Triton TSS-2 Speedmaster Special

[cbar45]

Penn SS, Daiwa BG, and Shimano TSS. Those three series of spinning reels were the bread-and-butter while I was growing up. The Shimano in particular excelled at "whipping", which is the local term for working a lure (usually a buck-tail jig or grub) through the maze of sand and coral heads in search of the elusive Trevally. TSS series were tough, easy to work on, and boasted a blazing-fast retrieve rate for their time. The larger TSS-3 and 4 sizes in particular made great light plugging reels; they didn't tire you out as much as their Penn and Daiwa rivals.

Other notable features included a waterproof drag, quality bearings, and a frame and rotor that were quite rigid even though they were made of graphite. If I had to quibble about any one thing, it would be the through-main gear handle assembly of the TSS-2, versus the threaded versions of the TSS-3 and TSS-4. Then, too, Dyna-Balance had yet to be invented--so all of these reels were blessed with a fair amount of wobble.. Yet they kept on ticking for just as many years as a Penn SS or Daiwa BG, a trait the example below can attest to.







Chad

[swill88]

Chad.... thanks for the pics and thanks more for the history.

Steve

[cbar45]

No problem Steve. I've been taking a lot more reel-related photos since joining this site..

[cbar45]

Figured it was about time to give the old girl a new set of gears; the originals had a few areas of wear and micro-dings, but were still relatively smooth. Both gears were purchased from jdltreasures, one of the long-time sellers on the big auction site:






Nice thing about the TSS-2 is that its gears and handle cross-reference with a few other models of that time--such as the Custom-X and Magnumlite--so parts availability isn't as scarce as one might assume. Here is a collection of Shimano reel schematics courtesy of Nutter Rod and Reel Service. These go back to 1987, so quite helpful when you need to source a parts number for a discontinued reel:

http://www.nutterrodandreel.com/ProductData.cfm?id=Shimano

Chad