I finally got one. Surfmaster made 50,000 reels between 1950 and 1960 in Sydney. They made bait casters, spin reels and conventionals, This one is about the proportions of my Penn 99. It holds 300yds of 19lb monofilament. Spool is 2 ins wide.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/Surfmaster%2020_zpsiey7pamh.jpg)
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/surfmaster_zps5fjrdxam.jpg)
The only markings on it are under the stand and on the head plate . It has an alloy spool and side plates.
The way the reel is put in and out of gear is very interesting. It has a lever on the head plate which, when lifted out, causes the cam to lift the pinion collar off the pinion gear. When turned down it puts the reel back in gear. It looks like a very robust setup.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/gear%20engage%20lever_zpsxmzt9mk7.jpg)
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/photo-5%20copy_zpst2qjb5a1.jpg)
The drag is also interesting, with only one leather washer which probably produces about 6 lbs of drag.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/Surfmaster%20drag_zpsyjds9hba.jpg)
It has a ss dog which I thought was going to be difficult to reassemble, but no, a piece of cake.
The reel`s spool runs on bushings.
Basto
That's a neat reel. If you take it apart again make a photo of the spool end and where the pinion collar grabs the pinion gear. I don't understand that part. Thank you for sharing.
-steve
Interesting reel Basto...great find! 8)
I was thinking robust as well. Great find
Thanks guys for your replies.
Steve, I will get those photos next time I pull it down.
Basto
These photos show how the pinion collar, which is held by the yoke, is lifted on and off the pinion gear when the little toggle lever on the head plate is shifted.
This engages and disengages the spool.(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/P1040702_zpsytrxttff.jpg)
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/P1040701_zpsbzpskdtz.jpg)
A neat piece of engineering I think.
Basto
That's is some top notch photography too
Oh, I get it now Basto. Thank you very much for taking the time.
-steve
No problem Steve. I quite enjoy it. The only thing to watch out for when getting one of these reels is to be careful you don`t get one that is too corroded on the side plates. The screws can get frozen on to the alloy plate and can be very difficult to get out.
I was lucky enough to find one with all chromed brass frame.On some models the head plate side of the frame is alloy too, and they can suffer badly from corrosion.
Back then, we didn`t have Mr. Tani to show us how to lubricate all the screws etc.
cheers
Basto
Very interesting reel. The drag and clutch system design are copied from 1930's Ocean City design. Even the free spool lever is an Automatic Style like Ocean City. The lever pivots out and is knocked back into place by turning the handle. This was how the star drag drive trains was controlled before Penn came into the equation.
Thank you for that information Michael. Very interesting indeed.
Basto
QuoteThank you for that information Michael. Very interesting indeed.
Yes, especially since it is on an Australian reel. The automatic free spool lever, as Ocean City called it, was an Ocean City innovation I believe. The clutch and drive system was used by Ocean City; but, they actually copied it from vom Hofe reels. Back in the 1920's all the makers were using each others designs and many of them claimed to be the originators; Very difficult to know where it all started.
Quote from: Penn Chronology on March 11, 2017, 06:44:15 AM
Very interesting reel. The drag and clutch system design are copied from 1930's Ocean City design.
The drag is the same as that on my Pflueger 1419-3/4, which also had a roller bearing on top of the stack. The little pin in the sleeve was meant to break away if the forces exerted were enough to damage the gears; this shear pin would break off before the gears stripped. The Pflueger has a screw in the sleeve that functions the same way.
Sid
The clutch system looks to me to be very durable and reliable. Very good work when you think about how long ago it was developed.
Basto
I found another Surfmaster recently. This one has the all alloy head plate frame.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/red%20grip%20reel_zpsodrocnmf.jpg)
This one has 3 spacing wshers on the gear sleeve. Another one I have has one and the third has two.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/gear%20sleeve_zpshn6aypml.jpg)
The anti reverse pawls on these reels look just like the strike alarm clicker.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/pawl_zpsxwobm8lj.jpg)
The stand is different on this reel, with pillars and no provision for a rod clamp.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/stand_zps8za0d02e.jpg)
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/tailplate_zpsgtpb3b5q.jpg)
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/P1040931_zpsnpzzeikr.jpg)
I like the way the eccentric jack and yoke are formed into one part on these reels.
I was shown some of these reels with green, blue and red side plates recently. I think I need one colored Surfmaster at least.
cheers
Basto
Be careful. Steve will want it for his modification surgery, ;-)
I call it a "knock down clutch". The handle knocks it down into gear when its turned. I have a few reels like that. Mostly Ocean City.
Quote from: handi2 on October 19, 2017, 09:58:30 PM
I call it a "knock down clutch". The handle knocks it down into gear when its turned. I have a few reels like that. Mostly Ocean City.
Yes, or you can just turn it down with your fingers. A bit like flipping a bail wire on a spin reel manually. I have always thought it to be gentler on the reel.
Basto
Be nice Mike. I'm changing my ways. ;D
Basto, one more question about the yoke on that first reel. Are those the ends of four posts we see around the screw that connects the yoke to the clutch lever? When the yoke moves in and out do four posts move with it for stability?
I like the idea of not having a jack. Really nice reel.
-steve
Yes Steve. The yoke is sprung on the two posts closest to the pinion and moves up and down on these posts and the two unsprung posts. To me, this seems like a very reliable and robust mechanism. The difference between my Ocean City 112 is that the yoke and jack are two separate parts in the OC.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/surfmaster%20bridgeplate_zpsuy11deb7.jpg)
Basto
QuoteI call it a "knock down clutch". The handle knocks it down into gear when its turned. I have a few reels like that. Mostly Ocean City.
Pioneered by Ocean City in the early 1930's. It was called an Automatic Free Spool Lever. The lever pulled a plate up and down engaging or disengaging the clutch.
The drive train of this Aussie reel is a close copy of the Early 1920's Ocean City Ike Walton model. All of these designs are basically knock off of vom Hofe reels. Interesting to see these designs on an Australian reel.
Here are the internals of the Ike Walton model from the early 1930's. The key slot cut into the anti-reverse sprocket sleeve aka drag pressure plate with its matching little piece key stock is there to lock the sprocket sleeve to the handle shaft sleeve. It is not a shear key. Material of the key matches the material of the shafts. The keyway is there to keep the handle shaft and anti-reverse drag pressure plate solidly engaged to each other. The main gear is driven by the compression pressure placed by the fisherman tightening the star wheel onto the pressure plate sleeve.
The vom Hofe connection was even more obvious on the early Ike Walton reels (seen in the last photo on the left). That small drag wheel was replaced by a more commonly seen star very soon, making the reel on the left a rare find.
Hi Michael
Interesting to see the square top on the gear sleeve. I always thought it was a more functionaly effective design than the classic Penn curved end.
I see Penn employed it on their Baja Special and first gen Torques.
I can`t wait to get home in a few more weeks and pull my Ocean City 112 apart to see inside. It arrived just before we left for our trip and I did not get a chance to look at it much.
Basto
QuoteInteresting to see the square top on the gear sleeve. I always thought it was a more functionaly effective design than the classic Penn curved end.
The square drive is (in my opinion) more time consuming to manufacture. It needs to be broached to create. The Penn handle drive hole can be done with a round bit. I suspect that is what caused Penn to get away from the square drive. I believe most reels were square broached holes before the Penn reels. Off hand, I know that Ocean City and Pflueger used the square hole in the handle. It may be stronger than the Penn design. Don't know if a comparison was ever done about the differences of the strength of the square verses oblong hole. I would think the tendency to crack would be greater with the square hole, although, I have never seen a handle crack at the corners. I always feel a square corner is weaker than a rounded corner depending on how the weakness or strength is being judged, but the rounded corner may have more of a tendency to slip. :-\ :-\
The Ocean City designs, especially on a model like the 112 that almost completely spans the existence of Ocean City, is going to go through changes. Be interested to see the internals of your 112. Ocean City was a complicated brand. Penn had a simplicity that Ocean City did not have. A 1934 Penn Long Beach is pretty much the same reel as a 1994 Penn Long Beach, not so with Ocean City models.
Hi Michael
The only difference I can see between my 112 and yours is the position of the dog spring. I quite like it as it makes for an easy takedown and assemble.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a601/george8322/P1040955_zpsvnbwlimw.jpg)
cheers
Basto
QuoteThe only difference I can see between my 112 and yours is the position of the dog spring. I quite like it as it makes for an easy takedown and assemble.
The clutch is also different. One of the quirks of OC is the continuous little changes using the same Model #. I call it the "Confusion Aspect" and I believe it was one of the factors that caused OC to sell out at a time when it should have been thriving. Just too many designs. Only my opinion, I am a believer in the "KISS" factor.
These are great, I just picked up 4 and have one in excellent condition. The others need a little work and I ma slowly getting them in shape.
Can you get parts and does anyone want to buy the working one or the others for parts?