The latest creation of Dr. Elder

[Mike N]

I (nicely) asked John to make me another tournament casting reel (#003T) from a Horton freespool reel I sent him. The spool shows incredible thought and workmanship and Dr. Baits is going to need to patent that inertia handle. I love the grasp and can’t wait to cast it. John left the brake in to stop the darn thing which, from video he sent, spins like a top. Thanks, Dr. Elder.

[Jonathan P. Kring]

He does nice work!

[RonG]

John does come up with some good ideas. I was curious about the stepped spool. That gives the reel a distinctive look.

[john elder]

Thanks, guys. We shall see how that step spool works out! I was inspired by the early Holzmann spool used to some extent by Perez. It remains to be seen whether there is an advantage or if it is just a pain. Will wait to hear Mike’s report! I will say that i was impressed with that free spool mechanism. It’s slick how the spool and handle are uncoupled until you start to crank the reel. It’s impossible to rescue the steel spindle from the spool… its apparently molded in. So i had to make the spindle to go through the aluminum spool and cut the cogs on the end to marry to the separate spindle gear during cranking.

[Bill Muth]

Awesome piece of work Dr. Elder!

[reelsmith.]

Very nice.

I really like that John plugged the hole on the back plate where the pillar was removed. Nice attention to detail.

Dean.

[john elder]

Thanks, Dean. I wanted to leave out that top pillar to allow open access to the spool for thumbing. To make up for less stability, i replaced the other pillars with larger diameter aluminum pillars. It feels stable enough. Will wait to hear what Mike learns.

[Paul Roberts]

Wow. Amazing work. Is the stepped spool to act like a v-spool? Or does it help keep line from ever getting behind the spool? Curious as usual.

[john elder]

Thanks, Paul. That spool was a shot from the hip, so will have to see if it was a great idea or dumbest move in reel design history. I envision it helping to keep line away from the edges but we shall see.
John

[Paul Roberts]

I’ll be interested in how it works out. Very cool experiment. Not that I could do the same with some of my favorite old casting reels. But who knows?

[reeltackle]

Love it! Form and function all in a neat little package. Aesthetically pleasing and, I imagine, a dream to cast. Nice work Dr. J. Looking forward to the casting report Mike.

[Dr. Rob]

Great stuff! Love the spool. It is difficult to be creative with spools, but you have succeeded. Love the crank too. Good job, Mr Elder!

.

[m3040c]

Beautiful workmanship, as always by Dr. John.

I see a vision of the future. About 100 years from now, someone is going to find this reel at a garage sale. It will cause a commotion as collectors try to find out its origins. John, I sincerely hope you have signed your work in some way, in order to allow collectors from the 22nd century some kind clue or "Dr. Elder Tell" that will satisfy their confusion.

[john elder]

I’m sure this will inspire the comment: “who the hell is that!?? Probably some garage hack…. Not in Vernon”

[Steve]

Not in Vernon

But he is...pg.347!

[RonG]

Hey John,

What do you think about the "003T" marking? Could that have been the original serial number and the "T" stand for Tournament? I haven't seen a marking like this before. Or, is this your own marking? It looks like everyone likes the reel.

I see you're in Steve's book. I guess I didn't make the cut on page 347.

[Steve]

I guess I didn't make the cut on page 347.

OMG! Your name must have been deleted during one of the dozens of amendings of that list. But you're in the first preface and photo captions. My bad! I am chagrined.

[RonG]

Hey Steve, I like pulling your chain. It's no big deal. I just happened to notice it when I went to your page reference for the good Dr. Elder. Actually, I was impressed at the large number of people you have listed. That's what you call a team effort.

[Steve]

It's no big deal.

Kind of you, but when I think of all the info we've exchanged over the years...

[john elder]

Ron, mark is mine…. 3rd tournament reel from Classic Tackle of Rancho Santa Fe… 003T… gotta love the two zeroes…. Now, thats optimism!

[Mike N]

John’s reels will end up with my two sons and daughter. They have strict orders about those reels and I’m sure they will be cherished for at least another generation... But hey, 100 years from now, while they will still be talking about the Elder Lab at the Scripps institute, it will be interesting to see if some researcher can make that connection.

PS My daughter, a veterinarian,texted me one day, “Did you know that your reel friend is a leading expert on feline (cat) virology?” I responded, “No, but he is an excellent machinist.”

Link: https://www.scripps.edu/elder/people.html

Mike N.

[Steve]

But hey, 100 years from now...

Some proud owner will be asking, on this very forum, "Is that the owner or the maker?" And the owner will be advised to search.

[RonG]

John, I love an optimist. They keep us moving forward.

[m3040c]

I have a feeling that Dr. John's reels will have a special room in Karl White's little place in Branson, Missouri!

Glad to see you are signing your work, John.