Shakespeare, Penn, Alcedo, Bretton, you name the manufacturer, they built amazing lifetime-use reels and they all seemed to use adhesive that allows the emblem to fall off. I just got a Shakespeare 2062 DC in SUPERB condition, but it's missing the emblem so I only paid $20 for it. I bought it as a parts reel but it's too nice for that. Irks me to no end, wonder if I could cobble something together to fill that space on the side of the reel.
When I have missing emblems —- I just use gorilla glue to fasten a period correct dime, penny, nickel, or quarter on the missing spot.
Indian head penny's, Mercury Dimes, wheat cents, and steel 1943 cents are all cool.
Best, Fred
I believe the answer is that the glues they were using hadn't been around for long enough to see how they'd age.
Bakelite spools crack with age, delrin sideplates on Mitchells all cracked with age. They didn't know to expect that. We hadn't been using those materials long enough yet to see them fail with age. We know now how not to injection mold delrin. Didn't know it was an issue til we got to watch some sideplates age naturally.
In my industry we are seeing HDPE drainage pipes becoming more and more common. The manufacturers are outwardly confident that they're gonna last 50 years just like the reinforced concrete pipes they compete with. And maybe it really is the way of the future. But they have only been around 10 years or so. I worry 20 years from now we'll find out how well they simulated the passage of time in their testing/marketing. a lot of neighborhoods and roads might learn the hard way that it's not the 50 year infrastructure it purports to be. And those manufacturers will have closed up shop by then.
The point is, they probably thought that glue was good forever. I'd like to believe they'd be using something different now if quality and longevity was still as big a concern as it was 50 years ago.
Don't get me started on CPVC water lines in homes that become brittle and split unexpectedly. I have copper in one house and PEX in the other. Not sure if I like the PEX but repiping with that through the attic beat the heck out of jackhammering up the whole slab to replace the 40 year old copper.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on February 17, 2026, 04:16:18 PMI believe the answer is that the glues they were using hadn't been around for l
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on February 17, 2026, 04:16:18 PMI believe the answer is that the glues they were using hadn't been around for long enough to see how they'd age.
Bakelite spools crack with age, delrin sideplates on Mitchells all cracked with age. They didn't know to expect that. We hadn't been using those materials long enough yet to see them fail with age. We know now how not to injection mold delrin. Didn't know it was an issue til we got to watch some sideplates age naturally.
In my industry we are seeing HDPE drainage pipes becoming more and more common. The manufacturers are outwardly confident that they're gonna last 50 years just like the reinforced concrete pipes they compete with. And maybe it really is the way of the future. But they have only been around 10 years or so. I worry 20 years from now we'll find out how well they simulated the passage of time in their testing/marketing. a lot of neighborhoods and roads might learn the hard way that it's not the 50 year infrastructure it purports to be. And those manufacturers will have closed up shop by then.
The point is, they probably thought that glue was good forever. I'd like to believe they'd be using something different now if quality and longevity was still as big a concern as it was 50 years ago.
Good points, Jason —-
If we look further, we can find hundreds of examples of poor products being used in the everyday things we need, use, and build with (plastic appliance parts, car parts, solar panels, plumbing, fishing reels, clothing, and nearly everything else).
The weird thing about the fishing reel emblem glue failing —- is that nearly every Penn Spinfisher, Offmer, Eagle Claw, Shakespeare, Alcedo, Cardinal, Shimano, Ryobi, Daiwa, Southbend, and most other reels —- have this issue.
However, for some strange reason, out of maybe 10,000 DAM Quick reels that have come across the bench, maybe one or two emblems ever were missing. For some reason, the DQ engineers hit upon a glue formula that obviously worked well for decades, and decades. Most of the DQ reels I work on are 45 to 70 years old. Weird...
Best, Fred
Shoegoo is great & waterproof
Somebody once reproduced/counterfeited the brass Alcedo Micron kingfisher medallions. You could buy them on Ebay. Trouble is, there is not enough demand for such things to make it worthwhile.
Quote from: oc1 on February 17, 2026, 05:56:50 PMSomebody once reproduced/counterfeited the brass Alcedo Micron kingfisher medallions. You could buy them on Ebay. Trouble is, there is not enough demand for such things to make it worthwhile.
Yeah, problem is not thinking it through as an emblem maker/marketeer.
If I was doing it, I would have dies set up for all of the problem reels that lose emblems —- Penn, Alcedo, and all the others.
Then one could make it work out to a certain extent —- instead of picking out only one brand to focus on.
But even at that —- it becomes a labor of love, since one would need to manufacture them for $5, and sell them for $20. Or find a source in Asia to manufacture quality emblems —- then resell them.
Most just become user or parts reels. And they catch just as many fish!
Best, Fred
I strongly suspect that was a case of someone creating a mold and making some alcedo emblems for themselves, keeping the pick of the litter, and selling the rest on eBay. It's actually a smart thing to do if that's the case. If I were to go thru the effort of something like that, I'd like to believe I'd do the same or similar. When I started making ambassadeur mag kits I made a ton, kept the great ones, and gave away the rest because the were too rough to sell.
But I'm wrong a lot.
The best emblem glue, IMO, is regular old waterproof two part epoxy, but then nothing lasts forever.
I just had an epiphany...I can buy a sheet or roll of 1 inch square foil labels and just write with a Sharpie...8lb Stren, or something like that. Fill the empty space and make it look like I meant to do it.
Just got done using a PC graphics program to make an "emblem" The missing item was round, which makes it relatively easy to make a replacement. Measured the size circle (3/4 in.) I needed, then added the model number (kept it simple) into the middle. Printed it out (laser), carefully cut out the circle, placed the new "emblem" in position on the reel, then coated with poly; once the poly sets, the emblem is there to stay & water protected too.
The Shaky 2052 & 2062 emblems are diamond-shaped, so should be able to do something on the computer with that. Might even be able to get an image of the emblem off of the Internet, size it, then print that out.
Frank
Lost the trout off a Dam 220 the other day and spent 20 minutes looking for before it before I found it sticking to the side of the sink! My fault for putting parts in soapy water for too long and not checking before rinsing. I can't be too mad about glue lasting 60 or so years. So what is best adhesive for that?
Russ
:) :) First off ,fish don`t care if your reel has a decal or not . Do I like the looks of a decked out reel , "YES " . With the advantage of new technology ,any decal/ emblem can be made with various materials or paint . My all round glue is contact cement for emblems . Can I remove them , with out destroying them "YES " Do I want to try to remove brass / decale with the new pvc or pva ,ca and others , NO .
If a Penn "Greenie" badge pops off easy when I get one I glue it back on with shoe goo. It bugs me when the badge is missing even though it's fer looks.
I chatted with the alcedo guy on ebay he said he was gonna try to replicate the Greenie badges as he gets samples.It's been awhile since I heard from him.
15 years ago I "shoegooed" gray flex conduit in the sides of my jon boat to run wires through.It matches nice & I think it would have to be cut out to remove it.
I wonder if acceptable emblems could be 3-D printed. My son-in-law is pretty adept with the 3-D stuff. If he thinks it is possible, I think I'll give him a couple of samples to try and replicate.
Quote from: akroper on February 19, 2026, 04:37:29 AMI wonder if acceptable emblems could be 3-D printed. My son-in-law is pretty adept with the 3-D stuff. If he thinks it is possible, I think I'll give him a couple of samples to try and replicate.
there's some metallic filaments out there. You may be on to something.
Traditionally, the hard part of stamping out a medallion would be making the hard metal die. A male die can stamp an image into thin brass stock using a cushioned pad below. It's tedious but possible to use a female die and dapping tools. Having a two-piece male and female die is much quicker and gives much better resolution.
I think a 3D printed die would be dense enough to stamp thin brass stock when only small numbers are required. The rigidity of the medallion comes from the rolled edges, not the thickness of the brass stock. You can get brass shim stock that is paper thin.
I didn't even think about printing a die, I was thinking print the medallion. You could theoretically print the male and female sides.
We're getting into the technical side of 3d printing again and rapidly leaving my arena of expertise. Dave, you're up.
I know zippo about 3D printing, but was curious if you could crop an object from a larger object i.e. without removing the emblem from a reel.Maybe easier just to remove it from a junker?
Google AI stated:
Yes, you can crop, cut, or split an object from a larger 3D model to fit your printer's build volume or to print specific parts. This is commonly done using 3D modeling software like Meshmixer, Fusion 360, or directly within slicers like PrusaSlicer or Bambu Studi
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on February 19, 2026, 12:14:35 PMI didn't even think about printing a die, I was thinking print the medallion. You could theoretically print the male and female sides.
We're getting into the technical side of 3d printing again and rapidly leaving my arena of expertise. Dave, you're up.
OK. I'll bite.
It cracks me up that people think that if you have a 3D printer, they can visualize something in their brain and ask a printer to make it. Sort of like that replicator that makes lunch on the old Star Trek.
Most folk that claim to be good at 3D printing are good at tuning their printer and print file instructions to get a good looking print from a 3D image file that they found on the internet. Definitely a useful skill, but only part of the equation.
First- you need a 3D image of your emblem. You can draw one up from scratch with 3D modeling software (different than parametric 3D design software for functional parts), OR - you can use a scanner to copy an existing one. But you will need a pretty good 3D scanner to be effective for a part that small, and afterwards, you will still need to tweak it with the modeling software to fix the inevitable scanning defects.
OK - now you have a 3D image. At this point it is easy to to print an emblem with a decent hobby printer. There are some plastic/metal powder blends (stainless, brass, etc) that look very much like metal, but I am not certain that they will print details cleanly on a small detailed part like this. Printing pure "metallic" colored plastic would be easy- but don't use the ubiquitous PLA plastic- which won't last in the sun or heat. Still possible with a better plastic choice, but a bit more difficult.
Since you now have an image file, you could also order prints from a professional service with fancy industrial printers that will give you a plastic or pure metal part. How about a lightweight titanium Spinfisher badge to improve performance (Ha!).
Some printing services will even host your part. When a customer orders your part from them, they handle sales, print it, ship it and send you a cut.
In terms of printing a die pair: it is very easy to make negatives of your part and size the negatives/positives up/down appropriately to adjust for the thickness of the metal blank. I do this type of stuff all the time for making masters for silicone molds. If the metal sheet was thin and soft enough, you could press out some parts, but the metal might need to be awful thin and soft for a very detailed part. It depends on the shape and how thin and tall the reliefs are. The dies will be pretty weak in spots that are tall and thin. You would probably have to backfill with resin to keep them from denting. And you will have to trim perimeter of the punched out parts- not too hard with another fixture that you can print, but still more work. I am not too confident that this will result in a nice part with clean and sharp relief, but you never know.
Or you could simply make a silicone mold of an existing OEM emblem - the right silicone can handle melted tin/pewter metal alloys, or you could pour a plastic resin/metal powder blend. Pure brass/ bronze has too high a melting point. There are lots of folks that do antique looking fake "metal" jewelry and game pieces this way, but I am more of a mechanical parts kinda guy, so I can't help you much here.
You can also 3D print using a special wax, or use the silicone mold for making wax masters for lost wax casting from all sorts of metals- but hard to see this as cost effective. At this point you are better off making jewelry.
That is all that I can think of off the top of my head.
-J
Somewhere here in the bowels of AT.com is an attempt I made to create a silicone mold of a Spinfisher medallion. Neither the silicone mold nor the epoxy resin casting that came from it had much detail and the color was off.
I was so enthusiastic to try it that I had popped a perfectly good medallion off a reel, then subsequently misplaced the original, the reproduction and even the thread and pictures where it was described. Maybe someone will stumble across it.
Silicone molds can come out pretty well detailed if you use the right mold making silicone. I have had accidental fingerprints on the release agent end up on the surface of the part. There are also special casting resins- urethane would be my first choice. But I haven't tried anything this small, so I can't make specific recommendations.
-J
Dave you never disappoint.
Seems like PENN could just do it easy & there would be a demand be done with it.
Starting to look like you need " Steelfish Alex " to chime in , he seems to nail the decals .
A very good high res photo taken up close, printed to the correct size at a high resolution on sticky back paper, cut to size and applied in place and topped with a few layers of epoxy to get that domed effect.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on February 20, 2026, 10:31:56 PMA very good high res photo taken up close, printed to the correct size at a high resolution on sticky back paper, cut to size and applied in place and topped with a few layers of epoxy to get that domed effect.
Yeah, 2D emblems are a piece of cake. Another option is to print on decal stock so that you don't have to use paper as a substrate. just slide the decal over some plastic or thin anodized aluminum sheet. There are special doming epoxy and UV urethane resins for encapsulation and see through coatings. I would lean toward the urethane.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on February 20, 2026, 12:48:29 AMDave you never disappoint.
Can't help myself :)
-J
Similar to PC case badges
::) ::) Anybody doing 3 D laser engraving ? My Sister in law does plywood and aluminum tumblers .
I know she is getting a bigger and better one , simply because her crafts are paying for it .
https://www.amazon.com/Carverall-K15-Engraving-Beginners-200x300mm/dp/B0FDKXZCTB/ref=sr_1_5?adgrpid=190094998281&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3nIdNMoGU_YdL4tBmnQUiyvpluTQto2Tl1acJxz2pXHKVSQm57NtCan4tPmaKRslywR
Quote from: oldmanjoe on February 21, 2026, 01:27:31 AM::) ::) Anybody doing 3 D laser engraving ? My Sister in law does plywood and aluminum tumblers .
I know she is getting a bigger and better one , simply because her crafts are paying for it .
https://www.amazon.com/Carverall-K15-Engraving-Beginners-200x300mm/dp/B0FDKXZCTB/ref=sr_1_5?adgrpid=190094998281&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3nIdNMoGU_YdL4tBmnQUiyvpluTQto2Tl1acJxz2pXHKVSQm57NtCan4tPmaKRslywR
I've done Co2 laser stuff. For engraving, you are basically etching with the laser beam. You cannot really etch your way into a 3D shape with a laser like this. Co2 lasers work really well for etching white engraving into anodized aluminum.
If you like marquetry (wood veneer inlays), these type are lasers are amazing if you have a high quality laser cutter. I also did some mother of pearl inlays that came out nice. Figure spending about $6-8K for a good name brand enclosed consumer laser. These still won't cut out metal parts, but they can engrave.
You could make some fun badges with a laser like this, but it wouldn't be useful for trying to make reproductions of OEM badges.
-J
Even the Cricut Machines might work .
I don't think a sticker is a suitable substitute for the old-time brass medallions. I always remove the reel stickers.
PENN should make some & limit the sales so no one buys them all up.I know it's not worth it to them only folks like us.
Quote from: jgp12000 on February 21, 2026, 12:32:37 PMPENN should make some & limit the sales so no one buys them all up.I know it's not worth it to them only folks like us.
You nailed the problem right there. It is not worth it to them. If the medallions were die formed, and the old dies were still in good shape and sitting around at the US facility, and they still had the presses, and they had somebody employed that knows how to do it, and they could find a source for the blanks, they would still lose money to make a few die-hard fans happy. The cumulative demand has to be pretty low, and I think that there are different medallions for each model. Blech.
If the medallions were cast, then the chances are even tinier.
We are on our own here.
Not worth it to me. Medallions and graphics do not affect performance. I am not a collector/restorer/cosmetic customizer. If someone is wants to give it a try, good luck!
-J
A missing emblem just bugs me...like driving your car with a hubcap missing. I'm just OCD enough to generally avoid reels w/o emblems because I know it will make me dislike that reel.