Does anyone have info on a Ny-O-Lite reel NOT made by Waltco? Here's one called a "Keystone Ny-O-Lite," made in the U.S.A. by something called Kitco, Chicago, Ill. It's made of cycolac, not nylon, and the only nylon in it is a drag washer, combined with a "beryllium copper tension washer." Googling didn't help. Below are pictures of the package insert and a panel of the box, which includes a Keystone logo. Perhaps unheard-from-lately Craig "Logo" Barber could throw some lite on the subject.
We're all aware that the cycolac plastics are acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene thermoplastic resins, whereas the nylons are
alkyl polyamides. Nevertheless, the Keystone reel looks exactly like the Waltco reel, except that it's not embossed with the Waltco name. Quite a surprise!
(Let's not forget to add Kitco to the mfrs.-by-state list.)
Steve , a lot of companies around the end of WW11 had made a compound washers , nuts and tension washers with a WEE bit of Beryllium, the thought on this was , no corosion, beter heat displacement, a less amount of brak down of the parts under stress, had a spring evect to it, now even when asbestes is used, we have the same scare tactics, remeber when automotive brake shoes and disc pads were of asbestos? no one died from them ! I have a good amount of drag washers and spring washers from old parts kits that have beryllium in them, and if you have certain reels that are still used very heavy then you have beryllium (I will not say the names or modles of these reels as folks woud get frightened and scrap them. if you have some spinning reels , yes the drag service has it, some very common trolling reels have them and one of our most popular collected reels have them. As far as I know I have never had a recall on that part, I have had a recall on asbestoses drags as they failed! Ron, I wouldnt worry about the micro amount of the (stuff) as it most likly will not get on you. As for telling the washers , the color will give it away. Now sleep easy, and fish more often, dont get the do gooders upset! we have a beter chance of getting lung cancer from those airplanes that fly above our heads day and night, or fron a school bus you are behind . Col.MILTON LORENS 3 miles from a Berllium metal plant in lorain ohio aka SWIM JIG 
