Show Off Your Long Beach

[DesertCatRat]

Desert Cat Rat,

Interesting reel. I especially like the vintage sticker on the tail plate.

You said the spool width is 1 5/8, which would make it a 150 yard, small side plate diameter Long Beach. I have never seen that size with a Patent Pending plate. Could you measure the side plate diameter? If it is 3 1/4 inch then the spool should be a 1 7/8 inch.

The Pflueger handle adds a bit of confusion to the old Penn

Thankks

Mike C.

.

. Oops ,not sure I poseted quote correctly,I'm terrible with web😞
Yes,I did my fair research on this and could come up with not too much,side plate is 2 7/8" ,and spool is 1 5/8,I read that the patent on this model was issued around 37? It is in fair shape, I will open it and post pic,
I am not a full on vintage guy, but do my research on anything I buy and this is intriguing ,there is no stamp on any part, seems to be very dark brown Bakelite,she gets better free than some of my high dollar stuff😄
.

[DesertCatRat]

Mike,   
The handle is neat but I would like to find the right piece and it should have hex nut if I'm not mistaken?

Also, the thumb brake is odd,I looked to see if it was modded to fit but looks to be made to length,an aftermarket knick knack,

I also looked up the sporting goods store on the decal, nothing, ?

[Aiala]

The handle is neat but I would like to find the right piece and it should have hex nut if I'm not mistaken?

Hi and welcome, DesertCatRat! I live in Palm Springs... do you?

As it happens, I just finished restoring my vintage Long Beach 68 and I have this (unstamped) handle left over:

If you'd like to have it, just say the word. (I might even have a hex nut, too... I'll look.)  

~A~

[Penn Chronology]

Mike,  
The handle is neat but I would like to find the right piece and it should have hex nut if I'm not mistaken?

Also, the thumb brake is odd,I looked to see if it was modded to fit but looks to be made to length,an aftermarket knick knack,

I also looked up the sporting goods store on the decal, nothing, ?

You say your side plate diameter is 2 7/8 inch. That cannot be right. If the spool is 1 5/8 inches wide, the side plate diameter should be 3 1/16 inches. Be that as it may, there are many other interesting aspects of your reel.

The fact that the handle is weird, there is a sticker on the reel, it has a vintage 1930's Thumb Stall, and the side plate color is brown opens a can of worms for historic investigation. I searched out the address on the sticker and it is well inland in Los Angeles but they may have been connected to the Reel Rental business in some way. Renting fishing rigs in Los Angeles was a popular thing to do in the 1930's because of the Depression. There is very little about your reel that fits the cookie cutter mold that is a Penn Long Beach model.

If that were my reel, I would not change a thing about it. Do nothing but clean it and then maybe if you get the time, try to follow up through whatever kind of research you can do about the tackle shop on the sticker. You may have a very odd Long Beach. Please verify the side plate diameter, maybe you have a vernier caliber you can check it with.

A tackle shop owner in the 1930's, wanting to be able to easily identify his reels, or sell reels to a reel rental store, would want to make the reel easy to spot in a bunch.
Imagine, if you were a worker in a reel rental shop near the Newport Pier. At the end of the day, your boss tells you to go out to the pier and collect the tackle that belongs to his shop. This is what you are up against:
You have to walk the pier, find the correct shop tackle and collect it. Having reels of odd colors and crazy incorrect handles makes it much easier to spot the shop gear.

Another interesting aspect of your reel is it looks like it has a Pflueger Handle and a Pflueger Thumb Stall. Those two items would be common for any tackle shop to have on hand back in the 1930's. Pflueger sold those leather Thumbstalls in a variety of widths as a after market item for people that wanted the extra drag capacity without burning your thumb to the bone.

I think your reel is an interesting collectible just the way it is. A great talking piece.

[DesertCatRat]

The handle is neat but I would like to find the right piece and it should have hex nut if I'm not mistaken?

Hi and welcome, DesertCatRat! I live in Palm Springs... do you?

As it happens, I just finished restoring my vintage Long Beach 68 and I have this (unstamped) handle left over:



If you'd like to have it, just say the word. (I might even have a hex nut, too... I'll look.)   


[/quote
Yes aiala ,I actually live in rancho mirage,😄, small world, I got the reel along with a  older  25 monofil for 20$ at a garage sale in Palm desert, figure they are worth 10$ a piece
I believe the handle for that model had no set screw, just a hex nut but not sure, will definitely keep that in mind

[DesertCatRat]

Mike,  
The handle is neat but I would like to find the right piece and it should have hex nut if I'm not mistaken?

Also, the thumb brake is odd,I looked to see if it was modded to fit but looks to be made to length,an aftermarket knick knack,

I also looked up the sporting goods store on the decal, nothing, ?

You say your side plate diameter is 2 7/8 inch. That cannot be right. If the spool is 1 5/8 inches wide, the side plate diameter should be 3 1/16 inches. Be that as it may, there are many other interesting aspects of your reel.

The fact that the handle is weird, there is a sticker on the reel, it has a vintage 1930's Thumb Stall, and the side plate color is brown opens a can of worms for historic investigation. I searched out the address on the sticker and it is well inland in Los Angeles but they may have been connected to the Reel Rental business in some way. Renting fishing rigs in Los Angeles was a popular thing to do in the 1930's because of the Depression. There is very little about your reel that fits the cookie cutter mold that is a Penn Long Beach model.

If that were my reel, I would not change a thing about it. Do nothing but clean it and then maybe if you get the time, try to follow up through whatever kind of research you can do about the tackle shop on the sticker. You may have a very odd Long Beach. Please verify the side plate diameter, maybe you have a vernier caliber you can check it with.

A tackle shop owner in the 1930's, wanting to be able to easily identify his reels, or sell reels to a reel rental store, would want to make the reel easy to spot in a bunch.
Imagine, if you were a worker in a reel rental shop near the Newport Pier. At the end of the day, your boss tells you to go out to the pier and collect the tackle that belongs to his shop. This is what you are up against:

You have to walk the pier and find the correct shop tackle. Having reels of odd colors and crazy incorrect handles makes it much easier to spot the shop gear.

Another interesting aspect of your reel is it looks like it has a Pflueger Handle and a Pflueger Thumb Stall. Those two items would be common for any tackle shop to have on hand back in the 1930's. Pflueger sold those leather Thumbstalls in a variety of widths as a after market item for people that wanted the extra drag capacity without burning your thumb to the bone.

I think your reel is an interesting collectible just the way it is. A great talking piece.

Yes mike, you are correct, trying to eyeball with a rule while still assembled is not the most accurate measure,😁I pulled it and on my caliper 3.25" ,so you are correct,and the rental shop idea makes sense,
I cannot find anything on Duvalls sporting goods but I am not the most savvy web searcher,
So ,having that side plate and spool width it would be a 150 yd model 60?
It is in fine working condition ,I have only given it a good cleaning and some penn grease, and cx on the exterior
I appreciate your knowledge and input

[Aiala]

Rancho Mirage, huh? Well! Boy howdy, neighbor! 

Funny, I've lived here for 27 years and never yet came across a yard sale reel. You lucked out!

Do you ever fish on the San Diego long-range boats?

~A~

[Penn Chronology]

Yes mike, you are correct, trying to eyeball with a rule while still assembled is not the most accurate measure,😁I pulled it and on my caliper 3.25"

OK, we are making progress. Being that the side plate diameter is 3 1/4 inches, your Long Beach must be a Model 60 or 65. Now we have established that, your spool width must be 1 7/8 inches for a Model 60 or 2 1/8 inches for a Model 65. Those are the only two widths that work with the 3 1/4 side plates.

The fact that the side plates are brown and say Patent Pending now makes sense for that diameter plate. The reel is probably a 1934 or 35 model.

[foakes]

Old, vintage Penn handles are the best!

They are so neat -- with the slight differences you sometimes find in the colors -- or how the resin was poured and mixed/marbled.

One time about 12 years ago, I was placing a phone order with Southwestern Parts in Dallas -- after we got the laundry list order straight, I remembered that I had a couple of 16/0s and a 14/0 that could use new cranks.

So I asked my parts guy if he had any in stock.  He said he had 6, and since I wasn't concerned about the colors -- I just asked him to include them in the order at $6.50 each.  When they arrived, they were marbled red, butterscotch marbled green, and black.  These were actually old ones that had been in their parts bin for awhile.  Installed the black ones on the reels.  Decided to sell the rest on eBay a couple of years later -- they sold for between $60 and $90 each -- and I could kick myself now for ever selling them -- they were beautiful.

Best,

Fred

[DesertCatRat]

Yes mike, you are correct, trying to eyeball with a rule while still assembled is not the most accurate measure,😁I pulled it and on my caliper 3.25"

OK, we are making progress. Being that the side plate diameter is 3 1/4 inches, your Long Beach must be a Model 60 or 65. Now we have established that, your spool width must be 1 7/8 inches for a Model 60 or 2 1/8 inches for a Model 65. Those are the only two widths that work with the 3 1/4 side plates.

The fact that the side plates are brown and say Patent Pending now makes sense for that diameter plate. The reel is probably a 1934 or 35 model.

I am an idiot,rule has about 1/4" before start of 1 " ,I was measuring from edge of rule, wow! I feel dumb, I only used it last night and today,I would like to say I have a good excuse,apparently the desert heat has cooked my brain causing a deficiency 😓
That would explain my being off 1/4" on everything, plus I was working in the dark,open windows help,light!
So yes mike, 1 7/8" it is
I work on reels but don't measure much, most common specs are easily obtained, I actually had to use a ruler on this
Excuse my mistake, I am I resilient floorlayer,so I i am measuring all day, hmmmm,I would like to think using a simple ruler would be in my wheelhouse
The spool is drilled through as well

[Penn Chronology]

rule has about 1/4" before start of 1 " ,I was measuring from edge of rule

Brian,

That's funny. Very easy to make that mistake. I used to work with a guy that cut off the first three inches of his pocket metal measuring tape. He reattached the little angle and used to lend to people. Caused many laughs on the job.

The drilled spool is another tell of the age. It is a proper part for the vintage of that reel.

So, what we have now is a possible story or a very neat old Long Beach. If you decide to bring the reel back to stock, you need to remove the Thumb Stall and add this type of handle and handle screw:
           This reel is a 1933 Long Beach but the handle and screw for yours will be the same. Or, you can leave it the way it is and enjoy the talking piece.

[DesertCatRat]

I took the stall off before, that is if no importance to this reel I suppose,the sleeve thread is uncommon,I haven't find a nut for it,Scott's sent one as a possible,but was not a match,I'm sure I can locate one,
The one you show has a post on top, is that a model difference or year?
So, you suspect it is around 35' model 60 150 yd ?
I looked on another site, I suspect that was you speaking on these models, I haven't found a lot of info other than the long beach was one of the original penn models sold to public

I suppose I didnt do bad for a garage sale in the desert
Thank you much, I love history as I do fishing,so I respect your knowledge of both,great stuff

[Penn Chronology]

Brian,

The sleeve thread for the early models is different. The hex head screw used to attach the handle I believe is smaller. When I need one of those I usually look for a parts reel.

Here is your reel in the 1935 Penn catalog:


         Your model is the No.60. The only difference is the head plate spool bearing. The illustration in the catalog is incorrect. The hex head bearing is what is on the reels.

Good Luck,

Mike C.

PS- The reel I pictured is a three pillar 1933 Long Beach. All the reels made by Penn in 1933 had three Pillars. They changed to your style in 1934.

You did very well for a garage sale buy. That reel is worth four times what you paid for it.

[foakes]

Hi DesertCatRat --

Here are some handles and hex nuts.

If you haven't found any yet -- you can take your pick of these.

The wood black ebony handle knobs can be restored easy enough --

0000 steel wool to rough up a bit and remove any loose paint, blow off with air, then use a tack cloth to get any bits of steel wool you can't see, tape off metal on handle, spray very light coat of gloss black, let dry 24 hours, come back with another dose of 0000 steel wool -- just to rough up the surface slightly, blow off again, last coat of black gloss, let dry 48 hours in warm room before handling.

Sometimes you can also use a very black ebony stain -- work it into the wood -- maybe 2 or 3 times -- then spray with clear lacquer 2 or 3 coats -- 0000 steel wool in between lacquer coats -- lastly mix Rottenstone powder with water for a pasty consistency -- rub on with a soft flannel cloth -- buff to a gloss finish with a clean soft chamois.  If you wish a little duller finish -- use peanut oil in place of the water when mixing the paste.

The handle and nut next to the ruler may be the best condition age match to the patina already on the reel -- but that is up to you.

Best,

Fred

[DesertCatRat]

Foakes ,
Thanks, was going to comment on your handle collection,growing up in long beach fishing my dads old squidders and 500's, I always loved the handles, one of my favorite things of older models,
As for the ones above, that is a nice one by the ruler,similar length to the pflueger one currently on the reel
I'm not sure I would be into refinishing as the reel is somewhat "patina'd"
The hex nt looks correct and that would be something I'd be into
If you would be into letting a set go ,I guess send a pm
I'm new to the site so not sure the proper protocol
Either way very nice collection