Another interesting reel from Dave Gaustad
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mannishevitz
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Re: Another interesting reel from Dave Gaustad
Ed, you have nice reels.....I just have reels
Re: Another interesting reel from Dave Gaustad
Just started researching Gar Wood Jr. and can now put one small mystery to rest -- one of the blue prints from that lot of Wood ephemera that sold at auction was listed as Micro Marine Inc. of Miami, Florida. Micro Marine was founded in 1967 to manufacture and sell a boat racing toy called Micro Marine. The Miami Herald wrote it up on March 16, 1967 -- it was a six track slot race course where the person controlled the boat with a thumb pressed button. So, basically a slot racer with boats instead of cars. When I was a kid slot racing was just on its way out (both my older brothers had slot racing sets), but even two decades ago when I was in grad school at the University of Illinois there was a slot racing store with a massive track where people came in from all over to race their cars. [EDIT: holy moly I just checked and "Hot Slots" in Urbana-Champaign is still in business!]
So it seems like Gar used the resources at Micro Marine to help design whatever reel was pictured in those blue prints. One assumption that can be made is that whatever reel company he had used to make reels up to this point was no longer in business as of 1967, or else why would the Micro Marine address appear on the blue prints?
-- Dr. Todd
So it seems like Gar used the resources at Micro Marine to help design whatever reel was pictured in those blue prints. One assumption that can be made is that whatever reel company he had used to make reels up to this point was no longer in business as of 1967, or else why would the Micro Marine address appear on the blue prints?
-- Dr. Todd
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reeltackle
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Re: Another interesting reel from Dave Gaustad
Just found this article on Gar Wood Jr. written in the summer of 1991 by famous fishing photographer Dade Thornton who was a good friend and fished extensively with Gar Wood Jr.
In the article Dade states that - "Gar Wood Jr. developed a lust for adventure and an avid interest in mechanical tinkering. At the family's estate on Miami's Fisher Island the inventive young genius had the tools, guidance and time to develop his unusual skills and he was soon turning out everything from toys to useful gadgets in his fathers well-equipped machine shop."
Later in the article it states - "As a young man he invented new tools and equipment to aid him in his interests. Gar is most famous for the innovative improvements he made on early fishing reels. He made practically all the reels he used, and Fin-Nor's early fly reels and spinning reels and Shakespeare's old plug casting reels were all made on Gar Wood Jr. patents. His inventions not only gave him substantial income, but also made his fishing expeditions tax deductible."
The article goes on to detail some of Gar's favorite fishing trips but at the end there is this. - "Gar has been out of fishing for some years, and he had a severe heart attack a few years ago, but he is alive and well and lives in Louisiana. He is still tinkering in his shop and we're planing a return to Club de Pesca, now the Tropic Star Lodge shortly."
I believe this article may help shed some light on a couple of questions we had about Gar and his reels.
Gar Wood Jr. was making reels and toys in his fathers "well-equipped shop" in Miami and he made most all the reels that he fished with. His father, Gar Wood, built speed boats and hydraulic equipment and had a first class machine shop that his son had free run of. I believe that it would be safe to assume that he made the Gar Wood Jr. trolling reels in his father's shop. It would then follow that he made the Ted Williams Reels for Sears in this shop too as the two reels are identical. I would even "consider" saying that he made the Fin-Nor plastic sided Viscount reels in his father's shop too.
Todd states that the machine shop, Micro Marine, mentioned in the blueprints made toy boats. Dade states that Gar made toys. Being that Gar was a boat racer, like his father the famous boat builder and racer, it would not be a stretch to assume that he made the slot car boats that were made in this shop. Most likely the bodies of these boats were plastic mold injected like the side=plates on the Gar Wood Jr. and Ted Williams trolling reels.
The last good bit of information states that Gar was living in Louisiana and still tinkering in his shop. Some of the blue prints in the auction (see Todd's previous post) were marked Louisiana. Still tinkering with tackle!
In the article Dade states that - "Gar Wood Jr. developed a lust for adventure and an avid interest in mechanical tinkering. At the family's estate on Miami's Fisher Island the inventive young genius had the tools, guidance and time to develop his unusual skills and he was soon turning out everything from toys to useful gadgets in his fathers well-equipped machine shop."
Later in the article it states - "As a young man he invented new tools and equipment to aid him in his interests. Gar is most famous for the innovative improvements he made on early fishing reels. He made practically all the reels he used, and Fin-Nor's early fly reels and spinning reels and Shakespeare's old plug casting reels were all made on Gar Wood Jr. patents. His inventions not only gave him substantial income, but also made his fishing expeditions tax deductible."
The article goes on to detail some of Gar's favorite fishing trips but at the end there is this. - "Gar has been out of fishing for some years, and he had a severe heart attack a few years ago, but he is alive and well and lives in Louisiana. He is still tinkering in his shop and we're planing a return to Club de Pesca, now the Tropic Star Lodge shortly."
I believe this article may help shed some light on a couple of questions we had about Gar and his reels.
Gar Wood Jr. was making reels and toys in his fathers "well-equipped shop" in Miami and he made most all the reels that he fished with. His father, Gar Wood, built speed boats and hydraulic equipment and had a first class machine shop that his son had free run of. I believe that it would be safe to assume that he made the Gar Wood Jr. trolling reels in his father's shop. It would then follow that he made the Ted Williams Reels for Sears in this shop too as the two reels are identical. I would even "consider" saying that he made the Fin-Nor plastic sided Viscount reels in his father's shop too.
Todd states that the machine shop, Micro Marine, mentioned in the blueprints made toy boats. Dade states that Gar made toys. Being that Gar was a boat racer, like his father the famous boat builder and racer, it would not be a stretch to assume that he made the slot car boats that were made in this shop. Most likely the bodies of these boats were plastic mold injected like the side=plates on the Gar Wood Jr. and Ted Williams trolling reels.
The last good bit of information states that Gar was living in Louisiana and still tinkering in his shop. Some of the blue prints in the auction (see Todd's previous post) were marked Louisiana. Still tinkering with tackle!
