Latest cleanup project..humongous Kovalovsky!

[john elder]

Member Dan Zirilli asked me to give this beast a once-over....20/0 Kovalovsky cradle reel! this is one heavy reel. I'm guessing no one was fishing the rail with this one! Given its greatest sin is loss of plating, I suspect the "after" pics won't be different enough to post, but thought you'd all like to see this one. Note poor little Meek #3 in a couple of the pics

[kingfisher]

That is a RARE giant. Congratulations to Dan.

John, How few would be the number of people to ever had the opportunity to check out the mechanicals.

Thanks for the photos.

[m3040c]

OMG!!!! I am in awe!

This is a once in a lifetime reel to simply see. Thank you for the opportunity.

Now, what kind of rod tip is there

[john elder]

Er....well...i'll post the rod tip later....that's another story...from the looks of it, probably involved the PO, not a giant blue fin!

Looks to me like the innards will be pretty similar to his other reels...just bigger and beefier. It's a pretty simple mechanism, when it comes down to it. If you want complicated, go look at that video re the Penn 4500SS!

[m3040c]

Looks to me like the innards will be pretty similar to his other reels...just bigger and beefier. It's a pretty simple mechanism, when it comes down to it. If you want complicated, go look at that video re the Penn 4500SS!

I tried to watch that video but had an aneurism halfway through it.

[Midway Tommy D]

I thought that was a winch that they use to raise and lower the shark cages. Lucky you, John, to be able to touch and pet it, and lucky us to have the opportunity to gaze at it, even if is via photos. Thanks for posting!

I tried to watch that video but had an aneurism halfway through it.

And he didn't even disassemble the break mechanism in the spool. The 2 reassemble clips were reminiscent of county fair days and trying to hold onto the greased pig. That dude doesn't scrimp on grease, that's for sure. I don't think you need need to go to quite that extreme on the Kovalovsky, though.

BTW, don't mix up or lose one of those screws.

Tom

[john elder]

Well, i finally started to break down this reel for cleaning and relube. Loaded with what i think is axle grease! Stinky mess, although it did the job and kept the rust off the gears. Reel has a 1.5:1 gear ratio, so bring your lunch for when you hook up to that 800 lb bluefin! A bruiser of a reel, but incredibly simple design. Classic Kovalovsky click, drag and anti-reverse setup.
It blows me away that Arthur went to all the trouble of making these reels, then plated them so thin that soap and water is about all I'll risk on this cleanup.

[m3040c]

I would think this reel has some interesting personal history. Any idea where it has been? I wonder if Dan is going to use it in one of his movies. It would make a great prop.

[Tightlines666]

Somehow I missed this one. That is one cool reel. I can't wait to see the after photos. I had found the same grease inside of several reels before. It will clean up fine. That is strange how thin the plating was on a reel destined for 'the big screen'*.

*by that I mean offshore big game fishing

Thanks for sharing this gem.

[Don Champion]

So that is what they plan to use to hoist the Titanic?

[john elder]

Well, cleanup is done....it is what it is. At times like this, I wish reel collecting followed the lead of car restorers, who would not even bat an eye over taking in that original bumper for a proper replate...but we live with what we have. Reel is cleaned, lubed and works perfectly and other than the really bad plating job done on the cradle, the cosmetics represent some honest wear.

I broke down everything except the anti-reverse mechanism, which works perfectly well and would have required pulling the drive gear to get to it. clicker, drag/drag adjustment and anti-reverse are classic Kov style...no surprises. there were two minor alterations that had been performed: One was a brass shim put in below the bearing on the tailplate side to remove some play; the other was an oversized washer was put in on the faceplate side as a spacer for the harness dog...i'm guessing the original one was lost and they just subbed in the nearest thing that was the right thickness to do the job. I'm glad I made a story board to hold the screws in order as I took them out of that cradle!..jeez,the guy used about 4 different sizes and lengths to put it all together. Whether that was done along the way by owner(s) or Kovalovsky did it is unclear.

[Tightlines666]

Looks like it came out pretty good there, especially considering the plating issue. It is really cool being able to gaze into the heart of this beast.

Honestly, I am not all that familar with these types of internals, despite specializing in the service and repair of modern large game reels.

It looks like a pretty stout reel reel and mech. Do you know what material the drum that the brake acts on is coated with? The gears also appear to be relatively small considering the size of the parts they are acting on. However, they do appear to be strong, with large teeth. I suppose this can be attributed to a low gear ratio. What is it? The large spool diameter would likely still result in a pretty good line retrieve ratio, and the longer handle arm assembly would give the angler some power. It doesn't look like there were alot of places for saltwater to enter the reel, provided that adjustment rod was properly lubed.

Nice work!

& Thanks for sharing!

[m3040c]

John,

As you always do, your work is fine. Some people insist that a restored item look like it just rolled off the showroom floor; but, I sort of like to see some of the Battle Fatigue an old war horse like this should have.
I know that Kovalovsky made a 20/O for Zane Grey, I wonder how close in design that reel is to this one.

Thank you for sharing this model with us.

[john elder]

thanks, guys! This is the third Kovalovsky i've had the opportunity to reno and they were all very similar in materials used and the way they were put together. Tightlines, the gears are steel and are the parts in most danger from corrosion on these reels. These gears are in really good shape, due to both (apparent) limitation to salt exposure and a heavy coat of grease. However, both the micarta Kovs I've done had pitting in the drive and spool gears. The housing for the drag and anti-reverse are micarta. The brake is likely the same material as car brakes of the day, asbestos. The other metal parts are likely either stainless or thatmetaltheyusedthaticantthinkofat5inthemorning but i'll be back with it (ah...Monel!).

Mike, i agree re the body of the reel and the more i look at it, the more i like it as is. However, the plating on the cradle sides is super thin and is just not bonded well to that metal, which appears to be brass or brass alloy (showing my ignorance of metallurgy here). Whatever it is, it either was not prepared properly or just doesn't plate well. Those cradle side plates are the components i'd like to see redone. As is, the plating will continue to peel if pestered.

[m3040c]

Interesting that such a super reel has an inferior finish. I guess that is part of its truth. To restore the reel with modern upgrades is not a restoration of the reel, it is a modification of it. They were tools and not jewelry, so were used, they show their use.

I think your restoration captures what this reel is, a fine and unusually special piece of the past.

Now the perfect touch would be to add about 1000 yards of Ashaway Zane Grey, 72 thread Cuttyhunk Linen line.

[Midway Tommy D]

As always, John, a magnificent job , and I love the way you kept track of each screw and its status in the hierarchy. Way too many to just lay in 2 semi-circles

Tom

BTW, I'm not a purist, so ...., if it were mine to keep I would probably would have screwed it up and replated the bumper. One of my biggest annoyances with Italian spinning reels is the inferior quality of their chrome plating. Seems like every Italian reel that received much use has peeling chrome and it sure isn't cost effective to replate the parts.

[Brian F.]

Man, that thing came out nice! I'm glad that handle knob looks familiar too.

[fishhead]

AMAZING REEL!!! That reel is huge. Great job on the cleanup. Size matters.

[Dan Z]

John, thank you so much for your amazing work on my reel! I've learned so much from you, and appreciate it all. Look forward to seeing the Kov when I return from my Thailand film in July! Also- looking for a Rod Tip that can handle that beast and is authentic to the time period. Any ideas much appreciated. daniel z

[m3040c]

Also- looking for a Rod Tip that can handle that beast and is authentic to the time period. Any ideas much appreciated. daniel z

I would think the perfect tip for that reel is a "Tycoon Bimini King".