WORK AND RECREATION. 13 



thick as the German silver handle of the reel. 

 Laying the handle on this scrap, I traced its 

 outline with a scratch-awl, but made it shorter 

 than the factory handle, then, with a tiny saw 

 cut just outside the lines, filed the edges 

 smooth, bored a hole in the center and 

 squared this to fit the handle-post. 



Holes were drilled, in one end for a finger 

 knob and in the other for a counter-weight The 

 knob was made from a piece of brass rod. 

 The head of a round-head screw was cut off and 

 filed until it would just balance the knob when 

 the new handle was laid across one edge of a 

 three-square file. Both the screw-head and the 

 knob were riveted in place, the handle made fast 

 on the post, and timing the reel with my watch, 

 I found that it would spin twenty-six seconds 

 without appreciable vibration, whereas with 

 the original handle it would spin only seventeen 

 seconds, and the vibration was disagreeable in 

 casting. 



This work took more than an hour, but while 

 the reel was improved for my use, no harm had 

 been done the original handle. The manufac- 

 turer probably had a certain number of handles 

 made, and used this one, which answered the 

 purpose in a general way, but was not of the 

 best weight or length for that particular reel. 



