Reel Repair by Alan Tani

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! 

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