Dennis Ward Hardy Altex no.2 mk.IIII mechanical gear bail strip and restore

[Woodbilly]

Hey, all!

I hope you all aren't getting tired of the Altex strips, but got another on the bench!

This one is a 1936-37 ?? Dennis Ward no.2 mk.IIII mechanical gear bail. It was missing the bail arm sun gear, but I had another in my treasured Altex parts bin. Due to being unusable and missing parts, I got a great deal on her.

Funny thing on this one, like the Thomas Hall reel, I don't see where Dennis Ward assembled Altex's, either, but he must have, as flier and brass check carrier are marked.

I am also going to give this one a fresh new paint scheme in jewel green. Sorry, purists., but she's just plain ugly as is.

Stay tuned! Much more to come!

[Woodbilly]

Back with a few updates.

I got the body parts all polished and or painted up.

Taped everything off and painted flier, body top, foot stem, and body lines with a deep jewel green paint.
I left the dust cover, reel foot, and lower body bare metal.
Hit everything with 3 coats of color and 2 coats of matte clear.

Letting all parts set for 24 hours to fully cure, before reassembly.

Finishing up polishing of small bits and then flier getting assembled before full reel assembly.

Cheers!

[Woodbilly]

Spent some time getting the bail arm, mechanical gears, and trip lever installed on flier.

Also fastened the dust cover to body.

On to assembling the flier to body and getting small bits attached, as well.

This one close to being wrapped up!

[Woodbilly]

Put some more time into the Dennis Ward Altex, tonight.

Got all of the bearing stack set in place and attached completed flier to body.

Looks like I've got the placement of mechanical gears dead on the first try. Tested the bail, by hand, and worked perfectly and oh so smooth.
I guess I'm getting my skills down after 5 strips, now.

Next for non rotating shaft and rest of internals. Then finish exterior parts to wrap it up!

The jewel green paint came out really sweet. Love the look of it. Not to flashy, but retro modern, much like my royal blue no.2 mk.IIII.
I know this isn't for everyone,  but still giving respect to these old reels and making them better. IMO

Peace!

[JasonGotaProblem]

I feel like the 2 tone look youve been doing really does work well with the 'retro' nature of these reels. My opinion is worth almost what you paid for it, but I don't think a solid color would pop nearly as much.

[Woodbilly]

I feel like the 2 tone look youve been doing really does work well with the 'retro' nature of these reels. My opinion is worth almost what you paid for it, but I don't think a solid color would pop nearly as much.

 Thanks for the comment.

 I just didn't like the idea of a repaint in just boring black or a repaint solid color scheme, like factory.
 This is my 3rd custom paint scheme Altex and I'm going to have several more in the works in the coming months.

 Two no.3's a mk.IIII and a mk.V
 One more no.2 mk.IIII as well.

Both mk.IIII reels are mechanical gear bail.

[sandbar]

Looks great Steven.
Where the heck did you find all these Altex reels?

[Woodbilly]

Looks great Steven.
Where the heck did you find all these Altex reels?

Thanks!

I live in Missouri, very near the Lake of the Ozarks, which is a very popular fishing destination.
There are many antique stores here which have much fishing tackle.
My first couple Altex's were picked up this way.
Others I have gotten from ebay, etsy, or online from different individuals.
I try to find the forgotten, broken down, or mechanical gear reels, as most want spring bail because the gear bail has a poor reputation, as far as reliability and function.
I, personally, love the mechanical bail and have figured out how to get them in working order and actually prefer them over spring bail.
No noise or snapping action. Totally silent and so smooth.
Many aren't fans of the gear bail because if it gets fiddled with, many times, it will lose "timing" and be useless until bail gears are reset correctly. Not impossible, but not as easy as pulling a pear cover and swapping a spring.
This is exactly how I purchased several of my Altex gear bails. Stuck bail, so reel "non working", but not technically...
A couple were actually parts reels, as they were missing items. I snagged them for, well, parts. Lol
28 GBP for 2 reels!
These and my Edward Broadfoot introduced me to the English reel world, as I was mainly Swiss, Italian, and German before.

[Woodbilly]

Finished up getting the internal parts installed.

Got non rotating shaft, sleeve roller, drive gear, pivot arm, and sliding block, assembled without issue.

Put all the small bits back on the body.
Cover plates, oil ports, and handle assembly.

Next onto brass check carrier, spool, and drag washer set, to finish another Altex strip.