Resto mod 1954 Martin 103 spin reel

[Woodbilly]

Hey all!!
Back with a purists nightmare or a resto-modder's dream.

I aquired another 1954 Martin with red paint scheme and clear side cover plate.

It was nice, but rougher than my first red Martin, so I had plans from the beginning to strip all finish and repaint.

I chose metallic mariner blue and matte black accents against an alloy finish.

This one had a white handle grip, so I swapped handles, since they just paired better opposite.

All stripdown and reassembly went easily.

 Not a single ball bearing anywhere on these Martin's.

 Love the internals against the blue body cavity background.

The spool was missing the drag dial indicator plate, so I just painted that area blue, to match.

I also used my letter punches to initial  check carrier.

Enjoy the trip!!

Old skool forever!

Peace!!

[Woodbilly]

More pictures

[Woodbilly]

Final pictures

[work2fish]

Wow! That is amazing work, resulting in some beautiful reels!

The clear sideplate reminds me of how some mechanical watches have clear case backs so that you can watch the movement in action.

[oldmanjoe]

  Nice work .  No clear on the brite work ?

[Woodbilly]

Wow! That is amazing work, resulting in some beautiful reels!

The clear sideplate reminds me of how some mechanical watches have clear case backs so that you can watch the movement in action.

Thanks! Love how this one turned out.
Surprisingly, these beautiful old girls were offered for use, like this, not salesman samples.

[Woodbilly]

Nice work .  No clear on the brite work ?

No, sir.
I've clear coated some of my other alloy restores, and just wasn't happy with them.
Left 8t exposed. I like to polish. Lol