Long time no sea

G'day all. I recently picked up an old Alvey reel and am trying to revive the spool. It looks like cedar and has a chip out of the lip and a couple of fine cracks in it. I've cleaned off the old varnish and given it a light sand ( sorry to the purists but I'm not a collector, I intend to use it for what it was made for). I dont think its seen a lot of work but it has been neglected.
Questions are, is there a method of sealing / repairing the hairline cracks in it, and should the timber be oiled or sealed with a varnish? Bear in mind that I want to fish with it, not put it on a shelf. Having said that tho', I want it to look good.
Thanks

I reckon you could look at using expoxy to sort the cracks out but am a little unsure as to how expoxy would go for the chip,unless you were able to fill the chip with another piece and then use expoxy to keep it in there.

Sanding and finishing - sure, go for it. you should be able to sand over and finish over the expoxy (read expoxy instructions first). also consider running a few tests with the expoxy first to get a feel for how it behaves, as well as sanding it and finishing over it.

Please also do wear PPE with sanding expoxy.

cheers
Wendy

Do you have access to a lathe. May be best and easier to turn a new spool. To do a top job on a repair to the rim a lathe would be the best option also. It can be done by cutting off the bad bit then glue on a bit of wood and reshape. As Wendy said best glue is an epoxy.
I am not sure of finish but instinct says marine varnish.
Regards
John

Square_Bear,

As the others have said epoxy is the best way to go. Sand between coats to allow the next layer to grip. On the final sand go up in the grades for wet and dry , used wet to about 1200. This will give you a nice finish.

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Thanks for the replies. Epoxy is something I'm unfamiliar with but I've admired the finish that it produces. They're generally 2 pack aren't they? Can they be thinned for an initial coat that would seep into the hairline cracks? As can be seen the bits missing aren't major so I could try filling them with a tinted "builders bog" style filler or something similar, that's if the prducts are compatible.

square_bear,
Epoxy is 2 pac. Mix it as per the instructions. A bit of heat will help it run into the cracks. A heat gun or perhaps a hair drier will do to heat up the wood before application. Heat it up gradually and avoid scortching it. At about too hot to handle is the time to apply the glue to the cracks. A seringe is worth the investment for this.
Do not use the quick dry or 5 min epoxy but the regular kind as that is stronger.
For the notch in the rim I would cut back to clean wood with a sharp chisel and glue in a wedge shaped bit of wood then reshape when dry. Do this a day after the cracks are filled. If you pick a similar wood then the repair should hardly be noticed.
Regards
John