Reel Repair by Alan Tani

A newbie here when it comes to vintage reels. Picked up an old West German reel at an antique store. There was a box of miscellaneous fishing gear, mostly Chinese-made stuff, many with broken or missing parts. This was the only one that would qualify as "vintage" out of entire box. Paid $5 for it. Are those any good as far as quality goes? Seems to be working fine, I really like the 4-position lever on the side and red drag adjuster. Been looking for the Mitchell 308/408 for a while now, no luck so far... 

Jackpot. What size? It's a far better reel than the Mitchells you were looking for.

Not sure of the model, tried to load a couple of photos, not sure how, this forum is different from the ones I'm used to. It's a little bigger than a Mitchell 300, but not by much. Has a solid round aluminum handle, not skeletonized. Red two-prong drag adjuster and 4 position clicker on the side. Plastic 3-screw cover with DAM Berlin West.

 You most likely have a 330 size reel and got a very good deal ,price wise .

I think it's 285, according to the stamp on the back of the spool. So, after looking at the maintenance/disassembly video on YouTube, I learned that the handle can be reversed from one side to the other. That explains the weird 4-position clicker modes. So, it's actually a 2-position. One is with the ratchet action and anti-reverse and the other one is smooth and quiet, but with no anti-reverse, so I can spin it both ways. Is it normal? I wonder why there is no stop in a smooth mode.... Forgive me for asking, still learning....    

You have an excellent reel there.  I know that our resident DAM guru is on a camping trip right now, but I expect that Fred will have plenty of suggestions/advice/support when he returns.  That will make a great "user" reel. - john

Quote from: morlock on Today at 02:53:14 AMI think it's 285, according to the stamp on the back of the spool. So, after looking at the maintenance/disassembly video on YouTube, I learned that the handle can be reversed from one side to the other. That explains the weird 4-position clicker modes. So, it's actually a 2-position. One is with the ratchet action and anti-reverse and the other one is smooth and quiet, but with no anti-reverse, so I can spin it both ways. Is it normal? I wonder why there is no stop in a smooth mode.... Forgive me for asking, still learning....    

Yes, that is all normal, Morlock —-

Great, tough, clever, strong as they come —- and maybe the most under-rated DQ reel out there.  Inexpensive and a solid value for all kinds of fishing.

330 size.

The A/R lever is as you point out —- 4 positions.  The outer notches are for either a left or right hand crank —- the 2 center positions are free spool.

It will need a full disassemble, complete evacuation of all old grease & oil, polishing and burnishing of any friction, gear, bushing parts.

Maybe a new bail spring and a new line guide, plus a new set of drags.

Then a lube with modern synthetic grease and oil, reassemble, test all functions, and it will be good for another 40 years.

If you wish to change the crank to the other side, you will need an opposite shaped oscillation connecting arm.

Best, Fred

Thank you, Fred, your depth of knowledge on this subject is amazing. Yes, I will definitely do the usual cleaning and re-lubing, I already popped the cover off and saw a good amount of dried grease in there, though the action is surprisingly smooth. The crank is on the left-hand side, just the way I like it, so I'll leave it be. I already found your thread on this forum from 2020 regarding the restoration project you had going on. Mine looks just like the second reel in your photo with a triangle black cover, so I gather it was made in the early '60s?https://www.alantani.com/index.php?topic=30470.0 

Cool! The 285 spool should be aluminum, right? $5? I wish.
To get a good, mostly metal reel with the silent anti-reverse option, that would be a Penn SS(skirted spool)Spin fisher from the 90's or early 2000's.