Hi All,
These will be going on display at the tackle show next week. I am quite fond of these monofils and tried for one of each color. I have the dk brown, light gray, green, fuchsia, and waiting on parts to complete the maroon and black. I also believe there are some dark grays floating around but this may just be a color variation.
Those that weren't 27's I decided to convert and retained all the original parts. Tib frames on these are very nice but when you have a dozen its out of the question! I am making some Newell style SS bars and they will be done in black chrome. Had a half dozen of Adam's stars, gave them a high polish and had them done in BC and they looked amazing. These along with the BC ss bars will be an absolute knockout! What I had didn't even last one day in the shop. I'll make sure to get pics next time. The only drawback is I cant make the minimum for the BC so I have to wait until they get a load together and that can take months. Will have to try to work it in during the winter next time around.
Parts came from Scotts, internals, handles, stars, etc. Spools friends from AT site, ebay. Custom handles and stars Adam F and some spacer bars, knobs, and misc parts all made in my shop.
I also started working on the T bars. They take somewhat longer than the round knobs and also require a trip to the Mill for the handle offset. Since they're custom the offset can be just about anything within reason, but that saying, on a lighter gearset like the monofil I only went 5 degree's.
I have about 10 T bars completed and that was mostly to come up with the correct proportion to match up properly with the different reel sizes. At present I have 3 different shapes. The blue handle has about a full radius blend and the red has about a half rad. Just curious as to which you like better? Also what colors strike your fancy?
Material cost are high and still trying to purchase more reasonably. This is a big hold up!! I was actually thinking of taking a road trip/mini vacation and go down and talk to them face to face. There's about a dozen pictures altogether. Let me know what you think.
Have a great evening, regards, .. Lou
2nd batch
Works of art... your skills are extraordinary! :)
~A~
Last few, looks like some got lost in the shuffle. Tired and too much wine, Oh well!!
4/0 size reels are going to require a flanged shaft which I am working on now. As of late none of the T bar handles have been tested for durability.
If one of the Mod's could move all the pictures together that would be most appreciated.
Thanks, .. Lou
Lou, all look sharp, but the T knob really shows the beauty...great job!
Ok Lou, since no one in this bunch of slackers will step up and volunteer for the durability testing, I'll take one for the team. Actually, I'll take a two dozen Jigmaster size and two dozen T-bars. I think that's a pretty good sample size to see if they hold up or not. BTW I wont be able to afford postage back after I match them all to Tom's plates and frames from Randy so it's a one way trip; however I write failure mode critical analyses for a living so you'll at least get a good evaluation in return :)
John
Thanks John, glad your stepping up to the plate! ;D
I gotta tell you Lou they all look fantastic. As to color I think everyone might have their own preference as to what looks best with their particular reel. I really like the looks of that brownish, copper, or Carmel swirly one! Hell I can't even describe the colours. And of course my absolute favourites is the red and black Tbar, and the round knob! I'm thinking the TBar style for the 4/0 size and up. Knobs for jigmasters and smaller.
Amazing Lou.
Looks amazing !!
Nice work Lou. :)
Wow - now they all look cool Lou .
Rgds
Matt...
Works of art!!
Lovely work Lou :)
Dave, I'm working on getting a larger piece of material in the color you like. Be patient, its coming! Spoke to a gentleman in Tennessee yesterday and he thinks he may be able to help me out.
Will keep you posted.
All the best, .. Lou
Lou, these are absolutely beautiful! I especially like the blue/black and orange/black T-bar handles. Start recruiting neighborhood kids and teach them how to make these, you're going to have a hard time keeping up with demand.... you'll probably have to work all week just to make John's order!
Sid
Lou,
You said Tennessee. It wouldn't be Lucite, would it?
There is another company that specializes in these exotic colors and swirl patterns in Belen, New Mexico.
They cell cast all their sheets from Polyester. They are called Avonite.
Quote from: STRIPER LOU on April 24, 2016, 12:09:20 PM
Dave, I'm working on getting a larger piece of material in the color you like. Be patient, its coming! Spoke to a gentleman in Tennessee yesterday and he thinks he may be able to help me out.
Will keep you posted.
All the best, .. Lou
Thank you Lou
Hey Mr. D. Its not Lucite but a small shop that makes duck calls. Got a few pcs from him and it machined up nicely and was cell cast which is what I want. Colors are not where I would like them but he's working on it.
Thanks Sid, I'm pretty happy the way they're coming out. It would be nice to have someone else do the work but I always worry about the quality. If its not the best you can do its not worth doing at all.
I have 3 dozen for the show and I'm trying to finish up another dozen but it probably ain't gonna happen! If it comes to it I'd be willing to sell the one's off the display reels. I hope it goes well. The last time I was surprised at the interest and it was almost overwhelming.
Have a great day, .. Lou
Stunning work Lou. Any chance of finding out if your raw material supplier will post overseas?
Hi Rothmar,
I will ask him. This is a new guy and I've only gotten a few samples. The other supplier wasn't working out. Just not dependable. I've actually been looking close to a year to find good cell cast material that's affordable. There's other stuff around but it really doesn't work out too well as most comes from china.
You can cast yourself and materials are available and I haven't ruled this out yet, but at the moment I have way too much going on.
You might try Delvie's Plastic Inc. They have just about everything if you can afford it. I wish I could be of more help, but, right now I'm in the same boat. I've even been gluing scraps together. The small supply I have is for orders. If I should come up with any extra pieces I'll be in touch.
Have a great evening, .. Lou
Just wow... :o
Daron, thanks for the tip. I will check on the Avonite.
Have a good day sir!
.......Lou
Lou I googled avonite and some of the colors look pretty nice. I bet you might be able to purchase scraps given the size you need. Dominick
Yes Dominick, The colors look pretty good. I'm going to call them. The only problem is it looks as thought 1/2" is the thickest available. I have glued Acrylics with some success but it has to be super flat on the edges or else you see a seam. So 4 pcs would have to be glued to make 2".
Although the seam doesn't look bad when mixing colors.
Regards, .. Lou
wow.. that blue/black T-bar looks amazing.
I wouldnt mind having one on any of my reels ;) they will look nice on a 4/0 reel size like Baja or Fathom 40LD2
Hi Lou, its me too!, Everything your doing is good. Very nice, and long over due, for the custom market. Only one suggestion on the t bat type handles use an angled grip of 15- 20+ degrees as an option. Something similar to what the Okuma Cavalla, and Makaira reels use. Its a more natural way to use the crank arm. Tiberon grips are a place to look as well. The difference may even increase your sales as your custom work sells it self. Just a friendly mention. Good fishing. ;)
Hi Gary, thanks for the comments and suggestions and thanks to all for both and the support. I have 15 and 20 degree blocks so those angles are not a problem. When I get a chance I'll play with a couple. I may have to move the hole location a bit because of the angle.
I'm finally starting to get some material from another vendor. This gent makes his own and its coming in drips and drabs. Its machining up nicely and seems durable so I have my fingers crossed.
The show is today and I'm out of here in a bit. We have a lot of plugs, lures, reels, rods, and I think 45 handles and knobs.
I usually work the show by myself but this time around Richard will be there to give me a hand. He's and excellent lure and plug builder and a heck of a mechanic to boot. It will be great to have someone to share in the madness!
All have a great day, regards, .. Lou
Good luck out there Lou, I have no doubts you'll do great.
Sal
Lou, You've got a great/ beautiful product, best of luck at the show!
Dom
I think you have the right formula for success; quality product + honest man ;)
Thanks all. Got home from the show at 5. It ran from 10 am to 4 and it was the best ever for me. Richard was a tremendous help and worked his butt off. We never even had a chance for lunch!
Sold a bunch of plugs, rods, and reels but the knobs and t bars stole the show. The display was awesome. The reels and knobs were laid out on dark blue and red velvet and it was an absolute knockout! We had 40 knobs, 2 smaller t bars and 3 larger t's and they were all gone by 2 oclock. Richard thought we should start to take orders but I was a bit hesitant as I don't have the material to cover them. I guess once in a while you just have to stick your neck out so we took orders for 25/30 pcs or so. Even a couple of the bigger tackle shops were very interested and made some offers.
We really wanted to see how much interest there was and it looks like there's enough to start making these things. I actually think we would have sold out earlier but the thing that killed us was no provision for us to take credit cards. That will be remedied next time around. Looks like it may be a busy summer!
Done with dinner and I'm beat. Time to have a large glass of wine.
All have a good evening, .. Lou
Careful Lou. You're going to end turning your passion into work!