Uncle Johns Reel

I was reading Pat Reagan's web site on fishing the dry
http://www.dryflyfisher.fishermen.co.uk/index.htm
and my mind turned to an old rod that could be cut down
to make a ideal little 7ft 3# weight only thing a little reel
to fit it ?
I wrote on here a few months ago about a old reel and after
over a year of saying I would clean it up ,thinking of making
the little rod combined with with the bad weather meant I
finally got round to it.
It was two Christmas back when opening what I thought was
my new Center Pin , my eyes first set upon this 'old rusty thing'
my mouth dropped ! much to the amusement of the family and
especially my Uncle John .
After then receiving my new reel ; much to my relief : I settled
down with a drink and picked the reel up , my Uncle then told
me a little bit about it and the subject soon turned to times
spent fishing .
One tale is how we stopped on the river over night me and our
Neil (my cousin) were sheltering in the tent , meanwhile our
Dads polished a full bottle of Whiskey off and preceded to sing
and laugh all night in the pouring rain . As the Sun lit the banks
they had also been keeping several other anglers amused who
had made there way to the river before first light .
The first thing was a good clean , the reel was a little stiff
a bit of hot water and a scrub followed by a bit of oil freed
things up . Next on the agenda was a visit to my work ,I
have access to a glass bead blaster which makes a nice job
of cleaning old metal .
A little polish on the screws gave the reel a nice finish and
I was ready for the next stage


The reel as no markings or stamps so it may have little
worth and is a little antiquated . Not that I would sell it,
it's of great value because of who gave it me .
So I set about making it comfortable for use , after the
refurb of the metal and a little more oil the only thing
was the handle . It was baker lite (not sure how to spell)
and this stuff seems to become brittle after a time , seeing
this reel had seen through it's life the threat of a Nazi
invasion it was a little past it's best but still solid .
The reel having no name or mark meant I was not restoring
it to it's original condition , so I settled for a wooden winder.
As I cleaned the reel , eared it's reassuring click , polished
the metal , I became more attached and to make it even
more so I cut a piece off Logan's Cherry tree for the handle
It's Logan's Cherry Tree because it was given to him when
he was born by Ian , it resides in the garden and is always
called by that name . Its a special tree for the above reasons
I may be soft but that little touch makes the reel even more
personalto me .
I took a few tools and basically whittled away at it , gradually
it took shape and fitted nice and snug , so much so I could
have left it without resin .
The more I worked it and the better it looked , I kept
putting my fingers in the winding position , until it was
comfortable , like I wanted .
Nearly finished I smoothed it over with a little sand paper
and added some wood oil to protect it against water .
The oil brought out the grain and added a nice colour to the
wood , the finished handle is a little larger than on a
standard reel of the size but it's spot on for me . A couple
of coats of clear varnish and it's all ready.
I will now have to sort my little rod out and see what
weight of line it can cast before setting one up on the
reel .
I can hardly wait for my first fish on this little set up
it should be good fun .
I said on that Christmas day I would use it and
catch a fish , that promise is a little closer now .

Cheers ............Uncle John