I did it again. Just didn't want to fish with a red reel. So, I went to "serious black" using VHT Wrinkle paint. It's a common reel with little historical value so I don't mind altering it more to my liking.
The red anodizing on this one was a bit faded and scuffed. Internally it was in good shape. And after complete teardown, cleaning, polishing of the important internal parts, and appropriate lubing, she quietly spins like a top.
That's an interesting wiffle spool on it for how old I assume it is.
Beautiful work!
Best, Fred
JGP, the Langley "anti-inertia" spool came out in 1947. This particular model was eventually acquired by Zebco in 1962 and hung around for a few years more. The spool design does appear to help control spool start-up and slow-down. They are nice casters.
Thanks, Fred!
BFS before it was cool. I love it. Now I wanna find one. What kind of line are you gonna put on it?
Thanks. Yeah, I'm loving it too.
It'll get 10lb braided nylon to start, with 6 to 8lb mono leaders. These are light duty reels. Being direct drive I'm expecting it to handle down to 1/4oz. Will shoot for 1/8oz, most probably with short casts. Not quite BFS but as close as an old reel can come without yanking the levelwind.
The Langley Target 340 has essentially the same frame and spool but will handle lighter baits due to the absence of a levelwind and the presence of a freespool clutch.
Very neat paint job. Looks great.
you brought that reel back to life, I like it, thanks for showing us, cheers Don.
Wow, it looks brand new!
Thanks, all. Fun to share it.
Steve, I've yet to acquire a Target. They tend to go high so I've stayed out of the fray. And I'm not all that keen on minding line lay. I have a couple Meisselbach's to practice with though. I've seen your Target and Meisselbach threads. Maybe someday.
The spool was designed this way so the linen line would dry.
Even though monofilament line was designed before this reel came about braided line was still more popular.
I don't think the waffle spool was a thought back then
Actually, the holes were indeed to lighten the spool and even provide some air resistance. Langley called it their "low inertia" spool for quick start up and slow down. It made the Langley's very popular reels. One of the easier DD reels to cast. Lotsa good thinking, and engineering, going on then too.
Linen predates these reels. By the late 40's and 50's when these reels came in, braided nylons were the choice casting lines. Nylon didn't rot like linen and silk.
I've got a couple of old Langleys I picked up in a reel lot down the basement in a box with a few other old "lashers" :D , a Streamlite and a Speedcast. They seem to work pretty well. The marbled plastic knobs turn great on both of them, they haven't froze up like a lot of the Langley knobs do.
Quote from: Paul Roberts on January 07, 2023, 12:35:32 AMActually, the holes were indeed to lighten the spool and even provide some air resistance. Langley called it their "low inertia" spool for quick start up and slow down. It made the Langley's very popular reels. One of the easier DD reels to cast. Lotsa good thinking, and engineering, going on then too.
Linen predates these reels. By the late 40's and 50's when these reels came in, braided nylons were the choice casting lines. Nylon didn't rot like linen and silk.
I've bought a few Langleys with that brown/white silk tournament line. I think it was a hold-over from the tournament days that were quickly fading by that time.
Yeah, a certain percentage of the Langley plastic handle grips are stiff or unmovable. Worthwhile question to ask if you're planning to buy one.
Yes, fine silk was the choice for tournament casting. Not sure when it appeared but it certainly predates nylon. It was used for fishing too, being finer than linen. Both required some post-fishing care.
Silk casting line dates to before 1900, but was too expensive for the average man until the 1920's. Braided nylon was introduced in 1938 but was too "stretchy" to be practical. Though Linen was still used in saltwater fishing after WWII braided nylon ruled the day in freshwater baitcasting until spinning became popular in the early 1950's which popularized mono. The Ambassdeur 5000 is the first casting reel I recall being advertised for use with mono. It was introduced in the USA in 1954. I use only vintage reels and use exclusively braided nylon. Dacron and Spectra lines tend to knife down into the spool causing problems. The popularity of Nylon was due to two factors: one. was that it did not need to be removed from the reel after each use and dryer like silk to prevent rot and two, it wore like iron, unlike silk which wore so badly that most writers advised removing the last 18 inches of line before each fishing trip. Yes I am old and remember the developments after WWII--LOL
Interestingly enough, I used 12# braided nylon on my openface spinners up until about 1970 when I got my Cardinal 6. I could never find a decent mono that wouldn't get kinky with memory until Stren. It didn't take long, though, for Trilene XL to surpass Stren. I remember it taking me a little while to get used to the mono stretch. Braided nylon doesn't stretch much so it can be pretty easy to jerk the hook right out of the fish's mouth.
Hi, Bill. Thanks for chiming in. Good to hear from you.
Despite a very brief stint with my grandfather's tubular steel telescoping rod, Bronson Mercury (I remember the engraved scene), and black braided nylon, I'm too young to have used braided nylon for anything beyond tip-ups. That is until I got bit by the direct drive bug. Missed the silk and plated horsehair too! I only "know" of them from what I've read.
Tom, I was a bulk spool Trilene user until PE braids came out. Filler spools can make a lot of leaders!
Quote from: Paul Roberts on January 09, 2023, 01:52:48 AMTom, I was a bulk spool Trilene user until PE braids came out. Filler spools can make a lot of leaders!
I don't use, or like, the newer PE type braids. I got used to high quality 6 & 8 lb mono and managed my rods accordingly. All my rods now are either fast or extra fast action so I prefer a little stretch in the line. Braids don't give me that stretch so I don't plan on switching any time soon, way too many rods to replace. ;) :)
Less stretch means better sensitivity.
Quote from: oc1 on January 10, 2023, 07:52:50 AMLess stretch means better sensitivity.
Yes, at a level unlike any other material. That is, when it's taut. Any slack in those super soft PE braids and it's instant disconnect. The rigidity and weight of monos can add sensitivity even when not being retrieved. Coupled with a super light graphite rod this can be surprising to feel takes/life on a nearly slack line.
I use PE braids on fast rods too. Haven't had any issues to speak of. Hook sets can be a flick of the wrist, or just a raising of the rod. Leaders add some stretch though.
One I like for UL is Gliss in 8lb. Super fine and handles nicely.
Quote from: oc1 on January 10, 2023, 07:52:50 AMLess stretch means better sensitivity.
That can be a double edged sword. Taut mono can be pretty sensitive, too, yet it can be a little forgiving during the process.
Got a chance to take this little Lurecast out the back door and down to my (ice covered) pond for a spin. I'm in process of performance testing my entire DD collection in anticipation of the coming fishing season. And to simply see what each one can do. Each has been cleaned down to bare metal, important parts polished mirror bright, proper lubes applied, and then adjusting and tweaking each to see what I can get out of them.
In terms of casting performance, maybe the best way to quantify is the maximum distance I've been able to achieve with each set up. I'm not pitting them against each other, but instead setting them up for fishing, the lines and lure weights tested dependent on the intent for each reel.
This little Lurecast was designed as a "light tackle" reel. It has a narrow spool and weighs a mere 4-1/2oz. I loaded it with 10# PE braid over 10# nylon braid. So far, I've found PE braids to work just fine in my DD reels. Being a light tackle reel I used a 1/4oz weight for the test. And the little reel just bombs! It produced no backlashes and gave a maximum cast of 112ft. Still figuring out just what to expect from such reels, but I was impressed for a 1/4oz weight from a DD reel.
(https://i0.wp.com/finandflame.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ebay2019AugH-184.jpg?fit=882%2C800&ssl=1)
As long as you are fascinated with extremely light non-free spool reels Paul. you should try a Coxe 94C. It came out in 1949 and was gone in a couple of years. It is so light it is scary--LOL. These early lightweight reels work better for me with a long soft action rod that will load up with a 1/4 or 1/5 oz.
Quote from: Sonnett on February 01, 2023, 02:20:56 AM(https://i0.wp.com/finandflame.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ebay2019AugH-184.jpg?fit=882%2C800&ssl=1)
As long as you are fascinated with extremely light non-free spool reels Paul. you should try a Coxe 94C. It came out in 1949 and was gone in a couple of years. It is so light it is scary--LOL. These early lightweight reels work better for me with a long soft action rod that will load up with a 1/4 or 1/5 oz.
Is that a wooden spool?
I've got a couple 95C's. Can't quite imagine a narrow version. I built a 6'6" glass rod for my DD reels that handles 1/4 to 1/2oz well.
J, that's a balsa arbor on an aluminum spool.
The 94C is a whole different animal than a 95C! Light in the extreme. Another extremely light reel is the Heddon 25NL Not to be confused with the 25N which is fairly light in itself, When it comes to Langleys I fish the narrow spool Plugcast very often on one rod and one of my Coxe 25N's on the other. The Plugcast cast well and it is not as noisy as the other langleys(https://i0.wp.com/finandflame.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ebay2019AugE-165.jpg?fit=1020%2C681&ssl=1)
Lotsa cool reels out there.
Quote from: Paul Roberts on January 09, 2023, 01:52:48 AMDespite a very brief stint with my grandfather's tubular steel telescoping rod, Bronson Mercury (I remember the engraved scene), and black braided nylon, I'm too young to have used braided nylon for anything beyond tip-ups. That is until I got bit by the direct drive bug. Missed the silk and plated horsehair too! I only "know" of them from what I've read.
I got a bamboo Heddon 200 baitcasting rod from a neighbor. Of course then I needed a Heddon reel to fit on it..
See, https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=27254.0
The 12lb braided dacron (Gudebrod Meatmaster) is a terrific line for this reel, handles and casts very well. It's great fun to fish, pity I don't have much local fishing that can be done with 1/4oz and up lures..
Also have a Shakespeare Tournament casting reel with the braided silk line on it. I keep thinking about fishing it, except that line is 2lb or less breaking strain.. may just spool some new PE braid on top and give it a fling..
Interesting! And beautiful combo's! Yeah, remains to be seen how light a lure I can use with my DD outfits. Or how heavy I can get away with.
I just spooled up a Shakespeare narrow spool DD today, with 10# PE. Will give it a casting session tomorrow, despite temps in the 20's. Will be trying it, and the Lurecast with 1/8oz as well.
I was a Coloradan until last year.