MAKING A HAYDEN REEL

    I have been making fly reels since 1995 and the most asked question has always been, "How do you make your reels?" and there are those who assume that I have $150,000.00 worth of Computer Numerically Controlled lathe and relative equipment on which to produce them. 

    Not so, I believe that I can, in these days of high technology, produce a high quality product that is unique by doing the job manually.   As you can see from the attached photos, the reels are made by hand using an "Okuma" Tool Room Lathe and I am the only person involved in that process.  I have no intention of employing help, as that will take away some of the unique qualities and I believe that if you want something done, do it yourself.  The short comings of this is that I have a maximum build quantity per year of around 300 units and then I am going fishing. 

    There are a few things which I do not make myself.  I do not laser cut the stainless steel for drag plates, washers & handles and I do not engrave the frames or anodise the aluminium, but I hand make the spindles and polish and prepare all components.

    To give you an example of the time involved, it takes 9 processes and a total of 19 minutes to make one reel seat  and that does not include set-up for each process.  I make these 100 at a time to produce them at that rate. 

    The following photos show the process of producing this labour of love. 

     The bar stock is cut to length ready to be machined.  To give you an idea of the amount of material used, the spool for the  "Pursuit 5"/"Striker 4" weighs 1.25kg (2.75lb) before machining and when finished, it weighs a mere 135gms ( 4.75ozs.)

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Now the fun begins.  Making Spools & Frames and the waste that is produced.

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Machining Frames for a "Pursuit 4" & "Striker #3"

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Checking tolerances for the frame.  All tolerances are within .001"

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Milling The Frame.  De-burring & Polishing is next

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                 The worst job of all.  Polishing the Frames before Engraving & Anodising.  

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The reel frame on the left has been polished to a mirror finish. The reflection shows the roof of the workshop.

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Machining the Keyway in the Stainless Steel Spool Spindle for the "Striker #2"

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 Assembly of a "Pursuit 3"

    By the time that the reel is complete and ready to be shipped, I have spent approximately 5 hours making it and that is as long as I build them in batches of 30+.  If I was to build a single reel, it would take me over 40 hours.

 So, if you want a product that is unique and hand built to a very high standard, do not hesitate to contact me.

If you have any further queries do not hesitate to contact us