ORCA BALL-HANDLE REEL PROJECT

[Steve]

First, thanks to Don Champion for reminding us, in another thread, about the stalled ORCA ball-handle project. About 5 years ago, we began a project aimed at identifying ball-handles by comparing features of construction with those on reels identifiable as products of known makers. The project was described in a couple of issues of The Reel News.

At this point, we have composite photos of 88 reels, not nearly enough to cover decades of reelmaking activity by more than a dozen shops. It would be very helpful if collectors could provide more pics.

For each composite, we would like to include at least 5 photos, taken, as closely as possible, from the viewing angles shown in the one below. Additional pics of unusual features are welcome. 5 photos can provide views of virtually all relevant features. They should be well focused and taken at your camera's highest-possible resolution. (This composite was originally 600 pixels wide, after the original pics were reduced from much larger images around 1.5MB each.) If you do any cropping, please use a 4:3 width-to-height ratio.


In addition to the photos, we need data, including all labeling, construction materials of frames, gears, and grasps, reel diameter, spool width, gear tooth counts, etc. These data and observations from the photos are entered into a searchable Excel spreadsheet.

One advantage of making these composites is that they enable us to compare known and unknown reels by aligning them on a computer monitor. The example below, also shrunk for posting here, demonstrates how several reels can be compared easily.


Ultimately, we are hoping to produce a DVD containing all the photos and some kind of guide to the features used by each maker. A collector would be able to compare his reels of unknown origin with those on the DVD.

If you would be willing to help with this project, please email me the names on the reels you're considering shooting. We have a growing list of shops for which there's reasonably good evidence that they actually made reels. Many, many ball-handle reels are unmarked or marked with retailer names, and it's these reels whose manufacturers' identities we hope to be able to determine with this project.

[Steve]

Just want to bump this request. In the 3 years since the first post, we've brought the number of reels by known makers to only 101. That's not nearly enough of a survey to provide meaningful descriptions of each maker's reels.

Some folks have commented that they're hesitant to photograph their reel guts for fear of breaking screws. It's a legitimate concern, but I've opened thousands of reels over the years, and I've never broken a headcap screw. Keep in mind that each of these reels has only 2 or 3 headcap screws, and a drop or two of penetrating oil will almost always loosen them up. The reason we need internal shots is to count gear teeth, show different types of pillar nuts, different pinion mountings, etc. Somtimes there are other, less common gizmos inside. But even without the internal shots, photos of the exteriors will be useful.

The photos are made into composites like the one below. If pictures are taken from the angles shown in the top 4 photos, all necessary external features are visible: crank and grasp, crank collar and its position, foot construction, spool flange attachment, tailplate bearing.

Please email or PM me if you're willing to help by sending some high-resolution photos of your ball-handles. A large-enough survey should enable us to ID the makers of a lot of unmarked reels or reels marked only with a retailer name. Thanks!

If we can reach a "tipping point" of usefulness, we can publish a folder on DVD or flash drive that would include all the photos plus a table (or several tables) that compare features of the reels. Examples: pillar nuts can be rounded, hexagonal, flatted or whatever. Different main gear bearings.