I found a Ocean city Long Key that did not look to bad . It is missing a knob and knob stem .
I can make one and make a nice little project for a late night in the man cave .
Well when I started to take it apart for a general cleaning , than came the surprise . The side plate screws were not original . Out of 14 screws only 3 were correct . Original are 6- 40 thread .138 diameter with a unique long head on it, what the replacement were are 8 - 32 thread .164 diameter . Now when you are going to re tap a hole for the next size ,you should re drill the hole before trying to tap it other wise you are going to make a hot mess . Chip are going to tear out and the tap is not going to go in straight .
4 of the 8 bars are junk now . The other 4 bars are screwed in with the rings behind the side plates .they were alright
The reel seat is tapped 8 – 32 and is holding the screw even thou it is only .090 thick . I can make 6 screws just for the seat with the correct head on the screw . Or I can make a whole different custom seat with a little more length and stiffness to it . Still dreaming on this idea . Well I am going into my cave now and start making parts .
Yes! Keep pics going on this one...
very interesting project, please take us along as you proceed, cheers Don.
One of the things that I did check before I tore it down was, is the spool centered and how was the end play for the spool . When the side plates came off i noticed that the end bearing were not seated on both plates . About a turn and a half each . Yes these are adjustable ! This tells me that the spread between plates can be tighten up .
When i checked the reel seat ,the corners went 2 .253 on one side and 2 .260 on the other side .
Then i checked the bars for length :o They went from 2.250 ,52,54,55,58 and 2.260 . Well that means that the plates are not parallel to each other , more like a V shape . The first 4 bars that I made were 2.258 just so i can put the reel together and check tolerances. I found that i could make the bars at 2.253 and that was my targeted lengths for 11 bars . I am not giving up on the stock reel seat , I can square it up to 2.253.
I will post some pictures of bars and screw being made also.. First 3 are the adjustable bearing than the corner shots of the seat
:) I have my bars and screws made and did a assembly to make sure everything fits . It`s square and parallel now . I put 3 bars were the reel seat would sit so i can try a make my own seat .
I had to put in a order for some brass bar stock for the seat , so it will be a while before i can get back to it. Plus with the Holidays coming up and family coming it maybe after the new year before i get to play with it again .
I may play with the stock seat and put bars in between the stamping like a Ja Coxe seat !!
Good work on the screws & squaring up the posts / frame Joe - the 10 thou variation in the original posts & seat probably isn't too bad for something made with hand tools but I would have thought machined parts should be a bit tighter. How old is the 'Long Key'?
Mike
Quote from: mhc on December 10, 2022, 12:26:35 PMGood work on the screws & squaring up the posts / frame Joe - the 10 thou variation in the original posts & seat probably isn't too bad for something made with hand tools but I would have thought machined parts should be a bit tighter. How old is the 'Long Key'?
Mike
It`s a 80 plus year old reel !! I think the build date were 1932 -1941 for the long key .
I`ll take .010 , a small burr can be .002 thou . I just needed a excuse to use the needle files ..
I had one of those sleepless nights , so i made the 3 bars and squared up the stock seat .
And i will post some pictures of some knobs ..
Just now getting interested in OC reels. Made in USA, high quality, copied by Penn is what I have read.
Just bought a Bay City 112 on Eebeigh.
$15. $24 with tax and shipping.
I asked the seller if he would take the line off the reel so the spool condition would be evident.
No response. Took a chance and bought it anyway.
I didn't think it has ever been fished.
Looking forward to seeing what is inside when I get my workspace back.
I'll say it; "you can get alota reel for your $ with O.C., on a comparative basis". Drawbacks are few. Low gear ratio might be one...
This "Free Spool" has the posts welded to the steel rings, as well as screwed in along with the side-plates for a very strong cage-like frame. A 2.5:1 gear system, good for winching heavy loads, but sloooow...
Some people fear that the word may get out and then the price will go-up, but I don't believe so, the Company is no longer in business
That reel looks high quality Mr. G.
What model number is it?
-Steve
No number for the model, just a 250 for the yardage on the reel stand bottom. There's a 300 size "Free Spool" too. Made in the 20's, maybe the first official reels for the new Ocean City company.
You need the O.C. book, Gregg. Don't know. Whitefish Press may have sold all the books and disappeared. Maybe Mike Cass will see this.