Why oh why did reel manufacturers use glue that lets the emblem fall off?

[CincyDavid]

Shakespeare, Penn, Alcedo, Bretton, you name the manufacturer, they built amazing lifetime-use reels and they all seemed to use adhesive that allows the emblem to fall off. I just got a Shakespeare 2062 DC in SUPERB condition, but it's missing the emblem so I only paid $20 for it. I bought it as a parts reel but it's too nice for that. Irks me to no end, wonder if I could cobble something together to fill that space on the side of the reel.

[foakes]

When I have missing emblems —- I just use gorilla glue to fasten a period correct dime, penny, nickel, or quarter on the missing spot.

Indian head penny's, Mercury Dimes, wheat cents, and steel 1943 cents are all cool.

Best, Fred

[JasonGotaProblem]

I believe the answer is that the glues they were using hadn't been around for long enough to see how they'd age.

Bakelite spools crack with age, delrin sideplates on Mitchells all cracked with age. They didn't know to expect that. We hadn't been using those materials long enough yet to see them fail with age. We know now how not to injection mold delrin. Didn't know it was an issue til we got to watch some sideplates age naturally.

In my industry we are seeing HDPE drainage pipes becoming more and more common. The manufacturers are outwardly confident that they're gonna last 50 years just like the reinforced concrete pipes they compete with. And maybe it really is the way of the future. But they have only been around 10 years or so. I worry 20 years from now we'll find out how well they simulated the passage of time in their testing/marketing.  a lot of neighborhoods and roads might learn the hard way that it's not the 50 year infrastructure it purports to be. And those manufacturers will have closed up shop by then.

The point is, they probably thought that glue was good forever. I'd like to believe they'd be using something different now if quality and longevity was still as big a concern as it was 50 years ago.

[CincyDavid]

Don't get me started on CPVC water lines in homes that become brittle and split unexpectedly. I have copper in one house and PEX in the other. Not sure if I like the PEX but repiping with that through the attic beat the heck out of jackhammering up the whole slab to replace the 40 year old copper.

[foakes]

I believe the answer is that the glues they were using hadn't been around for l

I believe the answer is that the glues they were using hadn't been around for long enough to see how they'd age.

Bakelite spools crack with age, delrin sideplates on Mitchells all cracked with age. They didn't know to expect that. We hadn't been using those materials long enough yet to see them fail with age. We know now how not to injection mold delrin. Didn't know it was an issue til we got to watch some sideplates age naturally.

In my industry we are seeing HDPE drainage pipes becoming more and more common. The manufacturers are outwardly confident that they're gonna last 50 years just like the reinforced concrete pipes they compete with. And maybe it really is the way of the future. But they have only been around 10 years or so. I worry 20 years from now we'll find out how well they simulated the passage of time in their testing/marketing.  a lot of neighborhoods and roads might learn the hard way that it's not the 50 year infrastructure it purports to be. And those manufacturers will have closed up shop by then.

The point is, they probably thought that glue was good forever. I'd like to believe they'd be using something different now if quality and longevity was still as big a concern as it was 50 years ago.

Good points, Jason —-

If we look further, we can find hundreds of examples of poor products being used in the everyday things we need, use, and build with (plastic appliance parts, car parts, solar panels, plumbing, fishing reels, clothing, and nearly everything else).

The weird thing about the fishing reel emblem glue failing —- is that nearly every Penn Spinfisher, Offmer, Eagle Claw, Shakespeare, Alcedo, Cardinal, Shimano, Ryobi, Daiwa, Southbend, and most other reels —- have this issue.

However, for some strange reason, out of maybe 10,000 DAM Quick reels that have come across the bench,  maybe one or two emblems ever were missing.  For some reason, the DQ engineers hit upon a glue formula that obviously worked well for decades, and decades.  Most of the DQ reels I work on are 45 to 70 years old.  Weird...

Best, Fred

[jgp12000]

Shoegoo is great & waterproof

[oc1]

Somebody once reproduced/counterfeited the brass Alcedo Micron kingfisher medallions.  You could buy them on Ebay.  Trouble is, there is not enough demand for such things to make it worthwhile.

[foakes]

Somebody once reproduced/counterfeited the brass Alcedo Micron kingfisher medallions.  You could buy them on Ebay.  Trouble is, there is not enough demand for such things to make it worthwhile.

Yeah, problem is not thinking it through as an emblem maker/marketeer.

If I was doing it, I would have dies set up for all of the problem reels that lose emblems —- Penn, Alcedo, and all the others.

Then one could make it work out to a certain extent —- instead of picking out only one brand to focus on.

But even at that —- it becomes a labor of love, since one would need to manufacture them for $5, and sell them for $20.  Or find a source in Asia to manufacture quality emblems —- then resell them.

Most just become user or parts reels.  And they catch just as many fish!

Best, Fred

[JasonGotaProblem]

I strongly suspect that was a case of someone creating a mold and making some alcedo emblems for themselves, keeping the pick of the litter, and selling the rest on eBay. It's actually a smart thing to do if that's the case. If I were to go thru the effort of something like that, I'd like to believe I'd do the same or similar. When I started making ambassadeur mag kits I made a ton, kept the great ones, and gave away the rest because the were too rough to sell.

But I'm wrong a lot.

[Midway Tommy]

The best emblem glue, IMO, is regular old waterproof two part epoxy, but then nothing lasts forever.

[CincyDavid]

I just had an epiphany...I can buy a sheet or roll of 1 inch square foil labels and just write with a Sharpie...8lb Stren, or something like that. Fill the empty space and make it look like I meant to do it.

[happyhooker]

Just got done using a PC graphics program to make an "emblem"  The missing item was round, which makes it relatively easy to make a replacement.  Measured the size circle (3/4 in.) I needed, then added the model number (kept it simple) into the middle.  Printed it out (laser), carefully cut out the circle, placed the new "emblem" in position on the reel, then coated with poly; once the poly sets, the emblem is there to stay & water protected too.

The Shaky 2052 & 2062 emblems are diamond-shaped, so should be able to do something on the computer with that.  Might even be able to get an image of the emblem off of the Internet, size it, then print that out.

Frank