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New JW Young centrepin

Terry Harman said:
£400 is extracting the urine
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I would have agreed with you Terry but I recently visited Gary Mills workshop and saw what goes into producing these and other Young’s reels. They are not made on a production line but individually hand made pieces of kit and it’s the labour that costs. There’s also a “margin” for Davies Tackle....Having said that I can’t afford one so I won’t be clambering to buy....I like a lineguard anyway so temptation to get into hock buying one is removed...
 
Bill Walford said:
I would have agreed with you Terry but I recently visited Gary Mills workshop and saw what goes into producing these and other Young’s reels. They are not made on a production line but individually hand made pieces of kit and it’s the labour that costs. There’s also a “margin” for Davies Tackle
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That, plus it's only comfortably well-off collectors who buy these top-end pins brand new isn't it?

Don't us "users" typically get them second hand? That's what I've always done. The only pins I've ever bought brand new are the Ikonix (which I got for a less-than-half-price steal - £19 - from Glasgow Angling) and the Okuma Aventa.


Expanding on what Bill said, I remember Richard Carter mentioning several times in Improve Your Coarse Fishing in the 90s that he basically covered his costs and made only a small profit. But, on the other hand, Fred Crouch was knocking them out new for less than £200...
 
If you want a centrepin with an adjustable check, for legering in fast flows you might as well go for a speedia deluxe
 
Not a lot of experience in this but the barbel catcher reels were coming in and still do at that price second hand. I've got the original JW pin and love it, admittedly I bought it second hand but hoping it'll be something my boys can use in the future when I'm gone.
 
Bill Walford said:
I would have agreed with you Terry but I recently visited Gary Mills workshop and saw what goes into producing these and other Young’s reels. They are not made on a production line but individually hand made pieces of kit and it’s the labour that costs. There’s also a “margin” for Davies Tackle....Having said that I can’t afford one so I won’t be clambering to buy....I like a lineguard anyway so temptation to get into hock buying one is removed...
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Bill - Garry doesn't produce JW Young reels, does he? I would be surprised if the latter are produced with the same level of workmanship as a Mill Tackle 'pin.
 
Richard Parsons said:
Bill - Garry doesn't produce JW Young reels, does he? I would be surprised if the latter are produced with the same level of workmanship as a Mill Tackle 'pin.
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Gary does make the JW Youngs reels. However, only a certain number of the initial batch are assembled by him. The rest are assembled from parts by Youngs.
 
So he just kind of puts them together, then, rather than manufacturing the parts? If so, I can't imagine it's a hugely time-consuming job - relative to the time spent 'making' one of his own Mill Tackle reels. The point I'm trying to make (successfully, or otherwise) is that is that £400 is a lot for a mass-produced reel, even accounting for the skill of the chap who assembles it. Conversely, the same amount would be good value for a non-bearing Mill Tackle 'pin.
 
Richard Parsons said:
So he just kind of puts them together, then, rather than manufacturing the parts? If so, I can't imagine it's a hugely time-consuming job - relative to the time spent 'making' one of his own Mill Tackle reels. The point I'm trying to make (successfully, or otherwise) is that is that £400 is a lot for a mass-produced reel, even accounting for the skill of the chap who assembles it. Conversely, the same amount would be good value for a non-bearing Mill Tackle 'pin.
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No, Gary makes them (or gets them made). He just doesn't assemble them all. Some are shipped as parts for Youngs to assemble.
 
Richard Parsons said:
The difference between 'making them' and 'getting them made' is really what is behind my point.
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What can we say? For a start, I'm fairly sure that Garry is not personally making everything. Let's face it, he has staff, and, for a start, I doubt that they'll be anodizing on site. MTC is not the one man and a lathe operation that some centrepin makers are. If you are really concerned, give Garry a ring. If you are interested in centrepins, he's great to talk to. Just don't expect it to be a short phone call.
 
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Thanks for your responses, Chris. I already have a Barbel Catcher, Crouchy Jet, a Speedia and a couple of others. I was just curious as to why Garry would be making reels for JW Young - though I guess he has a business to run and overheads to pay for, like anyone.
 
Hi Rich,
Sorry for the late response, I’ve been away for the weekend. Garry does make several of the component parts, the spool is turned in his workshop from solid blocks which I’m sure takes time. I didn’t think to ask the time scales as I was meant to be on a whistle stop visit to get the bearings changed in my Purist CL and it turned into a tour and long chat. I had to cut it short ‘cos it was built into my working day and as it was I spent nearly one and half hours with the guys. As Chris say’s a really interesting and knowledgeable chap is Gary, he was even able to tell me exactly when my reel was manufactured in relation to the Youngs/Masterline period of the manufacturing history.
£400 is a lot of money but as I previously mentioned that includes a margin for the retailer, a margin for the manufacturer, manufacturing costs and materials. Even so it’s still a lot of cash and as I didn’t win the lotto this week I won’t be commissioning one.

Sounds like you have a nice collection of ‘pins, I love using them and have had a fascination for them since I was a kid.

Good Fishing

Regards

Bill
 
Quality of Youngs pins has gone down hill in recent years, I recall someone posting pics of a newly purchased Bob James pin on here and the build quality was shocking. I recently bought a Bob James pin from Uttings and it went back due to a nick on the outer spool rim and the finish on the back of the spool was badly marked. Uttings were fab and gave me an instant refund.

On the Gary Mills front, I bought a Wensum Centrepin (built by Gary I believe and based on the Speedia?) and the first one went back, as the reel seat was at an off angle and didn't run parallel with the drum, the reel also ran with a slight wobble. No way I was accepting that for a £375 reel! I couldn't fault Maun Valley Tackle, as they sent out a replacement before I sent the faulty one back. As for the replacement, I'd still only give it 8.5 out of 10, as the finish isn't perfect, although on the bank, its a joy to use.

If you want a quality Youngs pin, look for one of the many on ebay, which are around 10 years old and have never been used.
 
Hi Bill - good to hear from you, and trust you had a good weekend? Yes, I agree that Garry's a likeable and knowledgeable chap. He also serviced my Speedia (wide-drum deluxe) and it came back in near perfect condition. Thus we exchanged a few emails along the way. Yes, I paid a fair sum for the second-hand, though barely used, Catcher pin and absolutely love it.
Have a great season 2019/20.
 
I managed to get a good look at a River Specialist this afternoon. I certainly didn't inspect it in minute detail, but I didn't notice anything untoward about it. I was tempted by it, largely due to a decent discount. However, as I don't leger with pins, buying it would have been for the sake of it. For a change, I had my sensible head on. Better to save the money for other priorities and look to get a pin which perfectly fits my preferences at a later date. I suspect I might have to ask Garry for a custom job.
 
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