Glossary - ORCA

6 spiral winds — *Pictured above are 6 different versions of Spiral Wind Reels*

Fishing Reel Glossary of Terms and Components

Term	Definition
agate	A variegated semiprecious stone used in line guides and as “jewels” for oil caps by some tackle companies.
aluminum	A bluish-silver malleable metal, noted for its lightness. Expensive in reel use in the 1800s, but commonly used in the 1900s as it became inexpensive.
anodizing	An electrochemical process that creates a thick, hard, durable oxide surface on nonferrous metals, especially aluminum. Since the 1920s, it has been used extensively to provide corrosion resistance, durability, and decoration to aluminum reels.
anti-backlash device	A braking mechanism that slows the rotation of the reel spool during a cast so that the outgoing line does not spill off the spool, causing a backlash. The various devices used on reels have included simple spring brakes, often controlled by the fisherman’s thumb, adjustable bearings of the spool journals, brakes controlled by the outgoing line, centrifugal brakes, and others. More recent reels use magnetic brakes, which eliminate mechanical contact of the brake components.
anti-reverse device	A mechanical device that prevents the crank of a reel from turning backwards when line is flowing outward from the spool.
arbor	The connector of the two flanges of a reel spool, around which the line is wound. Arbors are usually cylinders of various diameters, but sometimes consist of multiple rods, which allow for improved ventilation of the stored line.
automatic reel	A reel in which the line is retrieved by a clock-type spring that turns the spool, rather than by the fisherman’s turning a crank.
backlash	A caster’s nightmare when a snarl is caused in the line by a reel’s spool rotating faster than the line is leaving it. See “anti-backlash device.”
bail	Usually, a swiveling wire attachment that grabs and winds the line by revolving around the spool of a spinning reel. The term is also used for a pivoting wire attachment on the front of a casting reel that activates an anti-backlash brake.
bait-casting reel	Generally, a multiplying reel used for casting bait or artificial lures. The term usually refers to reels used for freshwater fishing, but it can be applied to surf-casting reels, as well.
Bakelite	A phenolic resin widely used in fishing reel sideplates and crank knobs. It was patented by Leo H. Baekeland in 1909. Bakelite replaced hard rubber in most fishing reel construction shortly thereafter.
ball-handle reel	A reel with a spherical counterweight on a balanced crank. Reels of this type were made from about 1830 to the end of the century, primarily in New York and other northeastern states. Made in various sizes, they are relatively heavy reels made of brass or German silver.
bearing cap	A removable cover that encloses the end of a reel’s spool journal and bearing. It can merely protect the journal while affording access for oiling, it can minimize spool endplay, especially if jeweled, and, if adjustable, it can be used as an anti-backlash brake.
bi-metal reel	A reel constructed with major parts, usually sideplates, made of conspicuously different metals.
birdcage reel	A reel, usually with a narrow spool and often sidemounted, with a spool made of wire and resembling a bird cage.
Blue Grass reel	A generic term used for older, Kentucky-made casting reels. The term is sometimes written as one word. “Blue Grass” also was a reel model name used by Meeks & Sons and Horton Mfg. Co.
brass	A metal alloy consisting mostly of copper and zinc. Although copper often comprises about 2/3 of the alloys, varying the copper-to-zinc ratio results in alloys of varying hardness, durability, and malleability. The reel term “brassing” refers to parts of a reels from which the nickel or chrome plating has been worn or damaged so that the brass beneath it begins to show.
bronze	An alloy consisting mostly of copper and tin. It is harder, stronger, and more durable than brass, and it has been used for various reel components.
bushing	A type of bearing employing a metal tube in which cylindrical parts, such as spool journals, rotate.
Celluloid	The trademark used by the Hyatt brothers for their camphor-plasticized cellulose nitrate, collodion. It was used increasingly for reel parts from the 1870s on, as an alternative to ivory and hard rubber. Eventually, the term came to be used generically for the plastic, regardless of the manufacturer.
centerpin reel	A reel whose spool rotates on a shaft, or “pin,” that extends from a sideplate of a reel. The earliest examples were the “Nottinghem” reels popular for over a century in Great Britain.
check or cheque	A British term for a mechanism in a reel, usually consisting of a pivoting pawl and a gear, that acts as an alarm when a fish strikes and provides some drag against the fish’s pull on the line. The range of the pawl’s motion is usually restricted by a spring. In the U.S., the mechanism is usually called a click.
clamp reel	A reel with a clamp, rather than a conventional foot, to attach the reel to a rod. Such reels were used extensively by British makers during the early- to mid-19th century, but were also used by some American makers as late as the 1890s.
click	A mechanism in a reel, usually consisting of a pivoting pawl and a gear, that acts as an alarm when a fish strikes and provides some drag against the fish’s pull on the line. The range of the pawl’s motion is usually restricted by a spring. In the U.K., the mechanism is usually called a check.
closed-face spinning reel	A spinning reel with a cover over the front of the spool with an aperture for the line to go through.
counterbalanced crank	A reel crank with a single grasp (knob) at one end and a balancing weight on the other.
crankshaft	A shaft that transmits power from the crank of a reel to the spool, either directly or through a gear train.
crossbridge	A bar-like reel frame component that connects the bottoms of the headplate and tailplate and to which the reel foot is attached. In many older reels, the crossbridge and foot were formed as a one-piece casting.
cup	A cup-like enclosure that holds the bail and revolves around the spool of a spinning reel during line retrieval. Also called a rotor.
direct-drive reel	A reel in which the crank and spool are directly engaged.
drag	A mechanical device in a reel designed to impede rotation of the spool to resist the strength of a hooked fish. Various types of drags act in concert with rods to enable fishermen to catch larger fish, by providing means of slowing the outgoing line.
Duralumin	An aluminum-copper alloy developed in Germany in 1909. Its strength and hardness made it suitable for reel construction. The generic name for similar alloys developed later is duraluminum.
Ebonite	Originally a brand name, eventually a generic term for hard rubber made by vulcanization. It was substituted for metals used for various reel parts, including sideplates, because of its strength and comparative lightness.
end cap	A removable cover that encloses the end of a reel’s spool journal and bearing. It can merely protect the journal while affording access for oiling, it can minimize spool endplay, especially if jeweled, and, if adjustable, it can be used as an anti-backlash brake.
Fiberglass	Originally a brand name, eventually a generic term for a plastic resin reinforced with glass fibers.
fixed-spool reel	A fishing reel whose spool does not rotate as the line goes out. The line travels off the spool in a direction parallel to the spool’s rotational axis. Also referred to as “spinning reel.”
freespool reel	A reel with a clutch that disconnects the power train that turns the spool, in order to allow for uninhibited rotation. The clutches usually interrupt gear trains or otherwise interrupt the connection between the spool and crank, and they can be actuated manually or automatically.
German silver	A brass-like alloy consisting of copper, zinc, and nickel. Harder and stronger than ordinary brass, it was first used by reelmakers by the 1840s, primarily for their more expensive reels.
grasp	The knob which the fisherman holds to turn his reel. The term may have been used first by Kentucky reelmakers. The grasps rotate on the rods or pins by which they are attached to the reels or cranks.
gun metal	A type of bronze consisting of copper, tin, and zinc. It is resistant to corrosion and is often used for gears and bearings.
headplate	The “front” plate of a reel frame, on which the power train is usually located.
Indiana-style reel	A single-action reel using a narrow spool with radial arms or spokes. The line is wound around the forked ends of the spokes. The name is used because the first patent for such a reel was issued to an Indiana resident. Subsequently, other such reels were made not only in Indiana, but in other states as well.
Ivoroid	Originally a brand name, later a generic term for laminated sheets of celluloid which, when cut, have an ivory-like grain on the cut edge. It was used extensively for reel grasps because, when turned, it resembled the ivory that it supplanted.
knurling	Knurling is a manufacturing process using a lathe whereby various patterns are cut or rolled into metal. The knurling is used to provide better finger grips on certain reel parts but more often is used to enhance the appearance of the reel. Stampings and/or engravings were also used in tandem to catch the fisherman’s eye.
line guide	A mechanical device, usually part of a level wind, that carries the line back-and-forth to wind it evenly on the spool during retrieval.
line pickup	A pin or hook-like fixture on a spinning reel that grabs the line for retrieval.
line roller	A small, quasi-cylindrical piece that rotates on a bail of a spinning reel or in front of a level wind to facilitate smooth movement of the line that goes over it.
level wind	A mechanical device that facilitates winding the line smoothly and evenly on the spool during retrieval.
Monel	A strong nickel-copper alloy that has excellent corrosion resistance. Patented by Ambrose Monell in 1906, it has been used in many saltwater reels.
multiple return cylinder	A rod or shaft cut with a helical groove that continues at both ends and reverses direction. A line guide riding in the groove of the rotating cylinder will be carried to one end and back to the other. The cylinder is a component of most level-wind mechanisms. It also is used in some spinning reels to shift the spool forwards and backwards during line retrieval. Also called worm gear.
multiplying reel	A fishing reel whose spool rotates more rapidly than the crank that turns it, usually through the use of a gear train.
New York-style reel	A generic term for early, relatively heavy reels, usually with counterbalanced cranks. The cranks are mainly ball-handles or serpentine (“S”) handles.Such reels originally were made in New York, but their manufacture spread to other states.
Nickalum	An alloy of aluminum with nickel and several other metals, crystalized within a magnetic field. It is light, strong, and elastic.
nickel silver	An alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc, essentially a silver-colored brass, but stronger and harder than ordinary brass. The term now describes a variety of similar alloys, after the name was substituted for “German silver” around the time of World War I.
Nottingham-style reel	A single-action reel of British origin with a wide-arbored spool, originally made of wood, rotating on a shaft extending from a metal support. Such reels are still being made with modern materials, nearly two centuries since they were invented by Joseph Turner, Nottingham.
oil cap	A removable cover that encloses the end of a reel’s spool journal and bearing. It can merely protect the journal while affording access for oiling, it can minimize spool endplay, especially if jeweled, and, if adjustable, it can be used as an anti-backlash brake.
pawl	A pivoting component in a machine that can engage a notch in another component to retard or prevent the other component’s rotation. In fishing reels, pawls engage gears to produce clicking sounds, and the resultant “click” or “check” mechanisms act as alarms and weak drags. Pawls also are used with ratchet wheels to prevent reverse rotation of reel spools or drag components. In level-wind mechanisms, the portion of the line guide seated in the groove of the multiple-return cylinder is also called a pawl.
phospho bronze	An alloy consisting of bronze with a small amount of phosphorus. It is known for its hardness, elasticity, and general toughness.
pillar	A rod-like component of a reel frame that connects the headplate and tailplate of a reel.
pinion	A round gear, usually the smallest in a gear train.
planetary gears	A gear train in which one or more gears (“planets”) revolve around a central gear (“sun”). These gears are usually held in place within a ring gear.
push-button reel	A closed-face spinning reel that uses a thumb-pressed button to snub the line against the spool cover during the initial part of the cast.
Pyralin	The brand name of a nitrocellulose introduced by DuPont in 1915, shortly after it acquired the Arlington Co., which produced the plastic. It was used for grasps by B.F. Meek and Sons and Enterprise Mfg. Co., but it was less durable than some other celluloid products.
quadruple reel	A multiplying reel with a 4 to 1 gear ratio, a common ratio in early baitcasting reels.
raised-pillar reel	A reel on which the sideplates have appendages to which the frame pillars are attached. The design allows for more line to be wound on a reel with a given spool diameter.
rotor	A cup-like enclosure that holds the bail and revolves around the spool of a spinning reel during line retrieval. Also called a cup.
single-action reel	A reel whose spool rotates once for every rotation of the crank.
S-handle	A serpentine reel crank, with grasps at both ends or a grasp at one end and a counterweight at the other.
skeleton reel	A reel, usually a narrow-framed fly reel, with large perforations in the sideplates to improve ventilation and decrease weight.
spike-mount reel	An early reel type with a spike attached to a crossbridge at the base of the frame. The spike could be used to attach the reel to a rod through a hole in the rod butt, or it could be used to anchor the reel in the ground, where it could be used to fish without a rod.
spinning reel	A fixed-spool reel that is cast with the axis of the spool in line with the axis of the rod. The spool does not rotate during line outflow. Many earlier models used spools that could be swiveled 90^o from casting to retrieval positions.
spin-cast reel	A closed-face spinning reel that usually employs a thumb-pressed button to snub the line against the spool cover during the initial part of the cast.
star drag	An adjustable friction clutch mounted on the crankshaft of a reel that varies the power transfer between the crank and spool. The clutch is adjusted with a stellate nut, which is the basis for the term.
stop-latch reel	An early reel with a mechanism that permits the fisherman to prevent any rotatio of the spool.
tailplate	The “back” plate of a reel frame, which usually has a bearing for a spool journal and within which other components such as clicks and drags may be located.
Tenite	A brand of cellulosic thermoplastic materials created in 1929 by the Eastman Chemical Company.
tournament reel	A very light, generally free spool reel used in bait-casting tournaments. They are often characerized with narrow spools and oversized cork or balsa arbors.
ultralight reel	A small reel designed to hold thin, light line and to be used on light rods. The term can apply to any type of reel.
worm gear	Generally, a spiral gear that meshes with a spur gear to produce perpendicular motion. Often used in spinning reels. In a level-wind reel, a rod or shaft cut with a helical groove that continues at both ends and reverses direction. A line guide riding in the groove of the rotating, multiple-return cylinder will be carried to one end and back to the other. The cylinder is a component of most level-wind mechanisms.