The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Mark wrote:They are lovely reels Wal.

Thanks Mark, glad you liked them.

The 4 inch reel had a fly line on it when I bought it and you often see them on ebay with fly lines attached so I think they were once thought of as "any use" reels.
Wal.

I have just acquired two more bakelite centrepins, one with the Slater-Latch-equivalent and one with a plain screw. Neither runs as freely as the one illustrated in a previous post of mine under this topic. The spindles are undoubtedly rather dry and it might just require some lubricant to get them running well.

Can anyone suggest what would be a suitable lubricant? The spindles are steel and the reel has brass bushes.

Sewing machine/ hair clipper oil should do the job, after a clean-out with cotton buds and white spirit.

This, for example: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hemline-Machi ... 338642dc86

Seems a fair deal; I'd have expected to pay about £1.50 at a shop. One of the few surviving cases where the p&p is less than the bus/petrol to the shops.

Thanks, Vole.
I'll see what's available at the local shops and maybe take up the eBay offer you mention, depending on the local price.

Wallys-Cast wrote: . . . . my three wooden reels with Slater latches, 3" dia, 3.5" dia and 4" dia.
They dont get used much these days but the 3.5" is the one most used as it has a shallow arbour, made for light line match fishing so has the faster line retrieve which is useful when trotting a longer swim.

Don't you think that the arbor diameter is almost more significant than the rim- and back- diameter and should always be specified when describing a centrepin reel? Seems to be the exception, though, in describing vintage and antique reels .

If the Nottingham style of fishing was distinguished by very light lines which had to be cast from the reel to avoid the frequent tangles which would have resulted from stripping such lines from the reel preparatory to casting then a wide arbor diameter is diagnostic and surely only those which have this qualify to be classed as Nottinghams.

I wonder whether my bakelite reel qualifies by this criterion? If, that is to say, any but a wood reel can qualify. The arbor diameter of 57mm is about 60% of the rim diameter of 95mm. Compare this with the wooden reel I acquired today. Arbor just under 50mm is less than 45% of rim just over 113mm. Does anyone have any typical statistics for the time when rivalry between Thames and Nottingham styles ran high?

[I hasten to add that Wallys-Cast has designated his three reels centrepins, not Nottinghams]

Scavenger--The reel in your photo looks exactly like the Australian made Steelite reel that is sitting next to me as I type this. Steelite was one of the many OZ companies that made this type of reel. Sadly, they've all gone under except for the Alvey Reel company that still make centrepin and sidecast or Malloch style reels. I've picked up quite a few Steelites, Alvey's, Capstan's, Academy's and Milbro's at garage sales--all of them get used at different times.
Cheers,
Steve.

Hi Spod
Yes it's a Steelite reel all right.

Have tried to get the hang of the Wallis cast but so far without success.

On what waters do you use centrepin reels? I see you live in Victoria, like I do, so would be interested to know.

JimmyBobkin wrote:I haven't used a wooden reel but they do look the part. My next buy methinks.

Try them I have four wood reels all starbacks and two of them Slater , fun to use and they look good so go ahead give them a try .

Scavenger--A lot of the waters I fish dont need a long cast, so a centrepin reel is fine to use. Often I only fish a rod length or so out. I've tried the Wallis cast, similar to what the OZ luderick fishermen sometimes used, but haven't had too much success with it--I restricted my profanities to a low "Oh, What Bad Luck!"
I dont use centrepin reels exclusively but enjoy using them in local ponds and dams near where I live, which is about 60 km's NE of Melbourne. I sometimes use them to drift a worm for trout in nearby creeks, either under a float or unweighted. I'm thinking of filling one of my larger Milbro reels with 12lb line and using it on a light fibreglass surf rod for carp in a nearby billabong that is chocker with carp. Will take lots of corn and white bread.

Cheers,
Steve.

Hi Arctic Char , yes your reel is Bakelite (which was in fact a trade name for the product), a material I believe developed in the years between the two wars and used extensively by the military for various things particularly electronics due to it not being a conductor. Since Allcocks and others were required to turn the bulk of their production to the war effort it is no surprise that they soon realised it's potential to the tackle trade . This looks like an early example of what was later named as the" Aerialite" , they were all Bakelite were made in various styles and often referred to rather unfairly as the "poor mans Aerial", since their ease of manufacture made them relatively cheap to produce retailing at around 5 shillings compared to a Slater model costing up to ten times as much. Some reels have a lovely patterning and are certainly worth collecting and can be easily picked up between 5 and £25 depending on condition and rarity.