![]() ![]() The reel also had a free spool which was engage when the handle was pulled out. When pressure was applied the leather made contact with a diameter machined on the end of the spool. This was a spring-loaded button with a “C” shaped piece on the end which was lined with leather. The reel was equipped with a thumb activated brake on the right end plate. They had a bullet shaped smooth steel pin that dropped into indentations in the end of the aluminum spool. The clicks on these reels were poorly designed and usually were worn beyond use very quickly. There were three styles: the plain back ( a smooth back), the target back which had a series of circles machined into the back and was the most common style, and the elusive super-rare black reel. They made single action reels that were mostly machined from solid pieces of aluminum. Today the building is located underneath an overpass. ![]() The reels were well known for their purple handle knobs that were originally used on electronic hand wheels. They were an electronics components manufacturer from the early fifties and for only a few years. Mississippi – Portland, OR.) They manufactured Simplicity reels. Research by Ray Hodges from Australia. This is Alvey's website. Bruce Alvey now manages the daily running along with his brother Glenn and after more than 90 years, Alvey is still a wonderful Family business fast approaching a century of continuous service to all who love to fish. A long way from the original materials but an evolutional progress of the basic design. It's now 2013 and the reels are now light and strong with vented spools and backs with many different models to suit varieties of fish and the way you need to fish. ![]() Time passed with spools being made with an Injection moulding process, metal backs gave way to graphite moulding, star drags became lever drags and Alvey's 75th anniversary saw them still a family business. In 1988 Jack's younger son Glenn adept in computer and management entered the company. ![]() Jack's elder son Bruce joins the company after the completion of an engineering course.ġ978 ushered in a change of business location along with different methods of production. Alvey spools switched to fibreglass after 50 plus years of wood. Alveys now had an all stainless steel back.ġ973 saw the passing of Ken Alvey and in 1974 the Brisbane River flooded. The1960's were tough times because of the drop in import tariffs allowing a flood of competition. That changed in 1957 when a Queensland fishing team with members mostly using Alveys cleaned up the competition held in the neighbouring State of New South Wales, where overhead reels were used by other State teams as well as a New Zealand representative team. Output rose to over 30, 000 units by 1956 and they were Queensland's largest reel manufacturer, although sales were poor in other Australian states. The use of Camphor Laurel timber for spools stopped in favour of Red Cedar. In 1946 Jack, Charles' grandson who was a fitter and turner joined his father Ken to boost production. (a radical change from Alvey's standard) WW2 years 1939-1945 stopped production while the machinery went into use to help with the war effort. Charles' son Ken, a qualified pattern maker joined the company in 1923 and together they decided to promote the Alvey brand, cease making trade reels and introduce an all metal back.1936 saw some spools made of Bakelite as well as an all alloy Game reel. The first trade reels were made using Silky Oak for both spool and back (USA refer to as Lacewood) with a hand-filed, gunmetal cast star shaped piece fitted to the back and line guide. Lucia residence, just a few good surf casts distance from the City center of Brisbane. Charles Alvey began making reels from a backyard shed at his St. I used a side cast Alvey reel when fishing from the southern bank of the Brisbane River in the latter part of the 1960's not knowing that this iconic reel was first made from the opposite bank in 1920. Alvey manufactured a variety of quality casting reels starting with the name Alvey is the first reel that most Queenslanders would think of when fishing is mentioned. ![]()
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