Broken Hardy Altex Bail Spring?

[OldTackle]

Goodness gracious me!
I am glad the spring solved your problem, Jack.
Had the same issue with mine early this year and tried to repair it by bending general spring wire in shape. Never got it to work properly.
That little box of contents...what a picture...made me stop breathing for a short while...
So, RBT, if I may ask...

[RBTraditional]

Chaps the box was amongst a whole treasure trove of tackle, including hardy canes, hardy reels, boxes and boxes of flies, spinners etc etc....the list goes on, left to me by my uncle Major Brian White who was a devoted salmon angler in Scotland from the late 1930's up until the early 80's....

[Nigel Rainton]

RBT,

You appear to have the entire World's stock of Altex spare springs.

[RBTraditional]

RBT,

You appear to have the entire World's stock of Altex spare springs.

Yes the old boy wasn't known to go wanting when it came to equipment and spares....must've been an army thing, bless him!
If you'd seen his house in Perth when I cleared it out, you'd have been amazed, all of his tools were in sets, books in chronological order, rods, reels you name it everything was just immaculate. I miss him dearly, always had a tale to tell, whether it be fishing or his experiences during the war....most of them very funny.

[Beresford]

Crikey – that sounds like the sort of treasure you find at the end of the rainbow. You have great memories.

I have my books arranged in size order, a bit OCD perhaps.

Can I add at this point that I'm going to be asking a very skilled restorer if he could make new rollers in a better choice of metal as this might be of real(sorry) benefit to lots of folks.

[Wallys-Cast]

Great haul of spares there Rob, I'd be interested in a few bits too if I'm not too late.

The line rollers (capstans really as they don't roll) are actually tungsten steel and you will ruin a very good file trying to just scratch it. The reason they are often found grooved is simply lines picking up tiny particles of grit and lots of use. I think the best idea is to turn them occasionally to even out the wear and extend their life a little longer..

Not many reels will take the years of use a Hardy Altex will.

Wal.

[RBTraditional]

Great haul of spares there Rob, I'd be interested in a few bits too if I'm not too late.

The line rollers (capstans really as they don't roll) are actually tungsten steel and you will ruin a very good file trying to just scratch it. The reason they are often found grooved is simply lines picking up tiny particles of grit and lots of use. I think the best idea is to turn them occasionally to even out the wear and extend their life a little longer..

Not many reels will take the years of use a Hardy Altex will.

Wal.

Pm sent mate

[MaggotDrowner]

My public thanks to Rob, even if I have said it in a private message.

Rob, you should get out there with those rods and give them a whirl.



I've just gone back and looked at the dates these reels were made.

My reel has the initials RMS and was therefore made by Robert Marshall Scott who was employed by Hardy's for a period of 51 years between 1916 and 1967.

The online dates for Altex manufacture are:
Altex No. 1 Fixed Spool (1932 -1966)
Altex No. 2 Fixed Spool (1932 - 1966)
Altex No. 3 Fixed Spool (1935 - 1963)

This means my reel is is at least 51 years old or possibly as old as 85. If that spring was original it must have had some hammer over the years.

[RBTraditional]

My pleasure Jack, happy to help you out and get your lovely old reel back in action....

[Stour Otter]

Well done RB Traditional, it's members like you that make this Forum so great.

Stour Otter