How the Meek Blue Grass No. 4 cleaned up

[Farace]

I thought I'd show how the Meek cleaned up. It was disassembled and soaked in vinegar/water, lightly relubed and reassembled. It spins well and looks a gazillion times better. Still, it's got some pinkness, it was obviously taken apart in the past since, while the screws aren't goobered, it's plain they've had a screwdriver in them. The screw holding the handle on, and the washer underneath it, are not original (and the handle is loose). The foot appears either to have been filed or is worn at the corners. There are some light plier marks on the end caps over the jewels. There is some blotchiness to the finish that would very likely polish out if someone wanted to. I'm far from an expert on these; it seems fairly decent, but certainly not pristine.

How it looked before I started:


How it ended up:





Opinions on value? I'd like to sell this to finance other fishing gear, and would be more inclined to sell it here before resorting to eBay. Apologies that some of the photos aren't more in focus. The camera seems to be having some trouble with autofocus, and there doesn't seem to be any provision for manual focusing. If you'd like to see any other angles or attempts to focus on particular spots, let me know.

[john elder]

Bob...looking good! As you say, that blotchiness should celan to better with a little serious rubbing in front of the TV. The biggest problem will be to find the original nut holding the handle and of course, that bites into the value...unless you are fortunate enough to have that part!

[Ron Mc]

the pink is dealloying. It's going to be a surface layer that might polish away.

Personally, I think its in great shape as it is; although, on ebay it would definately bring more if you use a metal polish, and I would recommend that if you plan to sell it on ebay.

you could also play up the markings on the reel - made by Meek in KY, rather than by Horton.

I'll stick with my $300 to $500 est., and it might bring more on ebay.

A few hints for photos. Back up with the camera, because you can always crop your photos way down to size. Take a milk jug and cut it in half (the long way through the handle) - use it as a diffuser over the flash. This gives you a light source that is larger than the subject, still gives you subtle shadows and excellent detail, and also gives you reflection stars that dress it up:



Use a tripod and timer if you have it - makes a huge difference.

[Farace]

John, I'm not sure I have the sources or the time to search out the nut and washer; I suspect it will be a difficult find unless someone's got a bunch of parts reels (and I imagine someone does, but it's not me or anyone I know). I'm inclined to sell it as-is.

Ron, thanks for the comments. Anyone here interested before I put it on eBay? John? I'll probably put it on there next weekend, as I have lapped the ferrules on my cane blank and need to start putting together an order for the rest of the parts I need for this rod and can certainly use the money from the reel sale so my wife doesn't complain too loudly. It's a winter project, so I'm not in a hurry, but if I set it aside too long, I'll get distracted and never get around to finishing it!

Re: the photos, I actually do back up, and zoom in a bit, but the camera's autofocus has been kind of wonky lately, and there's no provision for manually focusing. My wife's been complaining about it, too, and she's a better photographer than I am, so I figure it's not just my ineptitude at work. The diffuser idea is good; I don't have a milk jug around, but I think I still have some frosted acetate from back when graphics and publishing were done without the aid of a computer.

[Ron Mc]

using the timer, stick your finger right in the middle of the lens target, and right in the middle of where you want your depth-of-field. Also, shoot the lowest ASA mode on your camera and shoot aperture-priority stopped-down.

if you have a good macro mode, give that a try, as well - and don't back back up quite so far...
this especially works well with the flash diffuser.

[Jack Bright]

Ah. . . Poltroon. . . thanks for this reference, enjoyable sense of humor, a
bit way out, kinda like our own Steve V., I have collected some of Milford`s
books, fun stuff !

[Farace]

Ah. . . Poltroon. . . thanks for this reference, enjoyable sense of humor, a
bit way out, kinda like our own Steve V., I have collected some of Milford`s
books, fun stuff !

Oh, good, I hoped someone would pick up on it. I tried including a longer quote from How to Fish Good, but couldn't get it under the character limit for a signature. Never got to read The Happy Fish-Hooker or The Wretched Mess News, but had the calendar one year when I was in high school. We were a messed-up bunch, tying flies instead of chasing girls like the rest.


(Edit: Apologies for what had been multiple duplicate postings; the board software gave me an error, saying it couldn't submit the post, but I guess it lied. I've since deleted the dupes)

[john elder]

hi, Bob...I don't have your email, so please give me an email at and we'll leave Ron in the dark as to how lowball my offer is

[Farace]

Sold! I realized that the missing screw and washer were going to be a major issue, I mean, it's not like it's a Zebco or something where you can find spare parts just by kicking the ground at the town dump or dragging a magnet through the nearest lake. Anyway, John felt that way, too, and what with not having to deal with the aggravation of eBay and them skimming their fees off the top, and then having a buyer complain about something even though it's been clearly stated in the auction, and, well, I took that into account and came down a bit and John came up a bit and we met at $130. That'll still get me the parts I need to finish my rod (although not the silk line), and I'm sure it's still more than my grandfather paid for it. It might have only gotten that on eBay anyway; sometimes people just don't bite, and there's no accounting for when they will or won't.

[Ron Mc]

um, um, um...



can I make you an offer on the Heddon 125?

[john elder]

LOL...gotcha, Ron

[Farace]

Yeah, I guess I neglected to sprinkle that post with smilies.