49, 49A, 49L, 49-LH, 49L-LH Super Mariner

[Keta]

   I tore down my 49 for a makeover and once again found a strange drag stack. This time it was a red fiber disc first followed by two leather discs. Also the top metal washer was thicker than the other two metals. I referenced Penn's drag info and sure as the sun shines, this is the correct original arrangement. I kinda wish I had those original components...it would be cool to restore this reel to complete original specs. 

That could be the original configuration.

[mo65]

That could be the original configuration.

   It definitely is Lee...hit the zoom on this page from a Penn catalog. Even more bizarre is the Sailfisher 130's drag stack. It uses three of those red under gear washers! 

[swill88]

That could be the original configuration.

   It definitely is Lee...hit the zoom on this page from a Penn catalog. Even more bizarre is the Sailfisher 130's drag stack. It uses three of those red under gear washers! 

Thanks Mo!  A 130 is being delivered to me today.

Steve

[RowdyW]

Mo, check with Fred he might have some NOS washers for that reel.       Rudy

[Penn Chronology]

That could be the original configuration

I just took a NOS 1952 First year Model 130 apart last week. The drag stack consists of four phenolic hard washers (one goes under the main gear) two leather washers, two keyed to the sleeve brass washers, two keyed to the main brass washers and one heavy keyed to the sleeve top brass washer. It is an impressive stack for a reel like a 130.



Notice that the anti-reverse gear is undercut to allow for a oil impregnated washer that is permanently mounted to the bridge and the anti-reverse dog is bridge mounted like on a Jigmaster.

Pretty neat reel by 1952 standards. Penn 130's have a small cult following. Some fisherman want to fish with nothing else.

[swill88]

Pretty neat reel by 1952 standards. Penn 130's have a small cult following. Some fisherman want to fish with nothing else.

I'll vouch for that. The guy I just bought a 130 from swears it's the best reel Penn ever made. He's a muskie fisherman so I'm hoping the fresh water has treated the reel well. He wants me to send pictures of any fish I catch with it. I will.

[Maxed Out]

It's an art to determine the difference between dirt and corrosion from a photo. Maybe Ted could give us some instruction.... he seems to have it figured out pretty well. You didn't have to worry about the condition of the spool on this one - that adds another degree of difficulty, especially when there is line on it.
Sid

 Sweet reel Mo. Love the green swirl knob too !!

 Sid, there is no sure way of telling if a reel is likely to clean up to near mint. From my experience odds are against finding reels that'll go from ugly duckling to a swan. You can't make fillet mignon out of ground round, and same goes for a used or older reel. I try to buy all my reels from the "fillet mignon" section.   .....and no matter how hard I try, I still get a bad piece of meat every so often  

  -Ted

[mo65]

   Ted's right...it's a roll of the dice. Some times I'll scour the pics...and be sure it can be shined up...only to be left with a pile of deeply pitted scrap! I think the key is finding the ones that the corrosion is on the surface, not through the chrome.
   That 130 drag stack is very interesting. I wonder what kind of numbers it produced? On the other hand...maybe big numbers wasn't the desired result. Maybe smoothness was the idea. It was a sailfish reel after all...I'm betting those red under gear washers stood the heat of long runs way better than the leather washers. Interesting indeed. 

[mo65]

   I got my 49 all cleaned up and reassembled today. It turned out pretty nice. The first pic is that one from a few days ago...its a nice contrast to pic number two...showing how well the posts cleaned up. The third photo shows that old narrow diameter gear sleeve post...and the cool green felt that oils it. This is the first reel I've acquired that this felt was in mint condition...so it's stayin' right in there! Last is the money shot, love that green/yellow swirl knob, this is the first reel in my collection wearing that colored knob. I like this reel so well I've decided to hunt down a 349 and try fishing it.   

[Bill B]

Great save Mo.....I have a 49 I fish with regularly and love the speed of the reel.....especially on deep drops....even put one in my Nep Tuna cradle.....can't wait to fish with the 349...Bill

[Penn Chronology]

Really nice job Mo. They are great reels.

[Swami805]

I got a 49 I'm cleaning up and found this on the back of the bridge. Never seen this before and thinking it's a repair to the bridge post  Did penn make bridges like this ?

[RowdyW]

Did penn make bridges like this ?

NO!  Penn's work is not that sloppy. Penn peens them with a press with a lot of tonnage.

[oc1]

Plumber's solder.  Is the post rigid now?
-steve

[Crow]

    I tore one down that had been "repaired"........but didn't hold. I also tore down one that was all wobbled out...and no repair had been attempted. I think , once the post has loosened in the hole, you're pretty much out of luck. When I removed a "stock" post from a 49 bridge (for a "beef - up" project, I found that the post was a very tight , press-fit, into the hole, and then peened on the end. I think once the "press fit" is wobbled out, it would be impossible to hold the post secure with peening, soldering, or anything else.