Rainy Day = Clean A Reel ....

[reelsmith.]

I got this reel out of a small auction house in Maine. The auctioneer was nice enough to send me a couple of pictures and I left a bid. In his pictures the back-plate looked horribly faded. Imagine my surprise when I received it and found it had been painted gold !!

Why, why, why, would someone do that ?

I've still got some work to do, but so far so good.

As a side note ...the auctioneer did not ask me for a credit card number and trusted me to follow though. I got the reel for half of my left bid. What an absolute pleasure to deal with an old-school gentleman.

Dean.

[Paul M]

Nice reel, nice cleanup and great story, Dean!

Paul M

[john elder]

Great save, Dean! So, i'll fall on the sword for the rest of th ill-informed folks...Looks like a hole hiding in the foot...JVH?

[scottorock]

Ha! I want wasn't gonna open that can o' worms...lol. John's the Marine this time. First in, last out. Nice one, Dean!

[reelsmith.]

Yes, JVH.

The reel is marked "William Mills & Son, NY" and a later version can be found in their 1909 catalog.



I think the reel is earlier, likely pre-1900, given the spiral knurled caps and the hard-rubber click switch.

Just a guess.

Dean.

[Midway Tommy D]

I noticed it, too, in the 2nd & 5th photos, but I just figured Dean would fill us in when he was ready.

[Brian F.]

Great reel and great job, Dean!

[reelsmith.]

Thanks Guys !

Dean.

[desertangler]

Nice one Dean! I have gathered different options for cleaning hard rubber, but I like the look you have achieved. What's your basic approach?

Cheers,

George