But when the parcel arrives it's obviously something quite different, the main problem with the photos is that they didn't show the scale of the thing. It's obviously a one off own made job but the model for it is a 'Leeds' style reel. It's big. Behold the beast......
It's pictured between my Reynolds Stanton (partially disassembled for servicing/cleaning) and an Avon Royal Supreme. The external diameter is 5 1/2 inches, 4 inches between line lays. Interestingly the weight difference is not all that great, it's 328g, the Stanton is 309g and the ARS is 264g, all of these without line (the weight of a fully loaded Mitchell 330 is, strangely enough, exactly 330g).
Looking at the back the homeamade nature is even more obvious:
That central knurled knob attaches to the screwed end of central spindle which runs through the centre of the main spool
and you need to screw this knob at least finger tight to get the spool to spin smoothly. It actually spins very smoothly indeed although, as with all bearings reels, it has to be held in the vertical plane for this to happen. The bearings themselves are held within the central core of the reel, which looks like, and may well be, an old plastic cotton reel although it could obviously also be a piece of specifically turned plastic. I haven't figured out yet how one might access the bearings for servicing as the black plastic cover on the front face of the reel is very firmly fixed in place. Any ideas gratefully received.
The final oddity is that there is, as with many Leeds reels, no ratchet (many were even made without handles), instead there is a spring drag. The knurled knob in the final picture above can be turned to push a spring mounted piece of plastic, or perhaps solid nylon, rod through a hole in the back of the base plate underneath the knob which then presses against rotating spool. It's fairly crude procedure and the result is very uneven as it, in effect, forces the spinning spool slightly out of position.
It's a simpler design than the Stanton and would need significantly less skill to make but this has been very nicely made to a high degree of precision. I know that, in the past, Leeds style reels have been criticised because their size might mean an increase in line friction on the butt ring but I think this will depend very much on the position of the ring and may, in the end, be a fairly negligible increase. I'm certainly going to use this (and I'll let you know how I get on) although I'm not sure if I'll hang on to it for more than a season. In any case, it is always pleasant (for me anyway) to use something that was clearly made by a person rather than a CNC machine, wonderful things though they are.
Iain
I have a beast too, Australian pin with rotate cast function (name escapes me at the moment, possibly an Alvis) and it is sincerely huge. You would think it was for Tope fishing or something. But it spins very nicely indeed. Bought it on the bay of E in the closing minutes of an auction (there is a moral tale there!). Normally I would ask questions, like how many feet across the drum is this reel!? Now I think it will work well, but its my night fishing reel, so no one else sees me with it!!
