4" CENTRE PIN FLUI-DRIVE ??

[John Harding]

Good evening all,

I had a couple of successful bids at a local auction today, first lot was a bundle of rods, a mixed bunch of six cane and fibre glass rods, nothing spectacular but two of them were quite nice, a Lee of Redditch two piece cane fly rod and a three piece whole cane with a fibre glass top section. The owner of this rod had inscribed his name on it and named it "Flattie Basher", I won't be doing any flattie bashing but I am sure it will find a use. The bundle cost me £12 + commission.

The second lot comprised two rods and three reels and they cost me £10 + commission, in total the two lots came to £28.59p. The three reels comprised a 3 1/2" wooden reel which will be a nice display reel when it is cleaned up. The second reel was a 4" Rapidex which will require a fair bit of attention as it is seized solid, but I think I can get it working. The third reel though has a name on it which I am not familiar with and I was wondering if anyone has come across it. It is a 4" centre pin and on the brass plate in the centre is the name :- FLUI - DRIVE ENGLAND. The reel is missing its retaining nut that should be on the spindle and the check mechanism does not stay in the off position, I am sure it should be possible to sort these two things out.

The reel :-







Hope it is of interest,
Regards,
John

[BoltonBullfinch]

I think I should take a look at these auctions, there seems to be the possibility of a bargain or two....

Thanks
BB

[John Harding]

B.B.

Yes they are out there, but be prepared for a disappointment every so often, when you look at the photos that auction houses put on line they often look better than when you have the items in your hands. Also most auction houses do not have tackle specialists and their descriptions are not always accurate. I have bid on rods that were described as carbon and when I collected them they were fibre glass. I even bid on some rods that were described as split cane, they didn't look like cane from the photos so I sent a question asking for confirmation, there reply was that yes the valuer confirms they are cane. When I collected the rods they were fibre glass, I raised this with the auctioneer and he said "how do you tell the difference " !!! I did get a reduction on the cost.

Regards,
John

[Cane]

An interesting discovery. This Rudge reel was apparently made by “Flui-drive and rebadged on the box. The reel itself only differs from the one pictured by John in having brass handles, instead of plastic and “ Patent applied for” instead of the name.

[Wanderer]

Not seen one of those before.
Every day is a school day !

All the best.

[Duckett]

I’ve seen Flui-Drives badged as Auger, I’m almost certain.

Phil

[Wallys-Cast]

I have seen these before a few times under different names. Here are a couple of Pics of a Balinson reel with more than a few similarities. I dont know if Balinson is the makers name or the model name of the reel.

Wal.

[Cane]

Does anyone know who made Flui-drive reels? I can’t find a reference to them in my books, or on the web.

[Stingray]

I've had a few (three I think) Flui-Drives. They are nice little reels I found. Nobody seems to know who actually made them unless Flui-Drive is actually the company name; still it would be nice to know where they were made exactly. On the subject of auctions: personally, I have had some great luck in my auction room tackle purchases though I paused all that for covid.