds like they have the spool spring encapsulated in the tail plate so it may not be too terrifying to deal with if the capsule is not opened. 
-steve

[Tightlines667]

That's a coincidence.  I've been using a little Shakespeare reel that also disengages by swinging the main gear away from the pinion.  It seems weird, but is a very compact and simple approach. 

It sounds like they have the spool spring encapsulated in the tail plate so it may not be too terrifying to deal with if the capsule is not opened. 
-steve

This bridge style is commonplace on many reels from the era.  It was one of the first patents for a disengaging pinion mechanism.

[The Great Maudu]

Thanks for posting all the ORCA links. I don't believe it was made in a 9/0 size and the links I read bear that out. Too bad. I was starting to gear up for the hunt.
Would anyone be interested in seeing a video of an Autopla being fished? I'm thinking I might make one this Spring when I return to the Panhandle. I would troll for Kings or Bonita. I would have to do some research on how it was intended to be used.

[BryanC]

This bridge style is commonplace on many reels from the era.  It was one of the first patents for a disengaging pinion mechanism.

I believe it is a Kopf clutch.  Patented in 1885:

https://www.google.com/patents/US318190?dq=318190

I have a couple Ocean City and Pflueger reels that I believe are from the 1920s that use that clutch design.  The free spool lever does not have a spring.  It just uses friction to hold the gears in their relative positions.  I imagine stripped gears were pretty common in those days.