Hey all!
Just thought I'd drop a post with the progress on my 1935 Edward Broadfoot Hardy Altex no.1 mk.IV mechanical bail spin reel.
She was rough when I got her. No original finish left and old repair of handle and knob replacement.
I have a new handle and knob en route, so that's no issue, even though repair looks solid and knob, period correct.
I had to fabricate collet removal tool and a tiny punch for brass check carrier pin removal.
For others: I purchased a split ring plier set from auto store and used the small straight jaw attachment. Filed the tips to fit the collet removal holes and used small vice grips to hold the jaws tight and at correct distance. Worked like a charm!
I am going to paint body and flier dust cover and leave flier polished aluminum.
Lots of parts to this old girl, but I'm always up for a challenge.
Now, on to the next step. Paint and reassembly.
Cheers!!
very nice work!!!!
Thank you!
Very confident, now, I can tear into my no.2 Altex without issue.
Lots of parts, but really not too bad.
I thought my Swiss made 1954 2 speed Benora Standard was far more tricky,but I didn't have to make any specialtools for it and it came out sweet. Lol
Nice! Nailing some crappie! Be sure to keep us all posted on the #1 Altex looking forward to seeing the finished reel! - john
Thanks for posting this. Very helpful information not to mention a great restoration!
Yes.
I'll keep everyone posted, as it progresses.
Very nice work . :d
A Benora tutorial sure would be nice. ;)
Quote from: Midway Tommy on April 30, 2024, 05:11:55 PMA Benora tutorial sure would be nice. ;)
Yes. That one was a real bugger. Many micro parts and a couple very fragile parts, too. You also have to disassemble some in a certain order or said fragile parts will become broken parts! Doh!
Not for the faint of heart, for sure.
Been working on polishing up the brightwork on the Altex. There is a bunch!
After polishing, I am 100% sure my no.1 was leaded and not painted. The residual " color", I was seeing was decades worth of grime and oxidation.
I took some Nevr Dull magic polishing wadding and gave the body parts a good shine. This is a gauze type wadding impregnated with polishing compound. You cut pieces off according to job. Polish item vigorously with it until black residue forms and then wipe clean with cloth. I use a large piece of elk hide, as the suede makes a killer buff/ shine. Use the wadding until blackened, then cut new piece.
All this is done by hand. No Dremels, drills, buffers, etc. I like to feel and hold the items Im working on. When you take the time to appreciate these works of art down deep, you see things like original tooling marks and such, you may not see as a casual observer. Plus, I feel like I'm in Edward Broadfoot's shoes for a moment.
I will be moving onto the small parts next. Lots of brass and aluminum to shine!
I know purists may be against patina removal, but this reel was not working properly and was doing nothing and had bad oxidation.
I will be using this reel, so I want it to look and function at its best. I have many original finish reels, I use, and many I have redone. Point is, I'm using them for what they were designed.
Nothing against cabinet queens, but not for me. I display vintage reels at the butt end of a pole, not on a shelf. That's just my thing.
"Do what thou will"
Peace!
Got all the small internal and external parts shined up.
I will hit them with compressed air before oiling or reassembly.
Looks like Nevr-Dull does a good job. 👍
Quote from: Midway Tommy on May 05, 2024, 09:05:40 PMLooks like Nevr-Dull does a good job. 👍
Yes. Worked amazing.
This was all done with only NevrDull and suede polishing.
So much easier than polish compound in tub.
Update on 1935 Hardy Altex no.1
restore
Working on getting flier and mechanical bail arm assembled.
Also included my micro screw hack for getting those tiny dudes in place.
Since this part is exposed to elements, I used grease on all metal/ metal pivot and fasten points, vs. oil.
She's looking awfully shiny!
How much time they spent to make a reel like this .It's amazing that most of parts seem to make by hand tool
Quote from: quang tran on May 07, 2024, 06:46:43 AMHow much time they spent to make a reel like this .It's amazing that most of parts seem to make by hand tool
True! That's why I love stripping these old reels down. It's like going back in time at the workbench.
:) I have always gravitated towards mechanisms , love the looks and appreciate the thought process that went to build them . I try not to polish them to much , it make it much easier to slap them on a stick and fish them ... Again nice work .
Quote from: oldmanjoe on May 07, 2024, 12:21:03 PM:) I have always gravitated towards mechanisms , love the looks and appreciate the thought process that went to build them . I try not to polish them to much , it make it much easier to slap them on a stick and fish them ... Again nice work .
I use em no matter how nice or rare.
More progress on the Hardy Altex no.1 restore and a few things learned along the way...
Attached dust cover and installed flier assembly to reel body.
After attaching the dust cover and test fitting flier, I noticed when rotating the flier, it was making contact with something.. After careful examination, I noticed the dust cover screws were dome head and interfering with rotation of flier. I checked my other micro screws and they were all dome head or had a step shoulder, so none of those.
I checked parts installed on the completed flier for misplaced screws and, "bingo!", there were the flat top screws I was looking for! I had mistakenly used them on the bail arm drive gear cover. Same threads, different head shape.
The flat top screws sit flush with the dust cover, when snugged down, and cause for clean rotation. In my previous pictures of flier assembly, you can see misplaced flat top screws on external gear cover picture. Oops!
Next learn as you go lesson. Setting the mechanical bail arm trip gear, so it properly trips the bail during retrieval. If this gear is not "timed" correctly with the bail arm external drive gear, nothing works at all. Gears just snag up and reel is useless.
It took several tries removing trip gear and re positioning it to mesh it differently with the drive gear, in order to get the bail to close correctly and flier to continue to rotate.
I included pictures of trip gear at its different stages through mechanical bail trip.
Just for those who might be gun shy because of the notorious flier bearing assembly, fear not! It's really not that bad. Just micro. I used tiny tweezers to place bearings in ball cage washer. I also used minimal grease on the hard steel "sandwich" washers. This helped to keep the tiny bearings in place. Once the stack is assembled, the flier is inserted into body and infamous collet is snugged down.
Internals next!!
That's why I love doing this. The mental challenges defeated!
Interesting reassembly & well done!
I have a magnetized tiny screwdriver that I use to place the balls in situations like that. For me, at least, it eliminates the risk of the balls shooting out of the tweezer pressure. :D
Quote from: Midway Tommy on May 09, 2024, 03:32:33 PMInteresting reassembly & well done!
I have a magnetized tiny screwdriver that I use to place the balls in situations like that. For me, at least, it eliminates the risk of the balls shooting out of the tweezer pressure. :D
I just put a little tab of grease at end of tweezers and the tiny balls go nowhere. Works great, sometimes they don't want to leave the tweezers so easily, but better than flying out and disappearing into the nether. Lol
Hey, all.
Slow bite, but beautiful day on the lake yesterday.
After some crappie fishing and meat grilling, I decided to work on the Altex some more.
Tackling getting the handle, non rotating shaft, drive gear, and rest of internals installed and wrapped up.
I didn't rivet pin the handle, as I've got a factory correct handle coming.
Coming along nicely, but still tedious. I polished all screw heads and tried my best to tidy them and other brightwork up but this old girl has some scars that can't be fixed. That's OK by me, as we all have scars that tell our story.
I also included some pics of my micro push button oiler and the lubrication grease, I use.
The oil is just standard sewing machine oil I put into the oiler and for my parts that use grease, instead, I used faucet valve grease. It will not dry out, harden, gum up, and is waterproof. I use these 2 on all my resto's. Never had issue.
Well, getting closer and the mechanical bail works perfectly every time now. Going to get the external badges, oil port covers, and brass check carrier back on next and my undamaged handle should be here soon, to finish it up.
I'll post up a Facebook video of the finished reel in action, when it's complete.
Peace!!
Finished up getting the rest of the exterior parts put on and got the brass check carrier installed. That rivet pin was a #### getting back in the check carrier and non rotating shaft.
Kudos to Edward Broadfoot. Dude was a superhero! Finally got it set and filed smooth. Spool slid on smoothly.
Pretty much complete, other than a little cleaning up on the spool. I haven't done anything to it yet.
Almost done!!
Got the spool finished. I painted the spool drag brake / name script red and shined the spool with oil.
Installed it on the reel and drag works great. Such a light gear click to it. So subtle.
Question: Did these have anti reverse? This one does not. Is something missing or just an early version? The reel had obviously been tinkered with before I got it. Is this a part that could be removed or not reinstalled?
Anyways, all wrapped up and what a task. So many micro parts and tiny screws. Solid body case was a first, as well.
I feel I can tear into my no.2 without issue.
The guys who built these reels, in the day, wow! Cheers to them!
This will be getting crappie catching action soon! I'm pretty sure it's going to be in regular rotation, too.
Mechanical bail arm, so cool and reel just oozes swagger.
YouTube link to video I made of reel in action
https://youtu.be/pX095LmCKjU?si=NzDSE9Q8U8sJeerv
Incredibly detailed build on a unique reel! Tons of good info there (and kudos for the photos!), and you are using it to get into fish that is a PLUS. It looks like you blueprinted this back to full operational status, that is cool! - john
Nice job on a tough & complicated little reel service and restoration! 8)
Quote from: Brewcrafter on May 14, 2024, 02:07:33 AMIncredibly detailed build on a unique reel! Tons of good info there (and kudos for the photos!), and you are using it to get into fish that is a PLUS. It looks like you blueprinted this back to full operational status, that is cool! - john
Thank you! Hope this helps others who are hesitant to strip an Altex.
Quote from: Midway Tommy on May 14, 2024, 05:22:40 AMNice job on a tough & complicated little reel service and restoration! 8)
Thanks! Very satisfying.