Penn International 12T

[fishmeluck]

Just got this reel today. Box, reel, manual, power handle, original handle (I think), $175




The reel has detectably been used, but can't find a scratch worth mentioning on it. The drag is buttery smooth. The only flaw I can find is that when the lever is in free spool, the spool just barely turns when I crank the handle. I'm hoping some small, easily correctable error was made during a drag rebuild.

Anyway, supposing I can rebuild the drag and get 100% free-spool back without trouble, do I fish this this reel, or do I put it on the shelf and keep it as a collectors item? If I do decide to fish the reel, what would I use it for? I'm certainly not going to load it with 850 yards of 12 lb mono or 650 yards of 15 lb mono. Very few sailfish are caught around Catalina. What would be a good application? What would the stock drag be, maybe 20# at full?

Oh, why did I buy it when I don't know what to do with it? It's old, gold, and pretty ... and it's gold ...  

[handi2]

You got a steal on this one..!! Great looking reel that will work fine after a quick service.

[thorhammer]

GREAT reel. I have two and run 20 / 25 mono on mine trolling for mahi and king mackerel. drag can be ramped up if you wish.

[fishmeluck]

GREAT reel. I have two and run 20 / 25 mono on mine trolling for mahi and king mackerel. drag can be ramped up if you wish.

Thanks, I was thinking about not going too heavy on line weight. If this reel was designed for 15 lb line, it occurred to me that the drags might not be very heavy duty. Otherwise, I'll have to look into what it would take to ramp up the drag.

[David Hall]

What A find!  That's a sweet reel, I have one in not so pristine condition so I wasn't faced with the do I or don't I fish it,  after the addition of a nice tiburon topless frame and a few weeks with Cal sheets I can now fish it with 80-100lb power pro with 22lbs drag at strike and a max of 50.  It may have been designed for 15-20lb line but don't let that fool you, this reel is a tank.

[mizmo67]

What's the arrangement of the 18's on the pinion? That's what puts more tension on the spool.

https://scottsbt.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204433155-Disc-Tension-International-Reels-

[Robert Janssen]

Yes Mizmo, except that the diagram and description are completely backwards. Might want to fix that.   ;-)

[fishmeluck]

I'm on my summer break from teaching, so at last I have the time to work on some reels I haven't been able to get to for many months. Left side was opened first.



Very clean inside. No corrosion. The spool assembly lifted out easily, and the right side plate bearing came out of its pocket and remained with the spool assembly. The clicker assembly was already greased and appeared in good condition. I neglected to take a picture, but under that stainless steel plate on the spool assembly was the drag plate, and under the drag plate was a spool bearing. The previous owner had replaced the original drag plate and installed a Dura-Drag drag plate which appeared to be new, so I did not replace it.



The shaft remained with the right side plate assembly when I lifted out the spool assembly. As I learned later when I turned the reel over and the shaft assembly fell on the floor, there was nothing holding the shaft assembly in the right side plate assembly. I could have just lifted it out right after lifting the spool out. Also, the right side plate bearing, which was just under the shaft assembly, lifted out fairly easily using a bent paperclip as a bearing puller. The Belleville washers on the shaft were arranged in the "More" tension configuration, as shown in the link https://scottsbt.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204433155-Disc-Tension-International-Reels-



Turning the spool over, the spool bearing on that side was removed using the bent paperclip again. This one was a little snug but working two points 180 degrees apart it moved slightly with each gently tug on the paper clip until it came out.

To sum up at this point, by removing the left side end cap (four screws) and the drag plate cover (four more screws) from the spool, you have access to all four bearings and the shaft assembly, everything you need to service the bearings and/or adjust the maximum drag.



A few notes on disassembly/assembly of the right side plate. To remove the right side plate, you need to get access to the screw that goes through the trolling harness lug. To get access, you must remove the Quadrant (Key No. 2), or at least, take two of its hold-down screws out and loosen the third, so you can turn it enough to get access. What I did, was remove it completely. It was a real quandry though, to figure how to remove the drag lever assembly, a real Chinese puzzle-box type problem. After removing the Quadrant, turn the drag lever in the direction from Strike to Free, just past the Free detent to approximately where the last screw was in the Quadrant. In the photo, the desired lever angle is about 10 degrees counter-clockwise from its current position. Do this while trying to pull out the drag preset button at the same time. The whole drag lever assembly will come away from the side plate, when you have the drag lever at just the right position. I'm sure an African grey parrot would have figured it out faster than me , but I eventually figured it out.



To make a long story short, I tried cleaning and lubricating all four bearings, but the best I could get was about three and a half seconds of free-spool. There was so much drag in the bearings that it was hard to adjust the drag preset knob and know when I was losing free-spool with the lever in the free position. Fortunately, I had planned ahead and had replacement bearings on hand. After replacing the bearings, free-spool increased to 12 seconds. Twelve seconds of free-spool doesn't seem great for new bearings, but it will increase with a full spool of line. Also, these bearings are huge, and the larger the diameter of the bearing, the more drag.

Also, after replacing the bearings, it was easy to adjust the drag preset. The drag ramp is really nice, with an immediate pound or two of drag coming out of the Free detent and ramping up after that. Best drag I can get without losing some free-spool is 5.5 lb at Strike and 7 lb at Full. That is without a full spool. With a full spool, it will be less. However, I might be able to do better by monkeying with the Bellevilles in the drag tension stack, maybe changing the configuration or adding a washer or two.

[David Hall]

After going through the same process with mine I was getting about the same 5lbs drag.  I took it over to Alan and he cracked it open went back through everything replaced another bearing put it back together. Still 5lbs drag, it did have much better freespool than yours, I decided to send it to Cal Sheets and he did something he calls a Super12 to it, he machines out the drag 1/2" larger and does some other CS Magic and now it has drag numbers that are useful for bigger fish, 22 strike 50 max.  He also worked over the bearings and added a sleeve so it casts really smooth and has right at a minute of freespool.  Yours is a beauty and if you decide to fish it you might consider hot rodding it.  Otherwise as a stock 12T it's a great piece to hold as is.  I caught a 50lb blue fin with mine last fall and I have read stories of people landing 200+ lb. yellow fin with this reel hot rodded.

[Aiala]

I've got one NIB that I bought a few years back. It had already been blueprinted by Cal, but I'm going to send it back to him for 2-speeding so I can use it on my December trip. Maybe that Super 12, too... sounds like a good investment! 

~A~

[fishmeluck]

Thanks David and Iala for the suggestions. I just went to Cal's website to check out all the options. If I went all the way hotrodding it: 2 speed, blueprint, super 8, and double-dog, that would run $350 and it would end up being the equivalent of a Tiagra 12. The weights would even be the same. It would be way cooler, but with what I already have invested in the reel, the overall cost would be $100 more than a new Tiagra 12.

It's a tough call. I like fishing older gear that I've worked on, or modified in some way, but I'm not overly sentimental that way, and getting the best value for my dollar is also important to me. Alternatively, for just $65, I could have the reel blueprinted, made into a nice 40 lb reel, and that would represent a better value. Except, I already have several good 40 lb reels.

So for now, I'll probably put 25 lb mono on it, and fish it a few times. I have just the right rod for it, a vintage Fenwick PacificStik PS 789C, 6' 6", 15-50 lb rod, nice and bendy that really feels like it wants to be a 25 lb rod.

[handi2]

I think you made a very wise decision. I don't own one but have worked on many of them. If I get 10lbs of drag with good freespool I'm very happy.

The owner uses them for Sailfish and King Mackerel fishing from a kayak.

He contacted me last week saying he picked up a couple of International 20's to go thru. I do like the older stuff but fish with newer gear.

[David Hall]

Good choice, I think I have way more money in mine than it's worth but I do enjoy fishing it.

[handi2]

Bringing up an old thread.

The 12LT I finished today got 7lbs at strike and 11lbs at full with very good freespool. It has a half turn left on the pre program dial but it starts losing freespool at that point. The reel was filled with Momoi 25lb mono.

Keith

[David Hall]

It sounds like it's about factory spec perfect maybe better.