Mitchell 406 - have you ever tried to fix this problem?

[Steelyfinn]

I recently got this reel, and discovered that I hadn't seen this - the pin that the a/r dog pivots on is missing.

It looks like this part is pressed in and wondered if a replacement could be salvaged from an old damaged 406 or 306 body.

Has anybody tried a repair like this?

Jon

[handi2]

Yes the pin from a 306 is the same.

When I can I'll send you one or a parts reel.

Keith

[Steelyfinn]

Thanks Keith

I hope you're on the road to recovery and are feeling better soon.  When you're feeling better, let me know and I'll send a pm or email with my address.

Thanks again

Jon

[handi2]

My son looked and I do have a very nice 306 and a 406. Both ready to fish.

I'll try to get it mailed on Monday. No charge of course.

Keith

[Steelyfinn]

Thanks again Keith!  PM sent.

[Bill B]

Ohana at its best!  Bill

[thorhammer]

Ohana at its best!  Bill

None better. You as well, Billy-boy.

[handi2]

My iPhone doesn't have email.
I use my iPad and the battery is no longer good.

I lost your email and haven't sent the reel yet.

I do have the reel. It's a mint 402. I even put a 402 speed handle on it from a 402.

Keith

I'm please send me a PM

[Steelyfinn]

Thought I'd follow up on this reel repair.

I told Keith that I still wanted to repair this 406, so I acquired a broken 306 body and popped out the a/r pin with a couple light hammer taps.  I then put the pin in the 406 body and used a center punch to move enough metal to secure it - problem solved!  But, when I reassembled the reel, the rotor still had about 1/16"+ vertical play and the axle cross pin had been bottoming out on the top of the pinion/bearing assembly.  I found a new replacement pinion/bearing assembly and also a used axle from that 360 body to replace the existing axle that had a broken cross pin. That tightened up the rotor and allowed the cross pin to clear by a hair.  Now I have a working reel!

Thanks Keith for answering my question and for your informative posts on these old Mitchell's - I really liked being able to quiet down the a/r by adjusting its spring.

[foakes]

Excellent fix and work!

Keith is always going above and beyond.

Those high speed 406's are very worthwhile reels.

Best, Fred

[Steelyfinn]

Thanks Fred.  It was a good learning experience.

Jon

[Gfish]

Excellent fix and work!

Keith is always going above and beyond.

Those high speed 406's are very worthwhile reels.

Best, Fred

Yeah, though I've never had a 406 only the 306. Ya godda have guts to hammer on an aluminum side-plate.
One thing I disliked on the 306 was nothing(?) to hold the rotor steady with the bail opened. Kept moving on the forward cast and slamming shut the bail—-whoops short cast!
Unless something in there was damaged or missing that I didn't know about...

[Steelyfinn]

Greg,

It wasn't much of a risk when I knew it was gonna be a parts reel if I couldn't fix it, but I really wanted to see if I could salvage the body.  I just used the corner of a hardwood block to support the exterior head of the a/r pin when using the center punch.  I used to do a bit of metalworking (blacksmithing, welding, etc) as a side job in my younger days, so I figured this would work to secure the pin since that's how it was originally secured in the body (the four indentations around the pin in the first picture is the factory installation.)

The only real difference I could see between this vintage of the 306 and 406, parts wise, was the main gear and the pinion/bearing assembly. It seems the anti inertia brake (part #81567) changed from the early 306 models, which may have stopped the bail tripping during a cast, but I don't know if it really solved that problem.

Jon

[handi2]

Thanks for the kind words.

I still have a few of these hanging around if anyone wants one.

Both 306 and 406,

They don't have the good drag of the 302 and 402 but work great 👍