Reel Repair by Alan Tani

I got this sweet looking little reel in the mail today. I found one tutorial video that I haven't watched yet, but I can't seem to find anything by way of a schematic. I gather that pushing the handle in takes it out of freespool but I'm wondering if something is worn down or missing because it doesn't seem as conclusive as it should be. But it's noteworthy that as it arrived it gets about 3 seconds of freespool. I'd give anything to still move that well at that age.

I want to clean and lube it and fish it on a bamboo rod. I may end up cutting off the top bar. I pad less than $20 shipped for this so I'm feeling very... Bold.

Does anyone have parts for these? I saw Fred mention parts but that was in a very old thread and I know there have been purges since then.

Sorry, Jason —- had a couple of shoebox sized containers of frames, parts, spools, and side plates. 

However, when paring down to just doing 4/5 brands of quality vintage spinners —- this stuff was out the door.

If it was me, I would buy another of these reels in better working condition (they are not expensive, although of high quality) —- then see how things interact and are supposed to operate.

I have a footlocker crammed with about 200 OLD baitcasters, but I kept the Meisselbach take-aparts separate, and I think that, I am pretty sure they are gone now.  Just about 200 of the other popular brands of the day from 70-100 years ago.  Tried to sell them as a group for $2 each —- no takers.

These are solid reels and easy to work on —- no big surprises.

You'll enjoy the engineering and top quality materials.

Best, Fred

Isn't that the one where you rotate the handle backward to put it into free spool?  I did a write-up about them here about 8 or 9 years ago but can't find it now.  Also, the pictures are now lost and gone forever. 

It's fiddly and the only thing that is not moving when in free spool is the handle.  The side plates are screwed on and one of them (probably the head plate) is reverse thread.  They are very fine threads and if it was over-tightened it may be frozen on there forever.  If you can get  it open, you are unlikely to need any new parts.

Yeah I just popped it open. The sideplate comes off like a mason jar. It is not reverse threaded. Lots of little wires that I assume are springs. I should really wait til I get home from work for such a thing.

Jason,

I have a 1907 Meisselbach K.K. Special "Tripart" one ring. Bought for display,I wanted a 100 year old reel,just cause.Not meaning to hijack,just thought it may trigger a history lesson ...

Gave it a good once over. A very interesting internal design.

https://youtube.com/shorts/l91A7QljkNg?si=kI57SBMkqktVYFQQ

Also what's the difference between the "takapart" and the "tripart?" other than of course spelling.

Found it:

https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,20618.msg222652.html#msg222652

Also I gotta say I lucked out. There was old but still very functional grease in there, and everything was mechanically sound. so it's been serviced by someone who knew what they were doing. But I could not get the handle off and I don't feel like shearing it off trying. I'm pretty happy with 20 seconds of freespool even if it's loud as heck. But I think the top bar has to go. My thumbs are just too long.

Per your writeup mine dates to between 1917-1921

Chopping the top bar out of a 100 year old reel feels a bit like a criminal act.

If the front and rear bar were both just a tad higher, I wouldn't worry about cutting out the top bar.  As is, I think you'd have to be very careful not to bump it because there's no support above the equator. 

Hundred years old or not, the reel is inexpensive to replace.  If you destroy one that'll just increase the value of everybody's collection.

However, considering what you're trying to do, I think you would be happier with this one., or anything else with a Koph style clutch so you get complete free spool.