All the goodies that were in my part 4 of 4 post were used in the "Alan Tani Special", (T4NI)
Alan T's modified arm, Custom shop made 316L star and shift lever, oversize ball style acrylic, Tom's plates, Randy's frame, BP DD bridge w/all ss parts, Polished Accurate 4:1 gear set, and a custom made drag stack still under development here at the shop.
On the ball style Acrylic, there are only 2 of these in existence, this one and 1 in JM size. I have a small piece of green and a small piece of orange left and this will be the last of this style knob due to the cost of oversize material.
The build went fairly smoothly. I have a check list that I follow for standard customer builds, this way nothing gets overlooked.
For my type of fishing, the 4/0 is a great size and this narrow version to me is the absolute best.
If I were to consider one mod to take this reel over the top it would be the addition of a 2 speed. It has been talked about here many times but as far as I know, Doc Jannsen is the only one who has done this.
Doc is an extremely talented gentleman and a lot of the mod's we do here today are because of his idea's or creations.
The shop here has modest equipment so the first thought was to retrofit a gear set, modify the spool shaft and build the necessary spacer.
After a bit more thought, going full custom, ... building the gear train assembly, making a spool shaft to match, and making any spacer/insert to house everything might be the better way to go.
Unfortunately, to do this, I'd have to get back to my workplace as equipment there is nearly unlimited. I had talked to them about this before and there are definitely some liability issues. They had asked for my help in the past with a few special projects and this may be an alternative for me to get use of the equipment.
Its on the to do list so it definitely has a chance. Thought I'd see what you think of the reel and your thoughts on a 2 speed.
All have a great evening, .. Lou
These were some customers knobs I had posted and were incomplete at the time. They may not be sized for this particular reel but it will at least give you and idea of what it looks like
with a little different dressing.
1st, green/black flame transparent. Extremely, extremely, difficult to mix! Angled off center T at 9 deg.
2nd oversize 3 color pearl at 9 deg.
3rd orange bronze. Angled off center T bar at 9 deg.
4th green perf/strainer. Angled off center T at 9 deg.
I think you should call it Green Kryptonite. wow.
A few more.
1) Orange black perf/strainer, Centered T.
2) Green/gold/black, Centered T.
3) orange/bronze, Centered T.
4) light green/drk green/black semi transparent, Centered T.
Good Lord Lou...every last single one of those knobs looks great on the reel!
Amazing colors. Bravo! 8)
amazing!
Quote from: STRIPER LOU on March 01, 2018, 08:46:11 PM
4th green perf/strainer. Angled off center T at 9 deg.
just love that knob, amazing work Lou
a 113h 4/0 two speed reel, now you have my attention.
then knobs blew my mind away but the thought of 4/0 2 speed totalled what was left
The man has some serious talent. I wont bet against him but will put my name on list for one
Super Amazing..!!!!
Outstanding Lou - but I've come to expect no less from ya! ;) ;D
All the best, Justin
Those...EVERYTHING came out absolutely beautiful! Your Tani special looks like it's the latest prototype from one of the major manufacturers...Gorgeous reel! Not to mention your knobs are once again amazing works of art.
Very cool stuff! Thanks for sharing!
-Mike
Wow !!! When do these go into production !! That is gorgeous...
Love the green with the green reel but hard to pick a favorite, they're all stunning.
Simply stunning-your work is as much art as it is function! Way to go Lou 👍🏼
-Jason
Beautiful job Lou! with your busy schedule, you should consider an assistant to install all those different knobs on that reels. Knowing how much care is needed to mount those jewels, I'm guessing it's taking a nice chunk out of your busy schedule.
Keep up with your great work Lou!
Oh...there is only one Doc!
I wish he would donate his drawings here to the Alan Tani community, so one of our machinist could get cranking on those.
I'm sure Doc could handle it on his own if he wanted to.
I don't see why that design wouldn't work on many other Senators and not just the 9/0... It would be a shame not to make it happen for many others, but he's the boss and I respect his wishes.
Sal
Wow Lou you have cracked the perf mix. And that transparent mix is a gem to (in fact they are all gorgeous) - congrats Man :)
Thank you all for your comments, they're truly appreciated.
Sal, it actually goes along fairly quickly and took about an hour to install and photograph everything. Cotton gloves are your friend! My camera is always set up on the tripod as I'm always taking
pics of plug, lures, bucktails, reels etc. etc.
I'm also finding that I need to get away from the machinery at times and do other things for a break. The other day, I made a mistake on a shaft. I think its the first one I messed up on in over a year. Trying to make things near perfect can definitely become tedious at times.
As for the Doc, he's an amazing individual. His post's and accomplishments are second to none. I'd be looking at things he had done and wondered if I would be up to the task of any of them.
One could only imagine having him as a mentor!
For me, I truly appreciate and understand quality. I'm also quite determined. If I put my mind to something .... more than likely it will happen one way or another.
Chris, I did not mix the perf but I am closing in on it. Time is the issue. The green/black transparent flame was done here. Its an absolute bugger and extremely hard to get any consistency to the way the colors mingle and come out. When its right though, ..... Its amazing!
I'm using the best resin I can find and it has excellent transparency but wondering if it will yellow over time. Possibly so but I'm thinking it would take a good long while.
I could definitely use a helper and had a college kid for a while. He was intense on learning how to tie flies and was getting quite good at it. He's back at school now and that's what's most important.
OK, back to work, thanks again all and have a great day, .. Lou
Well . . . " She's pretty, but can she cook ? " - LOL !
Those are simply incredible, Lou . . . Amazing !
While the Idea for a 2-Speed 4/0 is "on the table", what about a 2-Speed 6/0 ?
Tight Lines !
The greens completely compliment each other. Truely custom. You are over the top. Great post. You are truly amazing 😉. Thanks for the pictures. Best of luck.
Dave, If I get to the 4/0 and it comes out OK, I may look at the 6/0.
Thanks Gary!
.............Lou
PS If I can get this going, its not something that I can mass produce. If I do in fact get access to the equipment, I'm sure the time frame will be limited.
I'll be talking with them next week and we'll see how it goes.
Quote from: STRIPER LOU on March 02, 2018, 06:18:15 PM
Dave, If I get to the 4/0 and it comes out OK, I may look at the 6/0.
Thanks Gary!
.............Lou
EXCELLENT !
Tight Lines !
Lou - if only I lived down the road I'd give you a hand - I would love it :) Sadly there's a big puddle between us :(
Chris, I could use all the help I can get. It would be great to have someone share in the chaos! Its almost 9 pm and been in the shop since 7 this morning. I have taken some breaks though.
It would be great if you could just teleport over. ha!
.............Best, .. Lou
Is there actually a possibility of an AT member building custom 2 speed 4/0s ?? I would be very interested in that !! Is there another thread that I missed ??
Lou: Great work!! But I wouldn't expect anything else from you, I know how much you put into your work and I know how much pride you have in doing so. I am waiting to build a few reels this spring from the site custom reel parts makers and I'm sure they will look great with some of your custom handles.
Joe
Thanks for the kind words Joe, they're appreciated.
I have several reels apart on the workbench this morning. In trying to get my head wrapped around this whole 2 speed project, Its obvious I've overlooked a few things.
The larger reels offer a bit more real estate to work with and that in itself is a plus. I was looking for Doc's old post and couldn't find it. If anyone has a link, it would be more than appreciated.
If its still available, I doubt there's and pics but the write up would help significantly.
No doubt, Doc's the Mastermind!
One of my friends own a screw machine shop and his son also runs another place down the road. I'd really like to make the gear train assembly myself as this would be a significant saving's, but this may be another alternative. In my mind though, a handful of custom parts, .... the cost is going to be rough.
OK All, thanks again and if you have the link, please post it up.
Have a great day, .. Lou
Great reel Lou, your attention to detail never ceases to amaze me. Is Doc's 9/0 project the link you're chasing? http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=19277.0 (http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=19277.0)
Hope you get the chance to experiment with the 2 speed senator concept.
Mike
That's it Mike, most appreciated. For some reason I couldn't find it this morning. To many things happening I guess.
Shop opens at 1:00 this afternoon and trying to get the place cleaned up. Because of the weather people are getting more than anxious!
Thanks, .. Lou
wow! those are some sexy reels!
Thanks kindliest for the kudos, folks. I appreciate it. Not leastly from Lou, of whose work and talent with, and secret supply of, stunning acrylics I envy.
Making a two-speed 113 would be surely be interesting to many. It would take a bit of doing, probably not impossible though. I think it would be worthwhile to pursue the avenue of a manually shifted device, which I began earlier, but haven't really gotten back to just yet. Some other stuff came between.
That, and the issue of compatibility with all the new versions of custom and stock sideplates and whateverall else.
So, maybe.
.
Quote from: Robert Janssen on March 04, 2018, 01:16:59 PM
Thanks kindliest for the kudos, folks. I appreciate it. Not leastly from Lou, of whose work and talent with, and secret supply of, stunning acrylics I envy.
Making a two-speed 113 would be surely be interesting to many. It would take a bit of doing, probably not impossible though. I think it would be worthwhile to pursue the avenue of a manually shifted device, which I began earlier, but haven't really gotten back to just yet. Some other stuff came between.
That, and the issue of compatibility with all the new versions of custom and stock sideplates and whateverall else.
So, maybe.
.
I need to find who's taking your time away from us and make them an offer they can't refuse ;D.
Maybe is a good thing Doc... :)
Best,
Sal
Doc, you certainly deserve all the Kudos we can muster up! Your work has always amazed me. Without a doubt, talent and expertise to the next level!
When I thought about the 2 speed 4/0, It was kinda on the fly. That's pretty unusual for me as I try to make sure everything is well thought out. There's just so much going on here. Too, too many irons in the fire.
I agree with the manually shifted device and that was sort of my plan of direction. Several other items come in to play that I hadn't thought about at the onset. I think a good portion of the work could be completed on my machines but doing it manually becomes time and labor intensive. Time is at a premium unfortunately.
Getting access to CNC equipment at work would more than likely solve that part of the problem.
I have to agree with Sal, ... whenever you can spare a few moments, .... please spend it with us! Besides Doc, I need someone to keep an eye on me! ;D
Best, .. Lou
Looks like the 2 speed project will be on hold for a while. I was hoping to get back to my workplace to use their equipment.
Unfortunately they wanted me to commit to a 36 hr work week and you can probably figure out what my answer was to that!
I have a Fin-Nor LTL 20 (2sp) that I've been playing with and looks like something similar might be able to be done to the 4/0.
I had originally hoped I could work as a consultant on the shops project but looks like they were thinking otherwise.
The project is stalled and they've invested a lot of money so possibly they might change their mind.
There's another place owned by a trade school acquaintance that has some CNC equipment. I'm looking in to buying machine time buts its not going to be cheap. I'll update everyone as things progress.
All have a great day, .. Lou
:o
I have access to a CNC shop.
If i can get the DXF files i will see what they say.
Where are you located? And thanks for the offer!
...............Lou
Burbank California
Good enough! Its a bit far from home but its a possibility. The best deal would be to use the machines at work.
Its tough to beat free. I know they're at a standstill with this project so I have my fingers crossed. There's close to 40 CNC machines and at least 20 robots. This shop does business world wide and has nothing but the best equipment.
...........Thanks again, .. Lou
No Problem.
Lou, your sitting on a gold mine, give it some time, it will work itself out most likely. You got this far. At least we can wait a bit longer.🕊 You are very talented, I'm green with envy. Thanks for your post and the many pictures. The weekend is coming. Best of luck.🦈