The centrepin reel thread......

[tigger]

Since PC has got a severe bought of bleeding piles through a pressure build up caused by people keep posting about centrepin reels on his HDYGO thread it might be a good idea to post any future centrepin discussions on here.
This also stops us loosing info about them as manythreads have been lost as time goes by. This is just a suggestion so it's up to you lot, heres a picture of some of my reels to kick the thread off.....

 

[mikench]

Very nice Ian! I looked up on google the National Center Pin Museum and your locality came up ! Now I know why !:wh

What is it about a pin which arouses such emotion? I like them but cannot competently use one and looking nice should not be a reason for buying one but it is!

The two black ones look like Youngs but I have no idea about the other two! Clearly my one reel is not enough!

 

[thecrow]

Tools that's all they are to me (the reels not those that have lots ) if one does all you need why have more? there are amongst us those that have a craving to own them its something I don't understand, maybe they look at them instead of the telly? its akin to scrooge looking at his cash by candle light

 

[mikench]

You are not wrong Graham! The same can be said for shirts or shoes or rods. You can only use one at a time but pins are clearly addictive for some!

Tools however can be very well made, well designed and aesthetically pleasing and if looked after , last a lifetime! Tools can also be cheap and nasty and made to a price and sold cheap. I like nice kit whatever it is to be used for and I know some is better than others!

I admire those, like Tigger , who can really use a pin with great skill! I am only buttering him up so he will invite me trotting again Not really!

 

[tigger]

Very nice Ian! I looked up on google the National Center Pin Museum and your locality came up ! Now I know why !:wh

What is it about a pin which arouses such emotion? I like them but cannot competently use one and looking nice should not be a reason for buying one but it is!

The two black ones look like Youngs but I have no idea about the other two! Clearly my one reel is not enough!

LOL, national centrepin museum....Mike, your a nutter bud .

You are right Mike, and for some weird reason people do get emotional when debating things about them mg:.

Those reels in the picture are Chris Lythes creations, first from the left a 4.25inch Long Trotter, second ones a 4inch Spitfire, then a 4inch 1915 copy and the last one is a 4.25inch float master.

Hey Mike, you just let me know if you get the urge to go trotting and were away! We can go and do some graying trotting up north if that tickles your fancy .

 

[S-Kippy]

I'm loving that 1915. Just about my idea of the perfect pin bar the slightly plasticky looking handles.

Never gonna be able to justify one though...not even to meself let alone Mrs S.

 

[tigger]

I'm loving that 1915. Just about my idea of the perfect pin bar the slightly plasticky looking handles.

Never gonna be able to justify one though...not even to meself let alone Mrs S.

The 1915 copies are nice, but then again all the reels Chris makes are nice.
Regarding the price, I paid a lot less than you might imagine for mine, reason being Chris would charge you the price of the reel at the time of ordering so after a few years of waiting the prices on his site had gone up significantly!
I waited over 5yrs for my Spitfire . You can't complain about the length of time he takes to produce the goods as he didn't charge a deposit and when you do finally get the reel your so elated with it you forget about the time it's taken to materialise.
I still have a couple on order from Chris but he's not been taking orders for several years now. He's going to clear his order book and then he'll be making a batch of reels at a time and selling them for the current price.
I speak to Chris from time to time on the blower but never moan about the time scale as he always comes good at the end.
Having had lots of various centrepin reels CL's reels are my favourite by a country mile .

 

[thecrow]

How much of a "handbuilt" centrepin reel has actually been made by hand? by hand to me means completely formed by hand without the use of machines.

 

[barbelboi]

How much of a "handbuilt" centrepin reel has actually been made by hand? by hand to me means completely formed by hand without the use of machines.

The signature on the final bill...............?

 

[tigger]

The signature on the final bill...............?

Not quite BB, Chris makes everything except the front and back plates of his reels by had/on a lathe etc. He even makes the screws!

 

[thecrow]

Not quite BB, Chris makes everything except the front and back plates of his reels by had/on a lathe etc. He even makes the screws!

If a lathe is used then the parts are not imo handbuilt, a wall built by a brickie is handbuilt, my gran had a quilt that was hand made. handmade to me is fashioned by the use of hand tools, not trying to diss the skill that the maker may posses but to claim something is hand made is a little misleading

 

[xenon]

How much of a "handbuilt" centrepin reel has actually been made by hand? by hand to me means completely formed by hand without the use of machines.

does that still apply if the machines have been built by human hands?

 

[S-Kippy]

If a lathe is used then the parts are not imo handbuilt, a wall built by a brickie is handbuilt, my gran had a quilt that was hand made. handmade to me is fashioned by the use of hand tools, not trying to diss the skill that the maker may posses but to claim something is hand made is a little misleading

You're being a bit pedantic aren't you my corvid friend.....or a bit of a tinker...or possibly both ? I think the point is that the parts are not being stamped out by CNC machines and assembled by Messrs Pak Lun Chun and Wun Tin Box neither of whom have ever been fishing in their lives.

I'm no engineer but to me a lathe counts.

 

[tigger]

If a lathe is used then the parts are not imo handbuilt, a wall built by a brickie is handbuilt, my gran had a quilt that was hand made. handmade to me is fashioned by the use of hand tools, not trying to diss the skill that the maker may posses but to claim something is hand made is a little misleading

Think how tedious it must be to make all the spindles and line lays and to have to thread them all at both ends. Then he makes all the screws that he use to hold it all together. Chris's reels have no rivets, everything is screwed together so can be taken apart without damaging anything. If you take notice he even lines all the screw heads up exactly the same !

 

[thecrow]

I am not trying to take away from the engineering skill that these chaps posses they are obviously craftsmen in their field but they use these skills on machines without which they may not be able to produce what they do.

Why are they so expensive? is it the time and work that goes into them or the exclusivity factor? I have seen CNC produced reels that look imo just as good that will last just as long and although they are expensive they are cheaper than a lot of the other reels.

If an angler did not know anything about how a reel was produced I doubt he would be able to tell the difference between a CNC produced one and a lathe produced one, if he could I would be interested in how he would tell, maybe it would be because the tolerances wouldn't be as fine on the hand crafted one :wh

 

[tigger]

I am not trying to take away from the engineering skill that these chaps posses they are obviously craftsmen in their field but they use these skills on machines without which they may not be able to produce what they do.

Why are they so expensive? is it the time and work that goes into them or the exclusivity factor? I have seen CNC produced reels that look imo just as good that will last just as long and although they are expensive they are cheaper than a lot of the other reels.

If an angler did not know anything about how a reel was produced I doubt he would be able to tell the difference between a CNC produced one and a lathe produced one, if he could I would be interested in how he would tell, maybe it would be because the tolerances wouldn't be as fine on the hand crafted one :wh

The price will be a mix of what you say Graham.

There is a huge difference between a bespoke reel and a mass produced one.

I have a genuine 1915 Allcocks 12 spoke aerial and that reel is totally handmade..."as far as i'm aware". The tolerances are every bit as tight as on any of my reels, possibly finer!

 

[Philip]

Since PC has got a severe bought of bleeding piles through a pressure build up caused by people keep posting about centrepin reels on his HDYGO thread it might be a good idea to post any future centrepin discussions on here.
This also stops us loosing info about them as manythreads have been lost as time goes by. This is just a suggestion so it's up to you lot, heres a picture of some of my reels to kick the thread off.....

Very nice reels but I would have thought wooden handles would have gone better ? ...the first and 3rd from the left ...I really dont like that sort of cream coloured material ...is it plastic or maybe a ceramic ?

 

[tigger]

Very nice reels but I would have thought wooden handles would have gone better ? ...the first and 3rd from the left ...I really dont like that sort of cream coloured material ...is it plastic or maybe a ceramic ?

Yeah, Chris gives you a choice of handles and obviously people have different tastes. It's not a big deal though as they can be swapped for others easily.
If you where to see the reels in the flesh then I have a feeling you'd change your mind, I like them all (obviously) and especially the ones on the first reel from the left . I can remember discussing those with Chris and he liked that colour himself.
My FJT's have rosewood handles and they are nice but if i'm honest I prefer the plastic ones.

 

[mikench]

Those are beautiful reels!

This is a translation of the language of Mordor in the Sauron Guide to Center Pin fishing;

"One center pin to rule them all,
One centre pin to to find them,
One center pin to bring them all and on the river bank bind them"

That is why they are addictive and you need more than one!

 

[thecrow]

There is a huge difference between a bespoke reel and a mass produced one.

When I said this

I have seen CNC produced reels that look imo just as good that will last just as long and although they are expensive they are cheaper than a lot of the other reels.

It was with reels such as this that I had in mind.



The quality of the above reel is obvious even to me who views items of tackle as just tools but the reel is one made on a CNC machine. I doubt that there are any differences between the one pictured and one that is claimed to be handmade.

This is from Mr Lythes web page.

Working with new technologies I am now making the centrepin reels with a one piece backing plate with the bridge for the brass foot CNC profiled into it.