William Mills & Son Fly Reel Disassembly Help

[Bill Muth]

Picked up this sweet little Mills fly reel last week. Started to disassemble it for cleaning but stopped here because it’s not clear to me if or how I get the spool to disengage from the face plate. Any assistance is appreciated.

[reelsmith.]

Hey Bill.

You need to remove the handle. Do that by holding the spool still while turning the crank counter clockwise. it might be a bit tight, but it should unscrew.

Your reel is by JVH.

Dean.

[Bill Muth]

Thanks Dean, much appreciated. Somehow I have never encountered one of these before. Figured the reel was a JVH product.

[Bill Muth]

Gratuitous post-cleaning pics. Thanks again for the help Dean and others who emailed.

[Mike N]

Wow, Bill. That reel looks great.

Mike N