The older Hardy reels (St.John, Viscount,Marquis etc) had a bigger canvas than the newer reels that are mostly holes to reduce weight. I don't know how they cut though. Be sure to post your finished reel.
Cheers
Don
Go first class and make your own fly reel and engrave it as you are building it. I built 3 of them, one for our son and 2 for the grandkids. I bought one kit for the instructions and parts and then free lanced the other 2. http://www.eclecticangler.com/kits-materials/
Thanks for the tip on the reels. I'd wanted to cut one for ages as a gift to my dad but never found the right one on ebay. The brass kits look great!
Layne
Http://speyco.net are the ones Ray did I believe. Top quality if you are planning on a highly marketable reel. About the best quality custom built to your specs. Fred