Been looking at least a year and a half for one of the small Greenies, but I'm not willing to pay $100 for a scuffed up reel. A few days ago I ran upon an older photo of a portion of Midway Tommy's ultralight-light collection of older spinning reels. I asked him what was this certain little reel in the pic. He said a Heddon 233. Didn't take long to find one online.
It arrived in decent condition, pretty smooth as it was, definitely fishable. After popping off the side plate, however, it was obvious it needed a purge.
Nice little reel, maybe a tad bigger than my Mitchell 308, smaller than a D-A-M Quick 110N, larger than a Microlite 265 or 110 or Shakespeare 2052.
This is one of the simplest engineered reels I've ever worked on. A drive gear, crosswind block, no crosswind gear, the block rides on a stud on the main gear. A little less than 1:5 retrieve ratio, one ball bearing, push-button pop off spool and leather drag washers.
I'm happy with the purchase.
Great job, Chester!
I have been thinking lately — that many of the relative newer members of the site — have sure come a long way in a short period of time.
Both in understanding the workings of reels, and restoring them — but also in excellent cleaning methods and skills!
This just shows me, once again — that the Alan Tani University Advanced Course in reel repair, service, and restoration — is benefiting many skillful members.
Best,
Fred
Quote from: festus on March 16, 2019, 02:49:56 PM
Been looking at least a year and a half for one of the small Greenies, but I'm not willing to pay $100 for a scuffed up reel.
The simplistic design of these Heddons, plus their bargain bin pricing makes them an excellent candidate for a vintage reel to beat around at the lake. Hell, they're even painted green! 8)
Well done, Chester! Those are decent little reels. I think you'll enjoy fishing.
Not only a nice looking reel model, but your unit looks particularly sharp. What do you think about the finger paddle shape on the handle? Looks like same as on the 222, which I find very comfortable to use.
Heddons are hard to get a grip on between all the models, so it's nice to see details of this particular one.
Frank
Quote from: foakes on March 16, 2019, 03:37:10 PM
Great job, Chester!
I have been thinking lately — that many of the relative newer members of the site — have sure come a long way in a short period of time.
Both in understanding the workings of reels, and restoring them — but also in excellent cleaning methods and skills!
This just shows me, once again — that the Alan Tani University Advanced Course in reel repair, service, and restoration — is benefiting many skillful members.
Best,
Fred
I'm surprised how much knowledge can be gleaned from this site. Two summers ago I couldn't change a bail spring in a Mitchell 300. Now I'm confident enough to tackle any Penn conventional, Abu baitcaster, low profile baitcaster, and most any spinner other than those with baitrunners, rear drags, or elliptical gearing. Also there's a fellow up in New Jersey who does sloughs of quick, walk through tutorials of popular and obscure reels on YouTube who's easy to follow. To my knowledge there is only one reel repairman in this tri-county area. Most everybody I know around here use Walmart or BPS reels and go buy another in a couple years. Some even buy a new reel when it's time for a line change. ::)