There are few things I like more than fishing, so for my first project I chose to make a fly fishing reel. Then I sketched what a fly reel would look like, realizing the precise measurements needed for a reel to work I knew I needed to use the 3D printer. I used thinkversus, a 3D file library, to find a fly fishing reel.
I used thinkversus, a 3D file library, to find a fly fishing reel. I found stl files of a fly fishing reel that had good reviews, and others had made. I read over all the comments and instructions, deciding it was a viable file that could work. It was already proven to work by the maker.
It was not as easy as just copy pasting the files and printing. First I had to adjust the 3D printer so bed was level, and correctly printed. I needed to change the fill of the 3D printer to 35% due to the stress the parts would be under. My first prints were messed up due to not setting the printer to "Generate Support", which then made some of the 3D prints much cleaner. I printed the parts in two different colors green and purple to make it more ascetically pleasing.
I then assembled all the parts together I could without the three parts I needed from the hardware store to check fitment. The reel spins and works as intend, but hardware will improve how smooth the reel spins and allow me to attach the handle to the reel, permanently.