Very Early Rapidex.

[Fredline]

I have just picked up this Youngs' reel from a certain site and was amazed that it had been up for a couple of days. The Youngs' Rapidex was first produced in 1946, this reel has a dedicated inscription dating it to August of that year. So it was probably bought before that date. The engraving is very redolent of the period and the badge states J.W.Youngs & Sons. In 1947 they added the Ltd to all their badges when they became a limited company. It also has solid handles rather than the dimpled variety. It all points to a very early reel of this model.

[Lea Dweller]

Well done Fredline, another great buy from that site, it seems almost identical to the early Allcock's Flickem Perfection of mine, same non-pinched handles same back and front finish, same innards just a different badge (Plus the very important date engraving ) Lovely!

[Crucian]

Lovely reel Fredline.

Some photo's of my old Rapidex;
I've often wondered how old it is, same low profile centre boss as yours, same badge, but dimpled handles and silver grey paint.

[Fredline]

Hi Crucian, yep, your reel is the same age because it is lacking the Ltd making in it a 1946/7 reel. As for the handles, there is nothing sinister there they just used what they had. That info. courtesy of Garry Mills. Fredline.

[Nobby]

Fredline, does your balance weight have a round or a square hole? I can't quite make it out in the picture. As sales of the new reel took-off I think they quickly tried to speed the fiddlier parts of production up with squareish holes that enabled a part to be picked up and easily released again with a round spiked tool. Lea Dwellers reel doesn't have these square holes and I think yours doesn't either.

I was told about this reel and it's very interesting...I so often rely on the Allcock's Guides to learn of J.W.Young's offerings but for this post-War period there are none....the first was in 1949.

I'd long felt the early Rapidexes with the 'new' centrepin spindle might be made immediately after the War and the spindle only returned to the Flick 'Em Perfection style around 1949. Your engraving seems to prove this...it's done with a stencil, by the way and does seem very much the style of the times.


I had no idea about the company becoming one of 'Limited' liability in 1947, but they do seem to have wanted cash injections fairly often as they also had approved a two-for one capiltilisation in 1955 and sold a huge chunk of the company in 1961 to the Cope Allman Group....a decision that eventually shut down most of Redditch eight years later after Ted Young suggested to Leonard Matchan in 1963 that he acquire Allcocks too.

It ought to be possible to date the dimpled handles...weren't they patented? Otherwise the early Rapidex seems to share the same ahandles as the C815 Aerial.



Nice find. Christchurch Angling Club??...they're old enough.

[Wallys-Cast]

I noticed that Fredlines reel also has reinforcing webs added to the inside of the spool casting to strengthen the hub. This isn't showing on the earlier reels with the smooth winding knobs and I think this is an indicator of improvement.

Maybe once they did away with the Flick-em type internal spokes to adjust and keep the hub rigid there became a problem with spools being easily bent because of the smaller contact point at the hub so they reinforced the area with the four webs.

Wal.

[Nobby]

Well spotted, Wal! For that reason I'd always thought Lea Dweller's reel a pre-production model with the casting mold yet to be finalised. Not actually too hard to grind in the slots for the webs to the existing mold, possibly? The first time I saw Ted's reel I spotted those webs missing, surely inspired by a huge Full English we'd just all had.

It's always stated that Youngs' casting improved during the war and the Rapidex without spokes was the result, but I tend to think of those Flick 'Em Perfection castings as pretty good already. I'm more inclined to think of the Rapidex as a simpler reel to build without spokes and the requisite trueing up that follows.

True Youngs talked of improved close tolerances with the Rapidex and I do get the line going behind the spool when stillwater fishing with a Flick 'Em, but then I'm just clumsy.

[Fredline]

Hi Nobby, the balance weight has a round hole and the hub does not have the reinforcing webs. I think Wally you meant Crucians' reel with respect to the webs. The "Ltd" information came from Rupe Attwoods' book on J.W.Youngs' along with the first year of production. The earliest versions were a black crinkle finished spool with a black gloss backplate. The colour was then quickly changed to a grey in keeping with Youngs' decision to colour code this new batch of 4 new models the Rapidex, Pridex, Beaudex and Ambidex.
Fredline.

[Wallys-Cast]

Yes sorry Fredline it was Crucians reel I meant.
I have just been looking at photos of some earlier reels I owned and found the Allcocks Flick-em badged Rapidex. This one has the dimpled handles but still no web reinforcing so I was wrong about that too.

Wal.

A few pics of the reels.
First is the Rapidex. Hub web reinforced.





The Flick-em with no reinforcing. (Note also, no J W Youngs details on the centre cap).

[Nobby]

I'm was sure I'd seen plenty of black late Rapidexes, Fredline...Trudexes too and I'd thought the fly reels as well,but I've never actually handled one of those.

I'd thought the Ambidex a later reel too....1952 ish...? And I've only seen early ones in black or gold.

Funny how the Milward's version kept the sculpted back and wrinkle-finish paint...even if it was brown. They must have kept the old body casting molds just for Milward reels when they changed the body....I wonder why?.


So with your reel dating the Rapidex to 1946 at the latest and Crucian's having the webs and 'triangular' handles to the spool capstan and 'triangular' handles, but no 'Ltd' being pre- 1947 it answers thing nicely. The handles must have got changed very early on and the webs too. I always said Lea Dweller's reel was 1946ish.


I notice that your reel and Lea Dwellers have a different 'sharper' edge to the scalloped body edge, different to Crucian's....maybe the webs, or buttresses, to the capstan were introduced with a new casting mold then?



PM coming your way Fredline....



edit: Submit jammed....some nice early reels there fellers...so the webs came after the new handles???...maybe.