First post here, and thanks all for the information! I rebuilt two 113H2's for current use, but need help with restoring a family heirloom. The reel in question is my grandfather's 12/0 that he used for big game fishing in the 1950's and 1960's.
I intend to display this on a wall in our house and keep the original vintage line on it.
So, I need help with two things.
1. Can anyone tell what year this reel is from?
2. How should I go about restoring this reel for display purposes?
Thanks in advance.side view 1.jpgline view.jpghandle view.jpg
Welcome to the Forum .
Nice old reel for sure .
Can't Really date it for you but can offer some Restoration Hints.
First thing I would do is get that old line off it and see how much crud is on the sides of the Spool then clean and polish it . I DON'T USE VINEGAR . Save the line if you want but it is most likely Rotten and full of Salt.
Disassemble the Rest and soak in cleaner to remove the old Grease and oils then hand polish the Guts .No need to do anything to the Drags if you are just going to put it up for show.
Post some pics as you go along .
It's from approximately 1950-53.
If it were mine I wouldn't really bother taking the guts apart if you're not good at putting them back together. If you are confident, they can be soaked overnight in degreaser.
The chrome metal parts on this reel are safe to soak in a water/white vinegar mix bath overnight.
If it were mine I would soak the chrome parts in a water/vinegar mix then polish it with soap and water or a mild polishing compound like Flitz polish.
You can wind the old line onto another reel while you clean it. Or go to Home Depot and buy a cheap extension cord reel to store the line while you clean it.
If you decide to take it apart use a proper good fitting screw driver so you don't bugger up the screw heads, some might be stuck pretty good.
Water vinegar 50/50 bath for the chrome parts, then a good polish, I like simichrome but lots of good polish to use
I think I'd clean the guts and re lube them, if You did the 113s pretty much the same process
Love to see some pictures of the rod too
If you want to make the spool fuller, you can wind on some cheap butchers twine to take up space, then put the old linen on top of it
Welcome! I won't attempt to add to what's been said...except I wanna see the rod, too. And the tackle he used. I'm seeing visions of pink/white feather jigs with mother of pearl eyes. Bronze hooks and all that stuff.
Lots of good advice here from folks of course, but I suggest being careful if you put the old line back on for display purposes. If it is old and salty it might well produce some lovely green grot on your newly polished spool :'( .
You could (only could) wash the old line in warm soapy/dishwasher liquid water to remove some/most of the salt (takes ages), rinse (thoroughly) and then dry before replacing on the reel, but it is a lot of trouble! Also, the line may well rot anyway after such a procedure even if it isn't already pretty weak.
Wow what a great keepsake from your grandfather. When I first started playing with these old reels I saw some restorers on youtube soak the chrome plated "brightwork" in WD40 overnight, and then hit it with #0000 steel wool. This has worked well for me - the WD40 has its limitations but it seems to lift the light corrosion off from the chrome coating, and the 0000 steel wool helps to polish without scratching. YMMV.
I would use distilled white vinegar for green corrosion - if you have green corrosion on the chromed parts it's probably eaten through to the substrate though. Mystic seems to have most new old stock parts still available if you need them or want to get new brightwork:
https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/Penn116L.aspx
If you really want to restore the thing and you don't have experience with disassembly and reassembly, you could find an old Long beach or similar in bad shape on ebay and start playing with it until you get confidence. The layout is really the same.