The Meisselbach 3-Screw "Tri-part" Reel is Pretty Cool

[RonG]

August Meisselbach was a true engineer. When he was unhappy with his 2-screw first model of the "Tri-Part", I guess he figured 3 screws were better than 2 to hold the head plate to the tube frame. He obviously was not happy with it either, because according to Phil White's book, it was never cataloged and probably just made in 1907. Anyway, I think it's a robust design using 3 screws with captive nuts for attaching two things together. It must have also been more costly with all the parts. Minimizing part count is a feature of a good design and probably lead to the standard "Tripart" with screw-off rings. Also, what would any engineer do to add an adjustment feature to a reel? You'd use a threaded bolt/nut and adjust it with a wrench. That's the way the spool end-play adjustment is made on the 3-screw "Tri-part" reel. The adjustment has a hex-head nut feature and the cap has a cutout that fits it like a wrench. It's pretty cool.