Back in the day -- Shakes made a couple of variations of the Sigma line of reels.
Front drag -- then rear drag.
These are very decent reels with metal bodies, and good features and construction.
Best,
Fred
pretty sure there was a Sigma w/ fold-down bail, which is a good choice for backpacking... or, maybe those were graphite
Quote from: foakes on July 05, 2017, 08:14:58 PM
Back in the day -- Shakes made a couple of variations of the Sigma line of reels.
Front drag -- then rear drag.
These are very decent reels with metal bodies, and good features and construction.
Best,
Fred
What kind of gearing materials do they sport? Most of the ones I've torn into had either pot metal, alloy or nylon gears of some sort. I haven't dug into one in awhile but I don't remember seeing any SS or brass gearing after the early '70s.
Brass pinion, Tommy --
Alloy combo main gear and shaft similar to a Mitchell 300. Likely a harder material than pot metal -- but not HD like higher dollar reels.
Nothing fancy, not SS or bronze alloy like our Cardinals and Quicks -- but don't sell these reels short -- they will catch trout and bass for a lifetime if serviced, maintained -- and fished within their engineered limits.
These are comparable to the Daiwas, and other quality Japanese reels of the 70's -- with good bones.
These are generally inexpensive, decent reels that can be had for a few bucks.
Not extrordinary -- just a good reel to restore and use.
There was a lot of junk and copycats produced in this era - but there are still a few treasures that most folks just walk by -- because they are used to the disposable plastic walmart reels of the last 30 years.
Just my opinions...
Best,
Fred
The early blue ones with the push button spool were magic reels. Felt drag that, after soaking in Singer sewing machine oil was as smooth as anything. For 2-6 kg line still the best spinners I've used. Shame someone stole them all! One was my daughters favourite flathead and flounder reel, she was not impressed! The next black metal series were nearly as nice and we used to sell them at cost to kids who came into the shop I worked at weekends at. They became customers and fishers for life.
Quote from: foakes on July 05, 2017, 08:14:58 PM
Back in the day -- Shakes made a couple of variations of the Sigma line of reels.
Front drag -- then rear drag.
These are very decent reels with metal bodies, and good features and construction.
Best,
Fred
Fred which sigmas should one look for?
Personally, I just prefer the simplicity of a front drag -- except with ABU and Zebco Cardinals.
But I believe either front or rear drag are very good -- as long as they have metal bodies and rotors -- not graphite (another word for plastic).
Just my opinions.
Best,
Fred
Quote from: foakes on November 30, 2017, 09:30:33 PM
Personally, I just prefer the simplicity of a front drag -- except with ABU and Zebco Cardinals.
But I believe either front or rear drag are very good -- as long as they have metal bodies and rotors -- not graphite (another word for plastic).
Just my opinions.
Best,
Fred
Thanks Fred!
I bought two 040's.
One was NIB, the other to fish.
There are no bearings and the one I bought to fish felt a little tight.
I thought it was old grease, but the aluminum spool shaft is bent. >:(
Those can generally be straightened with just a couple of pieces of hardwood such as Oak or Birch -- squeezed in a vise or a hit a couple of times by good heavy hammer.
Best,
Fred
That sucks Daron, maybe try a little heat and then straightening it in a vice? If that's no good, perhaps Fred may have a new shaft he will sell you. They are good reels, I am glad I got my hands on one too! They do have a ball bearing on the pinion, you'll have to take the rotor off to get to it. Here's the link to the breakdown I did. http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=22812.0 Dawn's number 2 washers are a straight drop in replacement on the drag too.
Cheers,
Andrew
The shaft is bent on both ends.
I bought a parts reel for $12.
I don't trust the integrity of aluminum after straightening to that degree.
Thanks for that link Ruffy. ;)
I'm flabbergasted that those reels were made with aluminum main shafts. :o I've never run into one of those, I guess, and here I though alloy main gears were a bad deal. ::) It sometimes seems like there was no limits to how much reel manufacturers cut corners yet promoted their product as high quality. SMH :(
The 060 and 080 have stainless shafts.
I'm still going to give this reel a shot.
I was a Sigma fan back in the day.
I still am. ;)
The 025 uses a stainless shaft, not aluminum. I don't show it in the video but here is a review and a tip for alignment of the silent anti-reverse cam that may help someone out:
https://youtu.be/6c7kbE65TPk (https://youtu.be/6c7kbE65TPk)
My parts reel came and I took the shaft out.
I put a magnet on both and the shaft is not aluminum.
I just thought it was, because it was so easy to bend.
Upon further inspection, I think this reel was gone over and the shaft was heated, I noticed a discoloration and the bearing had the shield removed. The new shaft was true and I made the reel whole and plan to put it in my surf fishing arsenal.
I have a lot of reels I would like to work more, but my hands are so cracked and sore from the cold weather.
I was just happy to finally get this one done.
Congrats on getting it going! If it was heated it must have lost its temper and rigidity. Wonder why anyone would do that?!?
That makes a lot more sense, now.
I used to fish behind a dam where break offs were very common every few casts....go broke using Stren. We all used the Sigma line which handles exactly like clear blue fluorescent Stren: easy to cast minimal memory at half the cost. I don't think they make it anymore.
I have a spool for an sigma 40 and no recollection of where it came from or if I ever had the rest of the reel. I do have an alpha 40 and an alpha 50. The 50 has never been fished. Not to change the subject, but were the alphas any good?
I can't help you on the Alpha's. I don't know anything about them.
I recently bought the Sigma 080.
What a Tank!
There are issues with the bail. Someone removed the bail stop.
I think my 040 parts reel is going to come in Handy, because it looks the same.
Quote from: grekim on December 31, 2017, 01:21:51 PM
I have a spool for an sigma 40 and no recollection of where it came from or if I ever had the rest of the reel. I do have an alpha 40 and an alpha 50. The 50 has never been fished. Not to change the subject, but were the alphas any good?
The Alphas weren't too bad but (at least on my Alpha 2100b 035) they didn't use bushings for the main gear drive in the body or side plate...it is just aluminum.
The 040 Bail stop worked! ;D
Happy Day!
Good work, Daron --
And now we all learned something!
Best,
Fred
Looking through a bunch of totes and bins this morning for parts for members.
Sound this old Shakes Sigma 035 Pro with a metal body, rear drag, folding bail, and SS bearings.
9 oz. on the nose.
Appears to have never been used or mounted on a rod.
Broke open the side, removed the original grease, relubed with TSI321.
Beautiful little skirted spool with a push button spool release.
It was in a return bag from an old closed tackle shop. Missing a lock washer for the bail. Fixed that -- now it is ready.
Best,
Fred
Found this ad in a 1990 Field and Stream when the Sigmas were on a spring sale marked down to $21.88 at KMart. I remember using Sigma monofilament years ago but haven't seen it lately. One other note, both the Mitchell 300 and 308 were $24.00 in the same ad. Made in Taiwan models l suspect but they were still decent reels.
Fred, you have more (and better quality ) reels than our local Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart, and Academy Sports combined.
That gold spool Sigma is a different breed from the original.
I did my best to tear the 080 down, but I couldn't completely remove the main gear from the frame.
I struggled with it for a while, but I came out on top.
This reel is about the size of a 9500ss or a Dam Quick 270.
I plan on spooling it and fishing it in the surf.
Good job, Daron --
Big reel!
Bezt,
Fred
I am in search for a bearring for the 2200-040 series. Does anyone know where to find? Or maybe the dimensions so I can look around? Living in the Netherlands...
Regards,
Ed
The Sigma's (2200 -front drag; Supra, Pro -rear drag) were very good reels: hypoid gear train, steel shaft (stainless in SW sizes), pre-pinion AR, slim metal bodies, metal spools. We sold quite a few of them in the shop I worked at in the 80's. The Alpha's were a lower quality series.
Sigma monofilament was an interesting line. It was Teflon impregnated offering friction resistance that was demonstrable. Run a length through a ceramic guide on a rod and rub the line vigorously back and forth. Other monos would heat up and break quickly. But the Sigma line would not! Quite impressive, although I saw little practical benefit as few line breaks tended to happen via the guides. And lines would not heat up under water. Sigma disappeared not long after its reputation was sullied by a run of defective batches.
Hello Group,
I'm hoping someone may be able to help me. My dad has a beloved Shakespeare sigma 025 reel. Unfortunately this fall the bail wire mount broke. I have not been successful in tracking down that part and was wondering / hoping someone here may have one I could purchase for him.
Thanks for your time reading this,
Jon
Don't know if this is what you need but here is a NEW assy on the Bay LAST ONE !
https://www.ebay.com/itm/372572303918?hash=item56bf0a322e:g:AKwAAOSwlt9cQoac (https://www.ebay.com/itm/372572303918?hash=item56bf0a322e:g:AKwAAOSwlt9cQoac)
Thanks for the help but unfortunately I'm looking for the other piece the wire connects to. It's the bracket that has the spring loaded action.