John Brauen - Looking for INfO on him (Reel Pictures)

[Gabby]

I believe he was a tournament caster from overseas and stayed some while in the California area. I've had 2 or 3 of his reels in the past as he evidently had a sister in the central CA area. A freind has this one. He is merely looking for more info on the man himself. Judiging from this reel, he was not only a torunament caster but one heck of a machinist as well. The reel appears to be made of solid aluminum stochk. The sideplates are approx 2-7/8" in diameter and the spool width is about 7/8". This reel has mono on it and I'm not certain if it's orginal. The reel is very well made and has an unusual mechanism (tension bar) that swings up and down. When one way, there is friction on the spool. When the other way the spool revolves freely. Its also fully adjustible via means of a rim mounted wheel as showm. Dan Brock has provided some info, so would appreciate hearing from anyone ese that might have more...Thanks ...PS can anyone advise how you insert a page break using this format? Sorry baout the pictures..

[spey_chucker]

Hey Gabby, Great reel!
Do you have any idea when he was haunting our coasts? I am already annoying most of the oldest living west coast guys and so could not do any more damage by adding a name to the questions..

Sean

[Jim Madden]

Gabby, I have some knowledge on the workings of anti-back-lash mechanisms, and this one is a beauty. Great reel! The line would have been threaded over the bar. I suspect there is a spring holding the bar in the uppermost position (if the spring is still intact). When the cast is made, the bar would be forced downward to free the spool. When the lure hit anything, slack would bring the bar upward restricting the spool before it could overrun. South Bend had the spring pushing the bail down instead of up, but the concept was the same. I have a French reel that pushed tension upward also - must be a European thing. All the ABL reels had adjustment knobs of some kinds. Thanks for the pics. Jim Madden

[Gabby]

I'd estimate he was in the San Francisco Bay area late 40s - early 50s maybe...

[Steve]

Can you turn that tension button by hand, without a spanner wrench?

[Gabby]

The tension button (and arrow) turn as you turn the rim mounted wheel

[Steve]

Oops! Didn't notice either the wheel or the huge sign pointing to it.

You could try emailing some of these groups for information:
http://www.castingsport.ch/Desktopdefau ... tabid-108/

[Harvey]

Thanks Steve,
Das gutten neice seete!
"H"