Billy Pate Bonefish Reel Re-do

Good morning Folks!

I figured I'd start a thread about a little project I'm working on. It is a little gift I bought for myself for an upcoming honeymoon and vacation. But since I bought this reel "Used" off Ebay from someone else, I have to do a few things to make it my own.

It's a Billy Pate Bonefish reel that was too good a deal to pass up. I knew it had a set of initials on it when I purchased it. Since these initials aren't the same as mine, they need to go. Since this reel will now be deemed "Custom," it may not look exactly like the original. That's OK.




The person who had the initials engraved must not have taken the reel to a detail-oriented engraving shop. The initials are crooked. Oh well. So, the disassembly begins....










I've got everything removed from the frame and will have the surface machined to remove the old owner's initials. I'm on the fence of having the factory "Billy Pate Bonefish" script (And serial number), re-done as this will all be removed during the machining process. I may leave the face of the frame blank and just enjoy the fresh anodizing. I'm undecided on this detail at this point in the game.

Thank you for checking in. I will do my best to add updates and pictures as I make progress with this little project.

Henry

Such a beautiful piece of work....:thumbsup

Just me, but I'd want the original script kept on the reel. I'd consider taking the reel to an engraving expert and see how/if the initials could be altered/covered in some pattern or even removed and built up with perhaps an inlay.

Plain custom is nice, but those original markings are too special to just remove.

Any way it goes, I'm sure you'll find great fishing pleasure.

OT thank you for the response. I'm with you but there are other issues we stumbled into such as having the surface re-anodized and trying to match the vintage gold color. It isn't doable. Yes Sir, I have spoken with several folks (Including the manufacturer), and the only sensible approach will be to machine the face and have the entire piece re-anodized. Since we won't be able to duplicate this original color, the new will be slightly different. Engraving has been discussed with professionals as well who can duplicate the original script in a font that is almost identical.

I appreciate the kind words Sir. And yes, I firmly believe there are some bonefish in the Bahamas and reds in Florida who will be willing to test this drag.

Henry

BL
New to the FF deal, so I googled Billy Pate... holy moly, that is a cool find!!! Would love to see how this turns out. Hope to get some Kern River and Mammoth area in this summer.
rb

Good evening!

I finally got some time to tinker around with this project.

The initial plan was to chuck this frame up in the lathe and take a sliver off of the face which would remove the previous owner's initials and company name. But after talking with much more knowledgeable people (Wink wink), we realized it would be just as easy to hit the face of the frame with a DA sander.

Wait, what???





It worked out perfectly and by removing only a minimal amount of material, it prevented blowing through the face of the frame. In the previous pictures, it's hard to see but the face of the frame has a slight dome to it. The center is slightly taller than the surrounding edge. This made it relatively easy to remove just the initials and the company name from the surface.





Thank you for the help Andy!


After this, I headed over to Danco in Arcadia and dropped the frame off with Paul. There was just enough material left for them to polish the face, remove the remaining script and bring the surface back to a mirror finish. After the polishing is finished, she'll get a shiny new coating! It should look better than new when it's all wrapped up.

As always, thank you for checking in and for following along!

Stay safe!

Henry

Looks terrific!

Thank you Skia! I should have it back in my little paws by the end of the week. I'm really looking forward to it!

Good afternoon Folks!

I finally got this fly reel frame back from Danco in Arcadia and I couldn't be happier. They really did a nice job and the finish turned out great. We were hesitant to remove any more material so most of the original script from the manufacturer remains. There is a slight "Ghosting" of the added crooked engraving but it isn't visible enough that I'm going to worry bout it.

If you have any needs for anodizing or other metal finishing, give Danco a call and ask for Paul Merwin. He happens to be an avid fisherman and he will take good care of you.



I headed home from Arcadia and started putting this baby back together. All the parts were cleaned and new grease was added.



One of the nice things about Billy Pate reels is their simplicity. They are renowned for their build quality and durability. Their simplicity makes it fairly easy to service them. They may not be the lightest flyweight reel on the market, but you should be able to pass them on as an heirloom if take care of.



Here she is all wrapped up!



The next step is to put new backing on this along with a new fly line. To say I'm really happy with the way this turned out is an understatement. I'm stoked!! And it should look pretty damn good hanging off its Abel fly rod too!



Thanks for following along!

Henry