Why aren’t there titanium reels? After reading the other threads about how some of you like to wrap your line around anything round, I started to think about how much cooler it would be if I could get an Abel Super series or a Tibor that was more ported and weighed significantly less presumably through titanium. Is the stuff too difficult to machine? The actual metal in such a small item can’t represent that great a portion of a reels selling price so I figure it must be something else besides the high cost of titanium.
I heard Cabelas just came out with a whole new line of Titanium reels.
No, it was Wal-mart and they are selling them at cost!!!
I understand that the abel disco paint doesn’t adhere to the titanium…
and if the actual metal doesn’t represent the cost what does? must be the cork drag…no, cork isn’t very expensive. the wooden handle! no, that’s not very expensive…gee, why do those reels cost so much???
[This message has been edited by D. Micus (edited 26 April 2005).]
danbo? No information on where those are made, Russia?
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
Deanna,
Leen Huisman reels, from the Low Countries (The Netherlands)
Ari 't Hart, another Lowlander, also produced some titanium reels in the past.
Cheers,
Hans W
=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier
As is said in the bicyle industry, “you can have it (i) strong, (ii) light, and (iii) cheap. Pick two.”
I wouldn’t think Ti would offer much advantage over Al in a reel application. Perhaps certain parts of the reel, but not the entire thing.
JBB
Titanium has advantages and disadvantages as a material for fly reel construction.
One advantage, especially in saltwater reels, is it is impervious to corrosion. It doesn’t need to be anodized but can be and with some interesting color variation. It is, however much harder to do and much more expensive.
Aluminum is lower in material cost and lower in machining cost.
Titanium is heavier than aluminum but, depending on the design, titanium can be machined thinner than aluminum to offset the weight factor. It is stronger than aluminum.
So, if you want to make a reel out of Titanium the main advantage, I see, would be in the corrosion resistance. You would be paying a higher price to make it and anodized aluminum is good enough when it comes to resisting corrosion.
Joe
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
a 2 1/2" diameter x 12" long piece
of 6061 aluminum would cost about $ 35.00
a 2 1/2" diameter x 12" long piece
of 6AL-4V titanium would cost about $ 425.00
Plus it is more difficult to machine titanium which would add higher labor cost.
[This message has been edited by Scruff (edited 26 April 2005).]
The reel feet on my Hayden Fly Reels are machined out of Ti. Mr. Terry Hayden hand makes those reels, and uses the titanium to shave a little weight and to do what others can’t afford to do in a production run I guess. He told me he may make a trout reel someday and utilize a Ti spindle on it-FYI.
Rich.
[This message has been edited by flymaker2 (edited 26 April 2005).]
Hey Scruff, looks like your in the titanium biz too. He’s right on the money folks, titanium is expensive. Another thing to watch out for folks- titanium is a catch word now, not all that says - is. They may have titanium coatings or be made with powder, but a lot of stuff in the marketing is false in the sense that you are not buying a chunk of Ti.
Benjo,
If you machine the reels rather than “cast” them, there is a lot more material involved than what you see. The machining process creates a lot of waste, so materials are more of a component than the casual observer would think.
I saw the titanium Peerless Reel that Bob Corsetti has. When I asked if they were going to produce them he said no. He said that they went through 5 bits machining one reel. I can’t imagine that the bits they used are cheap.
They have been available for some time from Henschel.
[url=http://www.henschelreels.com/titan.0.html?&L=1:f5e26]http://www.henschelreels.com/titan.0.html?&L=1[/url:f5e26]
Titanium reels seem like a bargain to me!
[url=http://www.ultimateflyfishing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=UOC&Product_Code=LHDESIGN&Category_Code=LHD:0e72f]http://www.ultimateflyfishing.com/Merchant2/merchant .mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=UOC&Product_Code=LHDESIGN&Category_Code=LHD[/url:0e72f]
[url=http://www.ultimateflyfishing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=UOC&Product_Code=RELBEASIN&Category_Code=BTR:0e72f]http://www.ultimateflyfishing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=UOC&Product_Code=RELBEASIN&Category_Code=BTR[/url:0e72f]
[This message has been edited by DavidsonDuke (edited 28 April 2005).]
Davidson, thanks for that website! I ordered two!
[This message has been edited by D. Micus (edited 28 April 2005).]
Wonder how much of that wonderful titanium is salvaged from the submarines and aircraft of the former USSR?
aka Cap’n Yid.
Stev Lenon, 91B20’68-'69
When the dawn came up like thunder
Truer words were never posted on a website:
“This reel is exclusively featured by [url=http://www.Ultimateflyfishing.com:ac612]www.Ultimateflyfishing.com[/url:ac612] on the US market at an incredible price.”
on the first bullet point about that reel it says:
Extremely robust but light weight construction: The lightest titanium fly reel in relation to it?s line capacity.
Reel weight: 12,5 ounce (350 grams). The specific weight of titanium is 60% more than that of aluminium.
shouldn’t it be 60% less? or is “specific weight” an engineering term?
I’m not shelling out my two grand until that’s clarified!
[This message has been edited by D. Micus (edited 28 April 2005).]
I think Titanium is heavier than aluminum, but because it is harder and stronger one can use a lot less of it. Specific weight refers to the weight of the substance, not the weight of the reel. OTOH, I didn’t see–is the reel particularly light?
The non-corrosive factor would be nice.
Just think, most of us have gone through 5-6 $400 reels because of corrosion, so this one is a bargain.
[This message has been edited by DavidsonDuke (edited 28 April 2005).]