1938 Mepps Baby Vamp strip and refresh/ completed!

[Woodbilly]

Hey all!

Another vintage jewel on the bench!

We've got a 1938 Mepps Baby Vamp ready for a clean and restore.

I own a Super Meca with OG box, but it is way larger than anything I ever use, so it's a shelf queen.

This Baby Vamp is more my size.

This old girl has the beautiful bronze flier with metallic brown body paint scheme.

Overall, it is in really nice shape with nice original finish throughout, minus some scars on the handle, itself.

Function of this one seems great. No issues with anything mechanical.
Bail works great and is nice and responsive and quiet.

Retrieval is smooth, without any bind or stiff spots.

Side badge looks really clean with bright script still present.
It's just going to get a good cleaning only.

I had this reel tore down in about an hour, due to no guide to go by and just stripping blind.
That's how I like it. Lol

The disassembly process for this reel was pretty straightforward and not really too difficult, but definitely unlike any other reel, I've stripped.

I first started with the spool teardown.

Remove end holding nub, rotate star capstan off, and remove the spool from flier.

The a/r clicker was unique to the Mepps, using a very different set up than most.

Consisting of a block pawl held tight by a round compression style spring, to move the pawl.

The drag stack, within the spool, consisted of only a metal detent washer and a threaded ring, to hold washer in spool.

The drag on these, are a brass column on the non rotating shaft instead of flat washers in spool.

Onto the reel body.

Remove the butt cap cover to reveal the non rotating shaft end, drive gear key end, connecting link arm, and holding nuts.
The drive gear link key looks like a sardine can opener. Lol

Remove both nuts by holding shafts firm before removing. There is also a lock washer on each post.

After this, the connecting link can be removed.

Once this is complete, the non rotating shaft and brass drag column can be pulled from the from of flier.

Remove threaded ring and split drag ring from shaft end and pull brass drag column from shaft.

Onto the connecting key.

Note, it has threads on both ends of shaft, which told me, the shaft and key end, are threaded into each other.

So, gripping shaft firm, rotate it to unthread it from the loop end if key and pull shaft from body.

This can be done before or after drive gear/handle removal.
Leaving gear will keep the key held tight during unthreading of shaft, but key can still be held by hand, if gear is removed first, as I did.

Now moving to handle assembly and drive gear removal.

Remove 3 holding screws to pull entire handle and gear from body shell.

After this, I used a piece of suede to firmly grip the drive gear, to keep from turning, while I removed the brass end acorn nut.
You can also remove the nut before disassembly and hold the flier firm, to prevent drive gear from spinning vs. holding the gear by hand.

Pull handle crank from drive gear shaft and pull drive gear from handle bushing.

Handle knob just held with long threaded collared stud.

Looking at flier worm gear holding collet, now.

It has a small set screw. Remove this and note two flat sides on the collet.
Either grip here with smooth needle nose pliers or insert a flathead screwdriver here, to hold collet firm.

Now, rotate flier by hand, to unthread collet from shaft end.

Once collet is off, the beveled bearing collar can be taken out, exposing the 20 loose micro bearings nested internally.

Remove all loose bearings and proceed to pull flier assembly from body, but flip reel over, with flier facing upwards, before doing so.

As seen, another bunch of 16 loose ball bearings await!

Remove these 16 bearings and then remove the 2nd beveled bearing collar and holding collar from worm gear shaft.

Looking into flier, one will see the bail arm return spring and worm gear holding screws.

Remove two spring screws and spring.

Unthread holding sleeve for bail arm and remove bail arm and lock washer, by pulling arm firmly from flier.

Remove the 3 worm gear shaft screws and pull shaft free from flier.

Remove bail trip screw from body.

All parts getting a soak in solvent and body parts getting a gentle soap bath, to get rid of all that nasty grease, before reassembly.

This completes the strip process for both flier and body.

Peace!!







 

[Woodbilly]

More pictures

[Crow]

Sharp!  Good job!

[Brewcrafter]

Great step by step on a nice old machine! - john

[Woodbilly]

Sharp!  Good job!

Thanks!

[Woodbilly]

Great step by step on a nice old machine! - john

Thank you!
Hope it helps others in the future!

[foakes]

Looks like a very well built reel!

Nice tutorial!

Thanks, Fred

[Woodbilly]

Looks like a very well built reel!

Nice tutorial!

Thanks, Fred

Thank you!

[Midway Tommy]

Those Mepps are cool old reels, especially the Vamps & Baby Vamps. Thanks for sharing the teardown & resto process.

I posted a Super Mecca tutorial here a few years back. It was quite an interesting reel, too.

[Woodbilly]

Those Mepps are cool old reels, especially the Vamps & Baby Vamps. Thanks for sharing the teardown & resto process.

I posted a Super Mecca tutorial here a few years back. It was quite an interesting reel, too.

The Meca is very cool, but way too large for my use, so I never tore into mine.
Crazy thing about the Meca was the chain driven bail arm! WTF!?
 Love the overengineered reels.

[alantani]

very nice post.  thank you!!!!

[Woodbilly]

very nice post.  thank you!!!!

You're welcome! Hope it helps others!

[Swami805]

Nice job, reminds me of a ray gun from a 50s sci-fi movie

[Woodbilly]

Got this old girl all finished up!

Reassembly went pretty easy, but setting those 36 micro ball bearings by hand, was no fun.

Got everything all cleaned up and ready for reassembly.

All hardware slot scruff was tidied up with needle file before use.

Since there were so many bearings, I put them in a plastic tube with solvent and just shook vigorously.
 Cleaned them all nicely from old black grease and kept track of them. Whew!

 I started with the spool and flier assembly, as usual.

Assemble the drag click assembly and indented washer and threaded collar onto spool, as shown.

Then, start by setting the worm gear shaft in place with three holding screws.

 Place the bail arm trip tab into slot on flier and then sleeve bail arm into place, locking trip tab in, and then secure the entire assembly with threaded tube nut and lock washer.

 Next, move to the trip lever tab holding spring.

 Place wishbone spring in place and set spring retaining screw first, and then tension screw.

This completes the bail arm and trip lever assembly.

Set bail arm trip screw onto ďust cover and fasten down with nut.

Now, for the fun part!! Attaching the completed flier to body!

First set the bearing race washer into body.

Apply light faucet grease to race, to keep bearings in place once set.

Set 20 ball bearings into race.

Move to flier and place bearing retaining washer onto worm gear shaft with small shoulder facing down.

Now, place coned washer with bevel facing upward.

Apply oil to washer stack and gently place flier onto body.

Bearings will compress into race as retaining washer and beveled cone washer are pressed downward.

Holding flier firm, rotate it gently to settle all the bearings into the raceway. One cam feel it "lock" in.

Once this is done, keeping reel body upside down, firmly,keeps these parts in union before the locking collet is placed.

Now, more fun!

Set the remaining 16 bearings into race washer at the butt end of reel body.

Apply light grease to race, first.

After bearings are placed, gently set cone washer with bevel side towards loaded bearing race.

Place tiny lock screw into place on collet, but do not tighten it down.

Thread collet fully, until tight, and then rotate spool, to check for smooth rotation. If it binds, back collet off slightly.

When smooth operation is achieved, tighten the lock screw, to finalize this part of assembly.

Now, to assemble the handle and drive gear set up.

Fasten handle knob to arm with shouldered screw

Insert drive gear into handle body bushing and place assembled handle arm onto shaft end, securing with brass acorn nut.

Place entire handle assembly onto body, setting drive gear to mesh with worm gear.

Set in place with three holding screws.

With drive gear in place, put the drive collar onto the gear with stud on gear riding in collar slot.

Insert double threaded stud into butt end of reel body with short thread end outward.

Holding drive collar firmly in place with thumb, thread the stud into the threaded sleeve on collar.

Assemble the brass drag column onto non rotating shaft and align notch and block stud, to lock the column onto the non rotating shaft.

Place split washer and retaining nut to hold column in place.

Insert non rotating shaft into worm gear shaft.

Move to butt end of reel body to place connecting link and cover.

Thread nut onto non rotating shaft end, fully, and then place larger flat lock washer.

Put connecting link arm in place and set smaller lock washer and thicker nut onto shaft end and tighten down.

Set tiny holding nut onto drive gear collar shaft and tighten.

Grease and oil drive gear box and oil, only, the rear shafts and connecting arm area.

Check for smooth operation and then place both, side plate badge and butt cover, using retaining screws.

Place completed spool onto flier and thread capstan onto brass drag column.

Thread holding.cone onto capstan to complete the assembly.


The strip process is now complete and reel is much more fluid than previously and the half bail is nice and quiet.

It has a nice, "ting" to it, when closing, just like my PM Tamson reel.

A fun strip and I like having to be the first person to use my own posts to assist in reassembling my reels. Lol

Another complete strip under the belt!!

Peace!!

[Woodbilly]

Final pictures