Been working on a couple of old Mitchell 300's ...got them all together but they seem be growling and rough feeling on retrieve .. anyhow its been many years since I handled one ...are they usually that way? Thanks, Joe.
Yes they do, leastways when I get through with one of them. ::)
If you thoroughly cleaned all the innards, including the bearing, work it and give the lubricants a chance to work themselves into the metal, gear teeth and bearings. Noise is common after a thorough cleaning and it takes a little use and time for them to quiet back down.
Quote from: festus on March 16, 2019, 02:10:50 AM
Yes they do, leastways when I get through with one of them. ::)
Yep, all those gear teeth meshing; I guess you could say they buzz a bit (it's music to my ears).
Frank
Softer gears on Mitchell 300's do that as they wear — add a good service to that, and they growl even more.
Oftentimes shims will help a little, so will changing the position of the gears in relation to each other, also as will extra grease help somewhat.
But they are so finicky — as well as variable — and I don't have the patience to take them apart and put them back together 6 or 8 times — especially if there is no guarantee they will be any quieter.
Occasionally, I will add grease — then mount them on one of my line winders with a brick on the foot pedal — and let it run at 2/3 speed for 15 minutes. That generally is good for growling gears.
Otherwise, I just live with the noise — it doesn't hurt anything — it is just the nature of soft alloy gears.
Best,
Fred
Great replies as usual...thank you.
Another thing that makes the Mitchells so "vocal" is the cut of the gearing, they are straight cut gears, not helical cut.
One thing about a reel that talks to you is that you know instantly when something changes or more lube is needed.
-steve