Big Boys

[Dave Westburg]

Some of the big classic reels I use with my spey rods. Left to right: JW Young Beaudex 4"; Sharpes of Aberdeen 4", Hardy Perfect Wide Spool 4", Martin Thistle 4.25" (made by JW Young) and Modern Arms Company 4.5" (made by JW Young). Love the old Youngs and Sharpes reels. They have the heft to help balance a 13' Sharpes Bamboo spey rod and the capacity to hold plenty of backing and a 9-11 weight mid or long belly spey line. One drawback is that they have reel feet which are too long for some modern spey rods. My Hardy perfect has a 2.5" reel foot which fits my 14'4" CND spey rod. The Sharpes and Young's reels have feet of 3" to 3.25" and are too long for the CND. Not a prob, however, with my Sharpes Bamboo rod which has a large sliding ring reel seat.

 

[Greg Armstrong]

Nice bunch of biguns Dave!

 

[_WW_]

There is a work around for these long reel feet on the prewar Youngs that is usually cheaper than having a reel foot made. Since you have one, take a look at the screw layout attaching the foot to the reel. Now look at one of your prewars. The screw centers are the same. The only difference between them besides length is that the prewar feet are radiused where they attach to the reel and the later ones are flat.

What I do is buy damaged later reels, the "ex" reels, and remove the foot. The larger reels have the three screw pattern and the smaller reels have a two screw patter. Carefully with a half round file I put a radius on the flat part to match the older foot and reel, then attach it to the older reel. I mark the old foot with some masking tape so I know which reel it came off of in case I want to put it back on to sell it.

Other reels that can be used for this are the Grenaby and BWP reels - although some of them have the 3" foot so you need to watch what you buy.

When pulling the old screws, it is imperative that you use a properly sized screw driver. It needs to fit the slot correctly and no leaning it off to the side when you turn it. Keep plenty of straight down pressure until it breaks free.

 

[Tim Cottage]

When pulling the old screws, it is imperative that you use a properly sized screw driver. It needs to fit the slot correctly and no leaning it off to the side when you turn it. Keep plenty of straight down pressure until it breaks free.

The above advice is critical. If you are going to work on old reels you would do well to invest in a set of gunsmiths screw drivers. They are accurately machined to fully engage the slot. They are readily available from most gunsmith suppliers such as Brownells. They come in both thin bit and standard bit. Get both and say goodbye to buggered screw heads.

 

[Mike Monsos]

The above advice is critical. If you are going to work on old reels you would do well to invest in a set of gunsmiths screw drivers. They are accurately machined to fully engage the slot. They are readily available from most gunsmith suppliers such as Brownells. They come in both thin bit and standard bit. Get both and say goodbye to buggered screw heads.

Brilliant!! I'll need to get a set of those. Thanks Tim!