Making an Aerial-Match

[Liphook]

As a newcomer to this site the amount of dedication to the cause shown here (and elsewhere) is truly staggering!!! Hats off to you Wm+

[Banksy]

Leszek, your description of the making of the check knob -

"There are several components to make now, the first being the actual check knob. This is a simple, turned brass item."

- made me smile.
Nothing simple about it at all. I would not have a clue where to start, nor, I suspect, would the majority of the folk on this site!

[Lovatt]

A real pleasure following this post, Watermole sir, do the reels spokes need balancing and will you share some information & pictures on balacing the spoked spindle, as always looking forward to the nest post.

[Watermole+]

... do the reels spokes need balancing and will you share some information & pictures on balancing the spoked spindle..?

Many thanks for your kind words Sir.
Generally speaking, if you take care when machining the drum and the spokes & springs are all fitted concentrically, the reel is nearly always balanced well enough to fish with. The only details which can throw it out are if the handle assemblies are not identical matched pairs, but these are always checked on scales anyway; also, the friction adjuster wheel can add a little bias. I deal with the latter by sometimes adding a small, turned weight to spring at the end of the opposite, locking spoke.
I do check larger line drums on balancing wheels, but to date, they have always been OK.

..While we are here, it might be of interest to you, to see how the check springs are made-or at least, how I make them!

The springs on the 1939 Aerial-Match are quite substantial and the sample I checked was 19 SWG (Standard Wire Gauge) in thickness. None of the spring steel I had was anywhere near that, but a rummage through the scrap box came up trumps!





This was part of a broken machine spring and exactly the right gauge! (I knew it would come in handy one day!)


However, before I could use it, it was necessary to take the 'spring' out of it and soften the metal by gently heating it for a while and allowing it to cool slowly..





It could now be easily straightened out, cut into lengths first, then, using the drilling/milling attachment on the lathe, slowly sliced up into strips of the right width (plus 0.005").








Next, a lot of careful work with the file to smooth them out and radius off the edges with emery paper.





With all the strips now at the right thickness and width, it's time to make them into springs. To do this, especially if there are a few of the same shape to be made, they are bent on a little forming plate like this..





This is a very basic one which I made from some scrap aluminium plate and metal dowels and a turned, aluminium 'start position' 'plug. To make one, firstly form the spring shape you want from a piece of soft, pliable wire. This is laid on the plate and the radius positions marked out. Holes are then drilled into the plate for the removable dowels...and that's it!

To make a spring, position the steel at the start position and bend around to the first dowel..





Dowel number two is placed in and the strip bent around it to the next position...





..and the next dowel is put in and the bend continued..





..after which, the steel strip is snipped off to length and the ends radius-ed off and de-burred with file and emery cloth.





After all were made, they were then hardened by heating to bright orange and plunged into a brine solution. They then had to be tempered back by heating very slowly and gently to a brown colour and quenched in light oil.





All now ready for service. They do look a bit big, but were copied from an original.
Here is one inside an unfinished backplate for comparison. It will eventually pivot around the little hole near the top and the angle narrowed as it comes under tension.





Only the pawls to make now...

wm+

[Luga00]

Stunning work, Leszek.

Russ

[JW1]

Impressive.

JW

[Keston]

Fabulous skills , it's a joy to follow these reels being crafted

[Match Aerial]

Stunning reel, lovely job

[Crucian]

Utterly fascinating Leszek

[ReelMaker]

I've been in the instrument making trade all my life and the effort this man puts in to his work and the quality is amazing. Reelmaker