On Jul 19, 8:46*am, riverman wrote:
In the vein of topic headings with double meanings....

I have a 4wt Stealth reel that I picked up in South Africa a handful
of years back. The drag mechanism was always problematic, so I took it
off and have been palming the reel, which works just fine and has
landed some very large fish (just ask Roger). However, I might want to
sell it, and a prospective owner will certainly want to know about the
little hole where the drag mechanism goes, so I am putting it back on.
However, the key piece of the mechanism is a tiny little left-hand
thread stainless screw that I seem to have lost...I have all the other
parts in pristine condition.

I've contacted the manufacturer, and he does not make this reel any
more, nor does he have any parts lying around and did not have (or was
unwilling to locate) records of who made this part for him. I've also
been to about a half-dozen hardware stores and I always get the same
frustrating conversation:
"Don't have that. What's it for?"
"Its a drag mechanism off a fly reel."
"Oh, go to a fishing shop, then."

As if a fishing shop will have a random left hand stainless screw
lying about (I've checked about 10 fishing shops, and they tell me to
go to a hardware store.

So my question: where does someone go to find a tiny little screw like
this? I am imagining a shop that sells electronic parts, or maybe a
manufacturer of screws. But this is all a bit mysterious to me. The
screw is probably about 1mm across, about 3mm long, and left hand
thread. I don't even know the thread size...I need a shop that can
help me sort all this out. Ideas?

--riverman

I have sent your story to an outfit called Tacoma Screw, in Tacoma
Washington.

When I was stationed nearby, they almost always had the obscure, rare,
and weird piece of hardware we needed.

If they can't help directly, they may know of someone who can.

They will, I hope, respond to me; and I will, then, get back to you.

meanwhile......cheers

oz