hope this is the right place for my first post to say hello

[joesan]

I'm a retired old guy...75 and have just found a cigar box with a disassembled Mitchell 300.
Hello, tried to read the mitchell 300 tutorial, but I'm not allowed to host 3rd party.
Not sure why and how to change it.
Any help would be appreciated.
joesan

[David Hall]

Welcome!  I'm not a expert on spinners by any stretch but if you hang tight for a bit several of them will be right along.  Fred knows a lot about them.  I'm confident he will help you with anything you need.
That third party hosting thing is something new that the photo hosting site has recently decided to charge money for, so it's hitting all of us. 

[foakes]

Welcome aboard, Joe --

Take some pics and post them of what you have with your 300 --

We can all help, I am sure.

Those are nice old reels -- and parts are not a problem on our site.

Best,

Fred

[joesan]

I'll take a picture of my stuff and post it. Putting it back together should hold off senility for a bit I hope.

Since I've torn apart some guns and managed to put them back together, I hope I can manage a spinning reel. ( I still wonder what to do with those extra parts I have left over.)

[Alto Mare]

Welcome Joe! Don't get too worked up about these reels, if others can do it, so can you.

Sal

[joesan]

Thanks for all the friendly support.
Here are a few pics of my reel (in parts)

If I remember correctly, it was just about the time i went into the Army that I took this apart to clean, and it was the best reel I ever had. I think this was in the early 1960s.
If I ever get it done, I'll post another picture. (I'm not a good photographer either.)

[Alto Mare]

I don't see anything wrong with those pics, good job!

[steelhead_killer]

Hello from Seattle

Andy

[alantani]

welcome!!!!!

[bhale1]

Joesan,

Welcome!!!   I can tell you that you came to the right place!  Fred, Tommy, and many others will be more than willing to help with that reel. They could probably rebuild them in their sleep!! Pics look great, just keep it up and ask questions as you go along. Best reel site ever!!!
Brett

[Midway Tommy]

Welcome, Joe!

I'm sure Fred has way more experience than me on fine tuning Mitchells but we'll get you going putting that reel back together. First thing you need to do is degrease those parts by soaking the non-painted metal parts in lacquer thinner, acetone, mineral spirits or some other form of degreaser, and clean the grease off painted surfaces and plastic parts with mineral spirits. Then give them a quick bath in dawn detergent & water. When clean, air or blow dry them and then you'll be ready to reassemble. Blue marine or Penn grease are recommended but I also like Super Lube on freshwater reels. A good light synthetic oil is also recommended for those nooks and crannies that require oil. Keep us posted on your progress and ask questions if you need assistance.     

[Shark Hunter]

Welcome Joe!

[swill88]

Hai joesan!

steve

[IcantSwim]

Welcome to the family

[foakes]

Just back home, now --

Tommy is exactly right --

I use lacquer thinner on all of the chrome parts, aluminum, copper and brass parts.

Mineral spirits on the painted parts -- not too long in this bath though -- just enough to loosen up the old hard brown grease.  Toothbrush as much off as possible after no more than an hour.

Let everything soak overnight in a pan pf warm water with Dawn dishwashing soap.

Next day, rinse everything in fresh water.  Dry the parts off.  Buff all of the aluminum and chrome parts with "0000" steel wool -- rinse and dry once more.

Assemble the rotor and bail -- assemble the spool -- install the Anti-Reverse dog and spring -- install the gears and oscillation slide -- screw on the handle -- install the rotor -- install the spool shaft.

Details to be aware of on Mitchells --

-- Do not use simple green on the painted parts -- it will dull them

-- Do not use purple degreaser on any of the parts -- chemical reaction will turn aluminum black

-- Where the rotor pinion gear attaches to the body -- very thin shims are used between the body and gear.  Typically, 1 to 3 shims are used.  I see one in your pic -- there might be another one or two still on the body.

-- There might be a tiny brass shim under one or two of the gears.

-- And generally, the aluminum baffle plate needs a heavier shim under it.

I will post a schematic, and if you might need a pic of the insides of a 300 for gear placement -- that is easy also.

Since you are mechanically inclined and have done some firearms -- you will find this a breeze.

If you are short any parts like shims or whatever -- I can send them to you at N/C.

Best,

Fred