Shakespeare Criterion 1960

[oc1]

Never thought I'd venture into direct drive knuckle buster levelwind baitcasting reels.  They were already outdated when I was a kid.  Everyone I knew had switched to spinning or spincasting or baitcasting with disengaging spool.   That is, everyone except for my dad and Mr Les Jones that lived down the street.  They stayed with the direct drive Shakespeares and Pfluegers until the end.

So anyway, I picked up some Shakespeare Criterion 1960 at the auction.  There is always a ton of them listed.  The 1960 does not represent a manufacture date.  It was Shakespeare's way of saying their reels were futuristic.  The manufacture date is found in the model number.  The model numbers I am aware of and their release dates are:
model 1922 released in 1922
model 1924 released in 1924
model 26 released in 1926
model 32 released in 1932
model HE released in 1936
model HD released in 1937
model GA released in 1940
model GJ released in 1942
model GE released in 1946

I don't do tutorials but, as a starting point, here's what the Model 32 looks like:


Just about everything is nickel plated brass in this model.  Note the yellowish color characteristic of the nickel.  Later models had nickel-chrome plating and the color is more bluish and shiny.  The handle knobs are bakelite made to look like ivory.  I thought it was ivory at first but if you touch it with a hot needle it melts and smells like formaldehyde while ivory would smell like burning hair.


The head plate graphics changed every few years.  In the 1920's the model number was on the foot.  Thereafter, the model number was in small print at the bottom of the head plate.  It doesn't show well in this photo, but the spool tension knob has a red spot in the center where you see the agate that the spool shaft end spins against. Shakespeare advertised that their reels were made like a watch and the agate is reminiscent of a jeweled watch movement.  


On the tail plate, from front to back, are the levelwind worm bushing knob (more about this later), the jeweled spool tension knob, and the clicker slide button. I should have taken the photos after the reel was cleaned up.


In this model, the foot is riveted to the cross bars.  This may have been a weak spot and you occasionally see Criterion with one of the rivets replaced.


Inside the tail plate there is.... not much.  The one-piece main gear and sleeve rides on a post riveted to the frame.  Under the main gear is a smaller gear that drives the levelwind gear.  You can see the levelwind gear peaking out on the right side.  The pinion appears to be steel.  The pinion is keyed to the spool shaft and held in place by a tiny 'C' clip.


Again, sorry for the grunge.  The levelwind gear has a collar that protrudes through the frame.  The worm shaft has a square key that fits into the gear collar.  The pawl us held in place but allowed to move freely by a thin flexible plate that is screwed to the line guide.  I hate levelwind guards that are held in place by little tits on the end (similar to Penn Peerless).


The other end of the worm is hollow and rides on a shaft integral to the knob on the tail plate.  When the knob is removed, the levelwind worm and line guide will drop out without having to dismantle the whole reel.


Inside the spool tension knob (both sides are the same) you can see the red agate.  There is also a felt washer that soaks up and holds oil.

The reel was cleaned up.  A cotton buff with jeweler's rouge on a flexible shaft tool (Foredom) was used to polish all the wear points except the gear teeth.  I like rouge because it polishes well but can never remove enough material to do any damage.  Everything was generously oiled with TSI-321.to check freespool.  


Hmm..... it spins for a long time even with all the gears and levelwind and handle moving.
-steve

[mo65]

Cool reel! Love these old knuckle busters. Couldn't view vid...said it was private...would like to see that freespool. I have a collection of Pfluegers, but only one Shakespeare, that good ol' Wondereel!

[bluefish69]

I have an old Shakepeare Direct O Drive free spool #1935 model EJ. Spins pretty good for an old guy like this.

Mike

[oc1]

Mo, the video may, or may not, work now.

I had not tried to cast one of these direct drive things in a very long time.  So the Criterion was spooled with 200 yards of 30# PowerPro (not nearly a full spool) and was taped on a 10'6" graphite rod (3SC106MLF2) with fast action, medium light power, rated for 1/8 to 5/8 oz lure.  With a modern baitcasting reel this rod will throw a half-ounce jig almost fifty yards.  With the Criterion, I could hardly cast it at all.... but not for the reasons I expected.  

It was almost impossible to tighten down the spool tension knobs enough. The spool tension knob on the tail plate would work itself loose mid-cast and could not provide consistent braking so the jig would usually fly ten to twenty yards before being stopped by an epic birdsnest.  I could not control it with thumb pressure either.  In several hours of trying and about a hundred casts there were probably ninety birds nests, a half dozen casts that fell very short but with enough thumb braking to prevent backlash, and exactly three casts with just the right amount of thumb pressure at just the right time.  On these three casts, where everything went just right, the distance approached that of a modern reel.  This surprised me.

I had it all wrong.  The problem is not getting the direct drive spool to spin fast enough.  The problem is getting the spool to slow down at the right time.  
-steve

[mo65]

 Yes, the video does play now, that's some good free spool! As far as the bearings adjustment...lots of times on these old reels the bearings or spool shaft is just too worn to get it set right. I have a "not so technical" but very effective way to gain some tension. If you have a sheet of brass shim stock cut a tiny piece and insert it into the bearings so the spool ends get a little pressure when dialing the bearings in. If that tail plate bearing continues to loosen try slipping an o-ring on it...much like modern reels use.

[oc1]

Thanks Mo.  I tried putting in a shim but it didn't help.  Haven't tried an O-ring though.  It's really not too bad casting with a short rod because the start-up speed is not as high as it was with the long graphite rod. 


I have to keep an eye on the side plate screws too because they can back themselves out from the vibration.  The screws have probably been removed and reinstalled so many times that there is a little slop in the threads.
-steve

[mo65]

Thanks Mo.  I tried putting in a shim but it didn't help.  

Sometimes it takes more than one. Just keep adding them 'til you can get some bind on that spool end. My guess is there was an original piece just like the shims you are adding...and possibly quite a bit thicker.    

Also an easy way to slow her down is to ditch that TSI 321 and grease those bearings. I always get better performance from vintage reels when lubed with what they were designed to be lubed with.

[oc1]

Mo, I don't think there was a shim originally.  I have several of these reels and none had a shim.  Also, the whole idea of the jeweled movement is for the spool end to ride on the agate.

The next model after the 32 was the model HD released in 1937.  The important differences are that the Model HD has a cast control brake and a bridge.


The cast control brake is in the tail plate and is the copper-colored leaf thing with a felt pad on the end.

A new knob on the outside of the tail plate raises and lowers a pin under the copper-colored leaf.  When the pin is raised the felt pad rubs on the spool flange slowing down the reel.


The braking system works OK, but they could have achieved the same effect with a better spool tension knob like the Penn Peerless or Ambassadeur.

The problem with braking any reel by putting tension on the spool is that you feel that tension in the handle.  The handle doesn't turn as freely with the brake cranked down.  This is true for brakes that put tension on the end of the spool shaft and the model HD brake pad on the spool flange. It is also true for the Peerless.

The model HD also has a bridge over the gear.  I don't notice the difference, but it should make the main gear much more stable.


-steve

[mo65]

Ya know...I have a whole pile of those jeweled bearing cap reels...and I never noticed the spool rides directly on the agate. I guess it's the metal bearing caps that have those brass shims. At any rate, you can gain spool control without feeling adverse pressure on the handle...I do it all the time with nothing but heavier grease! You can even apply pressure to the levelwind worm ends by shimming those reels with no levelwind bearing adjustment. Just the slightest contact will slow the spool dramatically. When you reach the optimum braking...you'll still be a long way from a stiff handle. My favorite setting is to have zero endplay...just short of contact. Then start with a stiff grease and see how she casts. Just lighten the lube in increments to free it up. If you can get back to TSI 321 without a major birds nest you're a blackbelt knuckbuster!

[oc1]

I did put some Yamaha lube on the gears after the first test casting.  But, with period appropriate rods and nylon braid it casts fine.  Now that I'm used to it I can tell if the spool tension knob needs adjustment by the way it feels.

ABU used to give instructions on how to adjust the cast control knob.  They say adjust it so the lure drops slowly from the rod tip when in freespool.  You can do the same sort of thing with a direct drive except, in this case, the lure should not drop at all until the tip is waggled a bit.

-steve

[mo65]

ABU used to give instructions on how to adjust the cast control knob.  They say adjust it so the lure drops slowly from the rod tip when in freespool.  You can do the same sort of thing with a direct drive except, in this case, the lure should not drop at all until the tip is waggled a bit.

Yep, that is exactly how I set 'em...where you have to shake the tip to get the bait to drop. For some reason...casting these old birds is easier for me while standing...sitting in the boat is tougher.

[oc1]

Oops... forgot about this thread, but still messing with Shakespeare Criterion series 1960.  They were sold up to the 1950's, but I'm only interested in those from the 1920's and 30's.

In addition to the Criterion series 1960 model HD (manufactured 1937 to 1939) pictured above there is a Criterion series 1960AS model HD that has an aluminum spool.  Everything else is the same.  The aluminum spool is lighter and is supposed to cast better, but corrodes easily.



The earliest Criterion series 1960 levelwind reel was the model 1922 (manufactured 1922 and 1923), the model 1924 and model 1926.  The model 1922 had a counterbalanced handle while everything after 1922 had the double handle.





These models differed from the model 32 pictured above by the absence of the large knurled nut on the tail plate side of the levelwind worm. When the knurled nut is removed, the levelwind worm, line gude and pawl can be removed for servicing without disassembling the side plates.  Prior to 1932, there was a small tail plate worm bearing and the entire reel had to be disassembled to remove the levelwind.  The older models also needed three hands to reassemble.

The model 1922 and model 1924 had one piece stands instead of a foot riveted to cross bars in later models.




I've been fishing with these things but not catching.  They need at least a 3/4 ounce jig to cast well so the jig presentation to bonefish is not delicate enough.  The Criterion seems to have been a mid-priced reel in the Shakespeare line.  Better than some, but not as refined as others.  The Shakespeare Marhoff cost more than twice as much as a Criterion.  Some of the low end brands cost less than half as much as a Criterion.

-steve