I recently purchased this single speed international 50. Its not only my first international but my first lever drag. I plan on rebuilding it and putting a new drag washer in. Its my understanding that part number 117DN-50 from Mystic should be a direct drop in replacement? Is there anything else I need to do while I'm in there? Out of curiosity are these like senators where the frame and spool from a wide will work on a standard to add line capacity? My father wants to know if its possible to have one re-anodized silver.... I'm still trying to read and understand how the drag works on these, maybe once I get inside it will be more clear....
After purchasing it and holding it in my hand I see that it may be too heavy for most of my bottom fishing so the hunt for a good single speed 30 or 30W has been started.......
a 50TW frame spool will not fit, and I'm not sure they made a 50W. If so, then maybe. Reel Colors can reanodize any color you want but, but not be a tube frame I wouldn't spend the money to reanodize that reel- It will cost almost if not as much as the reel. Curious to hear about the drag washer- I have one of these and need to put in time to figure out best upgrade available on drag.
Quote from: thorhammer on October 29, 2020, 07:03:07 PM
a 50TW frame spool will not fit, and I'm not sure they made a 50W. If so, then maybe. Reel Colors can reanodize any color you want but, but not be a tube frame I wouldn't spend the money to reanodize that reel- It will cost almost if not as much as the reel. Curious to hear about the drag washer- I have one of these and need to put in time to figure out best upgrade available on drag.
Yes, I looked at the schematic as well as a quick Google search and it appears the "T" (tournament series ) comes with a full aluminum frame where as the standard International of that era comes with a post style frame.... :/
Mystic lists a 50, 50w, 50T, and 50TW on their website, I'll look again at the schematic in the morning.
Cool. Lever drags are complicated(2-speeds even more so!), but very interesting to work on and learn about.
I found on a relatively simple LD (but 2 speed) Avet, that taking one system apart (say the spool) at a time, then reassemble it, then next time do the same thing with another system, kept me from possibly ending up with a container of parts I couldn't put back together right. Eventually, I's able to do the whole thing at once.
i wouldn't put too much money into this just yet. first, check to see if the drag washer is carbon fiber. if so, then just grease it, spool the reel up with your line weight of choice and then let's talk some more!!!!
My friend is a collector of Penn reels. Im probably going to sell him this one and buy a 30TW....
Quote from: wideopenoutdoors on November 05, 2020, 07:26:57 PM
My friend is a collector of Penn reels. Im probably going to sell him this one and buy a 30TW....
It's a tuff decision,,,,, :-\ what reel to go with,,,,my 20 international holds 600yds of 80 power pro and my 9/0 with all the upgrades 1000yds 100lb with 100yds 80lb of mono top shot is not much weight difference,,,, ;) you could do all the upgrades on a 4/0or6/0 or just get a new us senator or look at the pro gear reels,,,,,,,,, ;D
The original chrome bar Internationals did have a 50W in the line up. I remember it was the first Penn gold reel I ever used and it caught a 180lb porbeagle for me. I believe you can convert an old 50 to a 50W by changing the spool, cross bars, spool shaft and pinion gear and the reel foot, but whether it is worth it is another question.
As others have said, the T series is not interchangeable with those older Internationals.
Hi all, will be looking into getting this reel going soon.
I got the drags foe these if you need it
It may not pertain to your question but I should point out that you have an early version of the international with button style clicker and lighter gold anodizing.