Identification and repair of a reel

[RasmusSimling]

Hi everyone,

I bought this reel at a flea sale here in Copenhagen for the equivalent of 9$ (what a steal, that's the price of a pint here). The level wind worm and line guide arm is missing, but apart from that the reel seems to be in really good condition. The guy I bought it from said it is a Penn reel, and it does indeed look a lot like the 209. I do however not see any name inscriptions or prints anywhere, only thing is it says 'Japan' under the fastening base. Upon disassembly I found the old drag washers to be completely useless as they were broken into pieces - and I now want to refurbish the reel for the cod fishing here in Denmark.

Can anyone identify the reel as the Penn 209, and maybe even roughly date it? I have a feeling it's fairly old and has just been lying around somewhere. The gears are all brass or bronze, including the level wind gear (I've seen it being plastic in most other photos of the 209). As mentioned the reel has no names written on it, but on one of the side planes there seem to be a circular slot designed to have some sort of logo or name plate installed - unfortunately there is nothing left of whatever has been there before.

As I said, I intend on using the reel for cod fishing from the boats here in Denmark - so I need to take the reel back to working condition. I need some new drag washers for the drag, and I may want to purchase the worm and line guide arm as well (I may not actually use it for the heavy winter fishing, but it will be nice to have it just for the sake of having the complete reel). If the reel is indeed the 209, can anyone help me out on the specific parts numbers etc. for the parts to fit the reel? I prefer to get it right first time as the shipping costs to Europe may turn out almost as expensive as the parts themselves. Are there any other upgrades you guys would recommend while I'm at it?

I tried to fit a few pieces of cardboard in place of the destroyed drag washers. When tightening the star drag nut quite a bit then applying load to the drag, I found the star drag nut has a tendency to unscrewing itself and thus loosening the drag. Does this issue disappear when using proper, lubed drag washers instead of the dry cardboard spacers I cut for a trial?

Finally, can someone tell me what the small screw on the side plane in picture five below is meant for? It sits in its own socket and does not really do anything, and it is not magnetic either? I read somewhere that it may be a spare pawl for guiding the level wind in the worm, but the notch seems a bit tiny for that?

Thank you so much for your help!

Rasmus Simling Kristensen

[handi2]

It's just another knock off reel made in Japan probably in the 80's. Find some drag washers to fit, or post the size needed, and slap it back together. I'm sure it will work very well without the level wind.

[Ron Jones]

I have a couple of these and in all honesty they aren't bad at all. They corrode much less than the 80's Penns in my experience and are close enough clones to make a lot of Penn parts work.
Ron

[foakes]

Hi rasmussimling --

Welcome!

Keith (Handi) is correct, in my opinion. 

Japanese clone of a Penn 209 -- appears to be good quality, however.  Problem is getting parts, because that company is long gone for likely close to 50 years.  Never had a reliable parts network.

The reel is just enough different from a Penn 209 to cause issues when trying to install Penn parts.  For example -- the posts, gear sleeve, handle, idler level wind gear.  All of these may cause a Penn factory worm shaft to not be a proper fit, or the line guide, pawl, pawl cap -- not to mention the spacing between the inner rings.  But it may work with some modifications.

The strange screw you mentioned is indeed a spare pawl -- designed to be a replacement for the original when needed on the water.  The cup/screw cap is identical to the one on the bottom of the line guide.

Not telling you what to do -- but if it were mine, and I lived in Denmark -- this is what I would do:

Before ordering parts from Penn -- find a good used Penn 209.  Try to install the missing parts to see if they work.  If they work, you can order the parts from Penn -- and then you would have (2) serviceable reels for Cod fishing.  If the parts do not work -- you will not have wasted your money -- and you will have a good 209 for fishing.  For what you paid for the reel -- it was basically free, anyway.  So you have everything to gain -- and nothing to lose.

The fact that the side plate spare pawl is so worn down and unusable, indicates hard use in possibly fresh water (canals, rivers, lakes -- no apparent salt corrosion).  And the obvious lack of a nylon idler gear like Penn has -- also indicates a reason why the worm, levelwind, original pawl & cap were removed -- because the idler gear would not fail, very strong pressures were brought to bear on the worm, Pawls, and level wind guide.  After the second pawl wore out, the owner just removed the LW assembly.

For sure, if fishing this reel, I would install Cal's or Shimano drag greased CF drag washers.

Then it would be your decision as to the level wind assembly.

If you knew for sure the parts would fit -- and were able to check the shipping costs -- myself, or one of us may be able to ship you the LW parts you need.

You have some choices to make, of course -- and if we can be of help, we will do our best for you.

Keep us posted -- and nice pictures, by the way!

Best Regards,

Fred

[Dominick]

Hmmm..."Something is [g]otten in the state of Denmark."     Dominick

[RasmusSimling]

Thank you very much for your kind replies everybody!

That is actually not a bad idea at all foakes, I may have a look around for well maintained second hand Penn 209's to check the parts fit like you said. For now I just ordered a small jar of Cal's drag grease and a set of new Carbontex drag washers (for the original Penn 209, I hope they'll fit or I'll have to cut/grind them down a bit) from SmoothDrag. I'll then take it fishing before I decide if it's worth the trouble trying to put a level wind back on it.

Rasmus