First Batch of my molded mud Philbrook and Paynes

Holireels · Post by **Holireels** » 05/17/11 18:31

Well its taken quite some time to get these where there are at, but here is my first batch of my version of the molded marbled mud Philbrook and Payne reels. I made five reels to start with and learned a bunch about the molding process. This is very labor intensive and requires extreme patience...which I almost ran out of several times. The side plates and spool are aluminum that I had nickel plated. The foot, pillars, counter balance, and bearing cover are nickel silver. The reel is sized for a 5/6 wgt line with a 2.5" OD spool diameter, with 0.75" spool width. This is their first assembly and they will require fine tuning, pinning the spools to the stainless steel shaft, and then final assembly / cleaning. As you can see, each reel will be different / unique looking compared to each other, due to the molding process:

tackleman · Post by **tackleman** » 05/17/11 19:35

WOW !!
Have you calculated a price?

Carpenter Bros Rods · Post by **Carpenter Bros Rods** » 05/18/11 00:33

John, those are exceptional!!!! I am just glad that my name is on one of those!!!! You really outdid yourself. Please let me know when you ship so I can start the insomnia! :-)
Cris

piscator · Post by **piscator** » 05/18/11 00:39

Hi John, you'r certainly an artist. I am overwhelmed. ---one of these in large on my spliced Spey rod -- ah, just dreaming. Juergen

Boris · Post by **Boris** » 05/18/11 00:59

Gorgeous result John. I admire your tenacity to acquire the skills needed to be fluent with this process. You've made a some exceptional pieces.

ttrotter · Post by **ttrotter** » 05/18/11 01:06

John, you should be very proud! Beautiful work. I can't imagine the # of man hours you've put into this project.

Congrats,

Tom

Fairbanks · Post by **Fairbanks** » 05/18/11 02:14

Absolutely Gorgeous! Are you accepting orders for these?

turtledoc · Post by **turtledoc** » 05/18/11 02:24

Beautiful work John....really beautiful !

Will they be identified inside the reel as being your work?

I really like the detailing work and realize that there isn't anywhere on the outside to provide maker's info, but it would be a shame if 75 years from now one of these Holireels gets posted on a forum as a "mystery reel". Placing your "made by" info and serial # inside the reel might be something appreciated by future generations. Just a thought.

Mark B

reelhimin · Post by **reelhimin** » 05/18/11 05:27

Fantastic artistry John. I happy to see you overcame all the frustration and obsticles. Can't wait to get mine.
Gary.

Mark Shamburg · Post by **Mark Shamburg** » 05/18/11 06:57

DAMN! Those are awesome John!

mhackney · Post by **mhackney** » 05/18/11 11:50

Beautiful reels John! Fantastic job.

Regards,
Michael

Holireels · Post by **Holireels** » 05/18/11 16:59

Thanks all for the nice comments.............I'm heading to Alaska at the end of July fishing with Joe Conner's guide service. Joe has several of the original trout and salmon sized marbled Philbrooks.....I'm going to see if I can pursuade him to let me document some dimensions while I'm up there so that I can make a Switch / Spey sized reel the same way. Not sure that I will pursue the drag mechanism as you have to reel against its tension when its applied.....might update it a bit. Thanks again.

dave49 · Post by **dave49** » 05/19/11 05:34

John,
The sideplate molding is an outstanding achievement, which you have documented under the topic "Mud". But I am also curious about the nickel plating of aluminum. Was it a DIY job? Please comment on the steps and on obtaining the color.
Dave

munsey w · Post by **munsey w** » 05/19/11 05:36

They are so gorgeous I would scared to use one. Great Job and great talent! Munsey

reelhimin · Post by **reelhimin** » 05/19/11 05:58

Holireels, tell Joe hello for me. He is a long time friend and fellow reel collector. My only problem with him is he grabs all the good stuff before I get a chance. Thanks, Gary.

Holireels · Post by **Holireels** » 05/19/11 14:04

reelhimin wrote:Holireels, tell Joe hello for me. He is a long time friend and fellow reel collector. My only problem with him is he grabs all the good stuff before I get a chance. Thanks, Gary.

Gary,

Will do. I am hoping to see some of his collection while I am up there. Sounds like he has quite the collection.

Brent/Dave/Munsey,

Thanks...........I had a local company do the plating for me on the spools and side plates. They are experts and made several samples in electroless and electrolytic nickel for me to evaluate prior to having them done. Too much build up with electolytic, so I went with the electroless.

Flyman615 · Post by **Flyman615** » 05/19/11 17:23

John:

Just beautiful work and simply outstanding craftsmanship. What more can I say?
Congratulations and my hat's off to you!

Scott

Kenov · Post by **Kenov** » 05/19/11 22:45

Beautiful, beautiful reels!

steelhead · Post by **steelhead** » 05/20/11 05:02

Outstanding!!
Leroy.........