MB FLOATS

Canal Specials Since 1993

ABOUT MB FLOATS

MB Floats was first founded as a mail order, Brochure based supplier of Hand turned Specials way back in 1993.

MB Canal Specials website, was also one of the front runners in the early days of online ordering 1998 and is still online today as an archive.   www.mbcanalspecials.co.uk mainly for the hardcore canal match anglers. All balsa patterns there were 100% hand turned by myself. With many now available in my online store.

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LATEST NEWS

More of a Hobby Now!

Times are a changing!……..

MB FLOATS GETS SOCIAL

MB Floats has joined the social networks…………

LAST UPDATE FOR CANAL SITE

2019 MB (Canal Specials) site will be hosted with MB Floats………

CONTACT ME

Mick Bassett

mick@mbfloats.co.uk

Mobile: 07896871802

mbfloats@gmail.com

More Facts

All The patterns listed within online store are also finished by hand, No Factory/machine dipping as not very cost effective for one, as I only make short runs now! Also it gives even the fully auto-mated HT range of pole floats I assemble/build uniqueness when finishing individually by brush.

Some of my Canal patterns are well over 30 years young now and although copied by many manufacturers I still continue to make by hand as I thoroughly enjoy making floats using this method and still believe this to be the only true way to grade such an organic material as balsa.

Although I regard myself as just a Hobby Float maker now. My online store must carry one of the biggest catalogue of pole floats in the UK. With the specials I would even go as far as saying to the best of my knowledge that I have the biggest range of Hand-turned pole floats anywhere in Europe now….

Another interesting fact is MB Floats is one of only a few in the UK that make virtually everything from Traditional vintage Hand-crafted Floats to modern CnC machined pole floats using a variety of methods to make fishing floats from Vintage Topper Avon's to the very modern PMI foam Carp patterns.

All my MB Specials are still very much turned by hand either thru or against a stone some patterns are still turned off an open chuck then profiled by hand either off the tips or stems before being sealed (sanding sealer) then sanded and with all my pole floats. Uniquely Finished by Hand.

All my MB CnC Patterns are generally fully assembled (Built/Glued) before finishing Uniquely by Hand.

The Smaller patterns with a body diameter up to 10 mm are made very similar to the MB Specials with bigger Avon's and Bolo type patterns turned by hand on my small hobby lathe. No plastic or Float factory made tips stems or eyes used. All traditionally made using materials from cork to balsa and reeds to quills with some stems being fibre glass, Wire and alloy otherwise fully hand-crafted. Also Individually detailed by hand and as with all MB Floats, finish is also applied Uniquely by Hand.

Other then very slight modifications (by Hand) to some bodies (which are machined by some of the leading float makers/manufactures in the UK, may I add) to cater for different tips stems etc. With stems, tips and eyes also made by a third party or bought in ready made some would say! This range although quite large now I’ve always regarded as Hi-Tech (very modern as none of the float components have been made manually) and since 2010 have been listed as HT Pole Floats and have always been marketed as only being assembled (Built/glued) and finished by hand by myself nothing more, Very Contentious for some but even now almost 15 years later I personally think it would be very misleading by myself, to put my MB tag on something another float maker has machined (i.e. the float body). So The HT Range although a fully automated Pole float is still finished uniquely by hand by myself.