When is a cracked head plate not a cracked head plate?

[sdlehr]

I bought a reel from another member here, and it arrived with what appeared to be a crack in the head plate emanating from a screw hole

Coming in a little closer it still looks very much like a crack


So what's the big deal? It sanded off on the 400-grit first sanding step. It was either a surface crack or a scratch. I'm leaning towards scratch, since it was only 0.001" or so deep.

The moral of the story: Things may not always be what they appear to be.

I sent the above photos to the seller, and he refunded my payment and graciously told me to keep the reel. When I found the "crack" was gone I refunded the refunded payment and we're back to square one!