How Islanders are made A tremendous amount of work goes into making Islander Reels. All components, with the exception of standard screws, o-rings, and bearings, are machined at our facilities from solid material. Frames and Spools begin as a 12 foot bar of solid aluminum. The first step is to cut the bar is cut into 'blanks'. After each cut the saw advances the bar to cut the next blank.
Coolant is directed at the blade to lubricate and cool the aluminum.
Blanks are loaded on to a rack which awaits the first machining operation. The frames and spools undergo multiple machining operations on several different precision CNC lathes and machining centers. This operation is the face profile of a frame. The blank is held in jaws, and is turned up to 4000 rpm. A specialized cutter moves across the aluminum, first as a roughing pass, and later as a finishing pass.