Heddon Pal reels made by Bronson

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Willis Logan
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Heddon Pal reels made by Bronson

Post by Willis Logan »

They made reels that had certain parts gold plated. Deluxe or Special or whatever. What I want to know is what parts were gold plated on those reels? Thanks. Willis Logan
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Bill Sonnett
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P41L

Post by Bill Sonnett »

Willis they were not gold plated as such, but were advertisd as "antique gold" My guess is they were anodized. Only the Head ring was gold colored as far as I remember. Can't recall if the crank was. You don't see many of them as they were quite expensive, costing $30 in 1959 which was twice what the standard models cost. The real difference in these reels is the super light innards!
Willis Logan
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Post by Willis Logan »

Bill Your information is very good. Have that reel, but always thought it didn' have all the gold colored parts. The one I have has a gold crank handle and gold ring plate. So it must be correct. The innards was the interesting part of you post. I hunted all day to find where I had stored that reel. When I found it and opened it up ---the main drive greer was hollow on the bottom side. Same as the deluxe pflueger Nobby. Now I just need to clean and fine tune it to see how well it cast.
Warren Platt
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Post by Warren Platt »

This reel was known for it's distance casting abilities. Set a few light weight records in casting tournaments. Both the rim and the handle were gold colored. As Bill stated there were other differences between the Pal P41 and the P41L (lightweight model). The box papers read-
"An exceptionally fast and lightweight model of the "Pal" reel. Perfectly hand balanced spool with hollow balsa arber, featherweight crank, hollow drive gear, special end bearings, and small light handles. Precision built for accuracy and distance, favorite of tournament casters."
The boxes were marked one of two ways, a gold sticker ("Pal" P41L reel Lightweight Special) or the box was just stamper "Lightweight Special"
There was also a narrow spool model that was "New" in 1957.
These reels were designed by Walter Willman, a well known tournament caster of the 1930s-50s.
Mr. Logan, If you'll bring your reel to the Carthage or Bartlesville meet I'd be happy to show you how to use it. He, he.
fishbugman
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Post by fishbugman »

Are you talking about the "PAL Pro Weight Model 26?"
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Bill Sonnett
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P41l & P41 NL

Post by Bill Sonnett »

No, we are talking about the two lightweight reels that Heddon cataloged 1957 -1959, the P41L and the P41 NL. These were delux, lightweight versions of the P41 and P41N. costing just about twice what the standard versions cost.
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