Handmade Brass Fly Fishing Reel

EclecticGuy June 03, 2009 diy, fly fishing, metal working, reel building 31 Comments

1/20/2010 UPDATE – a lot people find my blog by searching for handmade or homemade fly fishing reels. That’s great! I just wanted to let everyone know that I started a reelsmithing forum and have written a book on reelsmithing called “The Reelsmith’s Primer”. The book is being printed and will be available soon from Whitefish Press.

It is a little ironic that I would be posting about fly reels considering that I’ve been spending the last several weeks focused on tenkara fishing (Japanese fly fishing with a fixed line and no reel!). But I have been working on building a brass fly reel for several months using primarily hand tools. My motivation originated from the work John Betts describes in his book “Making Strip-built Fly Rods“. He only describes his reels in his original self-published version of the book, but the new hardcover version has a color plate that shows 19 of Mr. Betts’ handmade reels! All works of art.

I googled “reel making” until my fingers were blue to find information on making reels, but there is very little information out there. I took the liberty of calling Mr. Betts several times to help get off on the right foot. I also discovered an article in Power Fibers where-in Peter Dallman shows a photo of reels he made in collaboration with Mr. Betts. I contacted Peter and he has been an incredible help over the last few months. We’ve exchanged well over 100 emails as he’s guided me through the process.

This post will show the results of my first fly reel. Numbers 2 & 3 are already in progress! Later, I will post a tutorial on how to build one of these reels. The required tools are modest: an electric drill, a hacksaw, various files, several taps, screwdrivers, sandpaper, and a lot of elbow grease! Oh, and a hammer or mallet! I cheated a little and used a drill press but I did make a set of spool plates by turning them on a hand drill. A small metal working or woodworking lathe is also a convenience for turning the grip and spool hub – but these can be done on a hand drill too.

The reel basically consists of a spool assembly, a cage assembly and a reel foot. Here are the main components for the spool and cage:

There are 2 spool plates on the left, the hub (Delrin) and axel (1/4″ hard anodized aluminum tube), the front plate ring, standoff posts (1/4″ brass tube tapped on both ends), the back plate and a bunch of 4-40 3/8″ round head machine screws.  The next photo shows how these items are assembled.

The final product uses a different bracket assembly for the foot that replaces 2 of the 1/4″ standoffs. You can see that and the foot assembly in the next photo, which shows the reel “in the rough”.

At this point, the reel is functional but needs its final “fit and finish”. You can see the reel foot bracket where 2 of the posts used to reside. Here are three other views of the reel at this stage:

With the mechanical assembly complete, I turned my attention to the final details. I was not happy with the shape and length of the handle. Peter also suggested filing all of the machine screw heads flat to minimize tippet snags (plus they look a lot better too!). The spool plates and back plate also needed to be drilled out to lighten them and for aesthetics. And then there was the polishing! Lots and lots of polishing. Here is the completed reel, assembled, adjusted, lubricated and ready to fish:

The new handle is much more comfortable and easier to grasp without looking down. It is made from Amboyna Burl. Brass and Amboyna Burl were made for each other! The reel foot is not AFFTA standard but does work in modern reel seat hardware that is not milled or slotted for the reel foot. It also works nicely in sliding ring hardware that I make for my wood and bamboo rods. You can also see the simple hole pattern I used and the flattened machine screw heads – both simple but elegant additions.

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31 Responses to “Handmade Brass Fly Fishing Reel”

  1. Morgan Lyle said:

    Jun 03, 09 at 10:15 am

    this is just way too cool!

  2. EclecticGuy said:

    Jun 03, 09 at 10:18 am

    Thanks Morgan!

  3. Graham Owen said:

    Jun 03, 09 at 12:01 pm

    Mike, you are truly amazing, your reel is gorgeous, even the handle is a work of art. Wow!!!

  4. EclecticGuy said:

    Jun 03, 09 at 12:44 pm

    And it doesn’t make that click-click sound! You’d love it Graham – except for the monsters you normally catch.

  5. John LeJeune said:

    Jun 03, 09 at 3:43 pm

    That’s beautiful Mike. Pretty soon you’ll be raising your own silk worms!

  6. EclecticGuy said:

    Jun 03, 09 at 3:47 pm

    Gee, I hope not! Although…

    Gut leaders are getting very hard to find though. And there actually is a thriving hobbiest group who raise silk worms and make silk! I’ve contacted a few of them about extracting the gut for me but have had no takers yet.

  7. richard westerfield said:

    Jun 04, 09 at 9:27 am

    cant wate for your tutorial about the reels.to bad there is no tutorials on silk fly lines thanks for shearing this information with everyone

  8. EclecticGuy said:

    Jun 04, 09 at 10:19 am

    Thanks Richard. I am actually working on silk fly line making too. I still have a ways to go but I believe I have worked out the basics. These will be furled, tapered, knotless lines of any length required. The trick was to figure out a continuous furling process that works with a continuous silk thread. I almost have it!

  9. richard westerfield said:

    Jun 05, 09 at 8:13 am

    its good to hear that you are actually working on silk fly line making like your self i have looked all over the internet with no luck i tred every where as far as the reels go i had some luck geting drawing from some one on clarks list posted by ” eotr ” he sent me some real nice drewings i will use them as a guide to help me build a reel and your tutorialwill be a lot of help to me. tell me any of your reels have pillers like the old vom hofe reels? also do you have idea when your tutorial will be out?
    thank you
    richard westerfield
    will be

  10. EclecticGuy said:

    Jun 05, 09 at 9:05 am

    Yes, I have eotr’s drawings too. There is an old article from the 50s also on making a reel. All of these require a lathe. I wanted to use hand tools and techniques simply because the reels Mr. Betts makes are very nice!

    As you can see, my reels are a pillar design but not a raised pillar. It would be very straight forward to make them raised and I do plan on doing that soon. You simply need to cut and file away all of the material between the pillar standoffs! I would recommend using a thicker brass for the cage backplate and ring too since the pillar standoff may see some stress.

    If you want to get started ASAP, I’d be happy to correspond via email on a step-by-step basis. This will help me work out the tutorial and process too.

  11. richard westerfield said:

    Jun 07, 09 at 8:36 pm

    what size slow spiral drills do you recamend i think they call the drills silver shank & deming drills i seen a set for $19 but they started at 9/16 and went to 1′by a 16 of an inch going to keep on looking mybe i can find a smaller set would like to find them smaller sizes where i dont have to buy a set of them
    richard westerfield

  12. EclecticGuy said:

    Jun 08, 09 at 10:41 pm

    Richard, sorry for the late response. I bought my slow spiral drills from McMaster Carr. They only sell them individually. Here is what you will need:

    Wire Gauge Sizes
    size 43 – tap drill for 4-40 screws
    size 32 – close fit clearance hole drill for 4-40 screws
    size 30 – free fit clearance hole drill for 4-40 screws
    size 29 – tap drill for 8-32 screws
    size 18 – close fit clearance hole for 8-32 screws
    size 16 – close fit clearance hole for 8-32 screws

    Inch Sizes
    1/16″
    1/8″
    3/16″
    1/4″

  13. richard westerfield said:

    Jun 09, 09 at 10:04 am

    thanks i got ahold of sheet brass two pices .50 x 4 5/8 x 12 250 i hope this works out its a little bigger then .32 you talk about i will be cuting the disks out on a lathe going to order the drills to day i will get them tomorrow take care keep in touch and let me know if might need anythin else
    thank you
    richard westerfield

  14. EclecticGuy said:

    Jun 09, 09 at 10:13 am

    Hey Richard, I hope you meant .05″ brass! My list to you was for .032″ and .064″ brass. The .050 is fine for the rings and spool plates but may be a little thin for the reel foot since it needs to be tapped. I can send you a piece of .064″ for that when you get close to needing it. Please confirm that you meant .05″!

  15. richard westerfield said:

    Jun 09, 09 at 10:46 am

    i will need the 064 let me know how much you want for it
    thank you
    richard westerfield

  16. richard westerfield said:

    Jun 10, 09 at 5:42 pm

    hi just recived the brass sheets there real nice for $12.00 i spent for them drills came to day the screws will be here tomrrow now i have to get the washers i did not see the sizes 8-23 4-40 7/16 in brass listed with mcmasters carr mybe i looked in the wrong place? or did you order them some where else? please send me your e-mail address and phone number i some how lost them, i hope to start sunday hafe a day cuting and spliting bamboo the other hafe makeing the fly reel
    thank you
    richard westerfield
    richard westerfield

  17. EclecticGuy said:

    Jun 10, 09 at 10:27 pm

    Richard, I have emailed you with my contact info. The washers you need are brass #4, #8 and #10. Sorry for the confusion!

  18. richard kell said:

    Jun 25, 09 at 4:06 pm

    This is an excellent blog, short on time tonight tho quickly ……don’t bother with slow spiral drills for brass – use std jobbers and hone if small or grind to zero rake, a slow spiral feels to me as not locating in an existing hole as well as the std jobber.

    Interesting you should direct me here (by your email) as a week ago I left a comment on … comment eleven …. http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com/topic/25153/t/Want-to-start-making-reels.html

  19. EclecticGuy said:

    Jun 25, 09 at 4:17 pm

    Hey Richard, I left a comment on that same post on Clarks (#7). I think that is how I got your contact info! I am working with a hand stamp maker here in the US to get my logo design on a stamp. The biggest challenge is that there just isn’t a lot of room on the reels I make for a stamp.

    Thanks for the drill advice. I’ll give that a shot.

  20. jase said:

    Jun 30, 09 at 1:09 am

    just like to say the reel looks great, well done. cheers.

  21. fajar said:

    Jul 21, 09 at 6:33 am

    hi there, I’m a fly fishing addict from Indonesia, I’ll be more than grateful if you can email me details on materials,equipments (I alreay own a dril press) and the ‘how-to’, oh yeah I’m a photographer by profession.
    Cheers

  22. EclecticGuy said:

    Jul 21, 09 at 8:40 am

    Hello Fajar, I have emailed you with some information to get started.

  23. JohnT said:

    Aug 08, 09 at 7:32 am

    Your reel looks great. Could I also get some info on making one? My shop includes an 1930`s LeBlond lathe, an Atlas lathe, drill press, etc. I`ve also built 5-strip built fly-rods, although Betts inspired, I made mine more turn-o-the century looking. I can send some pictures if youd like. Thanks, JohnT

  24. Gary Carbaugh said:

    Aug 10, 09 at 4:04 pm

    Electric Guy, I too am interested in building a reel. Can you give me some information on your kit to build the first reel. Love this blog. I tried clicking on the link you had on Clark’s but it didn’t work for me. Thanks for all the information you have already provided. Gary.

  25. EclecticGuy said:

    Aug 13, 09 at 6:30 pm

    John and Gary, I have emailed you with information. For anyone else wishing to learn more, here’s what to do:

    1) go to my Reelsmithing forum and register: http://eclecticguy.com/forums

    2) email me or send a personal message (PM) on the forum with this information:
    - your username
    - your location (city/state or country)
    - agreement that you will not share any of the information in the private forum for the book

    When I have that, I will make you a member of the private book forum where you can get a draft copy of the book and drawings to build a reel.

    Cheers,
    EG

  26. EclecticGuy said:

    Aug 13, 09 at 6:36 pm

    Gary, I forgot to mention, I do offer a materials package that includes everything you need to make a reel with the instructions and drawings in the book. Simply, follow steps 1 & 2 above and then you will have access to the details.

    cheers,
    EG

  27. Cam said:

    Nov 17, 09 at 8:11 am

    Eclectic Guy-

    Beautiful reel. I too have been searching for information on fabricating fly reels for about a year now and have not been able to come up with much at all. I have built 2 teak reels, but they are more of a show piece as I did not get good center grain pieces and I feel they are rather weak. I have also experimented with aluminum a bit, but without a good sized lathe and milling machine, it can be difficult to manipulate in just the right fashion.

    Where did you get the Delrin for the center hub? Where did you get the brass? Did you use a hole saw to cut the brass?

    Thanks,
    Cam

  28. EclecticGuy said:

    Nov 17, 09 at 9:26 am

    Cam, thanks for the comments! Did you know that I started a reelsmithing forum, you should join! It is at http://www.reelsmithing.com. Also, I am writing a book to teach people how to build these reels using only hand tools and an electric drill. No need for a machine shop. We can show you how to do that.

    You can find Delrin and brass sheet, rods, tubing at mcmaster.com, smallparts.com and onlinemetals.com.

    I am going to send you an email since I see that you are not too far from me.

    Regards,
    EG

  29. EclecticGuy said:

    Feb 06, 10 at 5:09 pm

    Sam, it was great meeting you today! Make sure to sign up on http://www.reelsmithing.com/forum and email me your user name so I can set you up with the instructions to make your reel!

    Cheers,
    EG (aka Michael)

  30. Sam Kenney said:

    Feb 06, 10 at 4:24 pm

    Sam and I enjoyed meeting you at Superboo.Thank you for the reel kit.

  31. gilbert Biles said:

    Jul 11, 10 at 3:25 am

    It looks like a very good job. I am making a wood reel called a Nottingham Style Reel made about 1860 -1890. in Nottingham England. I have a friend that has a set (3) of these reels and I took the small one apart and copyed the parts. I am now looking on how to make a silk line for the reel. The reel is real smoth working. I am also in the process of making a horse hair fly line also to try on the reel with my bambo fly rod. Let me know if you have instructions on making silk fly lines or where I can find them.

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