7950 4.5" Double Vent

[Haydn Clarke]

Crikey Badger, this is starting to become slightly ridiculous. I thought I had a few nice bits and pieces till you started posting.
In fact, what Imelda Marcos was to shoes, you clearly are to reels.

[Badger1]

Well I was about 11/12 when Passion for Angling came out on BBC2 (1994 I think) and I was fascinated by the reel Mr Yates was using (not so much the rods at the time) but I quickly came to realise that I could'nt possibly ever afford even a Aerial 'Pop' and modern makers at the time were way beyond a small boys paper-round. So from the age of about 12 to 18 I pined after a Aerial. Looking at any image I might find pre-internet (well before my family having a PC). I managed to get myself on a good electrical-engineering traineeship/apprenticeship and luckily work in a "bloom" industry so been working all the time to get these bits and pieces when they appear. Which is'nt very often.

So I've gone from nothing to lots of reels. I've had lots of opportunities to buy modern makers Aerials i.e. Witchers, Lythe's, & Richard Carters but actually I prefer the orginals and I like the mystery behind the reel i.e. mystery of who made it, who owned it, & what's it caught? I do have one modern pin now which is a Richard Masters Aerial which I use occasionally but other than that one they are all the real McCoy.

I do tend to use them all other than this boxed 7950 above. It's just too unused and I am toying with the idea with using a rather special Coxon but I must admit even I am scared of using as the Ebonite is so stupidly thin on this one. I believe it's the very earliest Coxon (41** something, I don't tend to get too geeky over their model numbers). I am tempted to use it atleast once with a Hardy Roach going some tiddler snatching. Hmmmmmm....sods law I break if I do use it???? I suspect so.

One thing I do enjoy doing is going to tackle fairs etc. As I'm not known the little incestual world of tackle dealing/collecting...its rather amusing to go to some of the fairs, likes of Redditch, and listen to dribble which comes from these Dell-boys come out with. Some poor Aerial which has had a hard life in a glass case with some stupidly high price tag....never ceases to amaze me the rubbish they spout about it being "in really good condition"....."won't find one like that lad".....perhaps they look at me and think ah a young mug ;-). Hahah think again you old goat and have a wash :-) Morning rant over.

[Vole]

Gorgeous! And so right that these should be fished with.
One thing, however, is giving my Meccano-fuelled brain a slight tic. That line guard: it appears to be held on by two pairs of pillars. One pair of these we can see, at about half-past two and half-past three; the other pair is implied by the rivets in the face of the guard's face at ten and eleven o'clock.

But of the pair we can see, only one has a rivet, the one at half-past three.
What's holding the half-past two pillar in place? (Or, rather, holding the face-plate onto it?)

Oops, crossed posts, I'm talking about the Aerial in post no.8

The Coxons have got me dribbling into my keyboard; I may be gone some time....

[Nobby]

I 'think' that is called a 'Bickerdyke' lineguard after the famous angling author, Vole..but I'm not very knowledeable about Aerials.

[Badger1]

Hi Gents, I believe it is a "Bickerdyke" lineguard as Nobby mentions. I've got a 4 spoke pre-tension regulator (so same era) which must have had a lineguard in the similar position as you can make out little holes on the backplate in the same place, which have been filled. Odd positioning but they did wired things back then :-) 17" handles on a Wizard with reel towards the bottom of the rod....whats all that about :-).

I've had it "checked" by a few "experts" and all seem to be happy with it. I don't tend to use linguards myself but I would not dare remove this on from the Walnut back. I would have to fish around it. Well actually as I wind left handed it would'nt get in the way too much.

ttfn

[Vole]

Sorry, I was talking about the all-metal job in the second set of photos.
The short handles went with the use of the reel below the rod-hand, for balance and reach; holding the reel above the rod hand - which makes it possible to brake with the thumb, which feels more natural - seems to have come in with the advent of light, long rods, possibly beginning with Spanish reed... certainly the Taperflash/Rapidex combination of my youth was usually used that way.

[Badger1]

Ah I see Vole. I think I have some other photos of these BP lineguards Aerials. They are a bit....bulky, I've two other 7950s with BP (BackPlate) guards which I remove to use them when using them. I'll see what photos I have on memory stick.

[Badger1]

Some photos of a lovely 4" with line BP lineguard removed. Screws in sellotape on label.





Boxed 7950 rear view:

[Badger1]

This is my Big B*gger pin. Now that's a lineguard on this one.

4.5 inch pin for big rivers really.

[Chavender]

theres two types of Bp line guards ,one has all fixed piller's (usually all riveted through the rails) and the other has a captive roller piller (one of the inner pillers ,wont be riveted through the rails) that should rotate in its fitting to help prevent friction from the line passing over it (but these are like old mitchell bailarm rollers in that they often come seized up by gunk) .the "Bp" guards do follow the origanal bickerdyke fashion of a framed/caged line guard and usually are universal fitting (left or right handed or casting positioned) they come in short arsed single framed cut down versions for small reels or quarter ,half moon or 3/4 cage not seen a full cage one on a aerial but they do exist ,the line guards where optional extra's ,through allcocks / youngs .mostly the origanal basic wire framed bickerdyke one or the posher "Bp" type and there was also the option of a floating eye type that could be fitted at the factory.

now comes the debate about what the "Bp" stands for ,its either "back plate" or "bickerdyke pattern"