Penn Reels - just as you find them

[Shellbelly]

or all those deep down the rabbit hole you need both to complete the set!!

Don't forget about the "sideways logo" reels.   Although I haven't seen a single lug 9/0 with that anomaly.

[1badf350]

This one arrived this weekend. It's super clean and the box is in great shape too.
I didn't realize it but I now have all the different priced lighthouse boxes for the 4/0 and 6/0

[54bullseye]

Your getting a heck of a Penn collection Chris !!!  Congrats !!!    John

[Swami805]

Beautiful reel, super clean

[Maxed Out]

 Really nice Pre war 2nd gen Chris. Price on box is 1939-42

[Benni3]

Very nice set up,,,,,,

[Steelyfinn]

  Here's a few pictures of a Bridge City that I inherited from my dad, decades ago.  I believe it's about 1936 vintage and has no part numbers.
  This reel was hanging in the rafters of our carport when I was a kid in the '60s and was retired and no longer working.  About five years ago I found alantani.com and got motivated to get these old reels working again, and have restored most of the gear to working condition.
  A few years ago, I broke down this reel to make sure I could get all the screws loose and do some minimal lubrication, but left the head plate and handle assembly intact.  To my surprise, this got the reel working again, except when putting it into gear from freespool, it partially hangs up.
  I would like to get this reel back to full working condition again and clean off the existing corrosion and leave it in working reel condition.  I've been working on a few Penn conventional reels lately, and have saved a few old used leather drag washers and think I have the right dog spring for this vintage.  I'm planning to give the spool, stand, handle, etc,  the vinegar soak to clean them up.
  I'm open to any suggestions or advice on restoring this old of a Penn, since I've only worked on 1950s and later Penns.

Jon   

[1badf350]

Great reel. Be careful on the vinegar soak. I've had some early Penn reel parts turn pink for some reason unknown to me. Maybe someone knows and can explain it

[Midway Tommy]

Great reel. Be careful on the vinegar soak. I've had some early Penn reel parts turn pink for some reason unknown to me. Maybe someone knows and can explain it

When brass gets older and corrodes it can undergo a process called dezincification, a process in which zinc is lost and
the copper is left behind. Mild dezincification may cause a cosmetic change, mainly, the color of the surface turning from yellow to pink. Severe dezincification can lead to the weakening of brass and its performance. I have seen brass nuts crack after being soaked in vinegar. A lot of the early Penn parts have a high concentration of copper in them. Some of the early spinning reel A/R dawgs look like copper. The pink cast can be buffed off/out with 3M Scotch Brite Pads, but do it carefully. 

[Steelyfinn]

Thanks Chris and Tommy for the warning on a vinegar soak.

I had a similar result when I soaked an old chromed brass reel seat I wanted to reuse in rebuilding an old rod.  When I scrubbed it after a short soak, it looked like it turned a copper color, but when washed off, it was a decent solid brass finish.

Jon

[Steelyfinn]

I thought I'd share a few pics of the Bridge City that I finished up yesterday.  When I opened it up, I discovered how trashed the original brass pinion and main gears were, and had to track down suitable replacements. It turned out the way I had hoped- cleaned without polishing and totally operational.  I also replaced the leather drag washers with some used ones I had on hand and replaced the underspool washer with a new fiber one.  This reel had no yardage markings on the stand, but is the same size as a LB65.
It's a smooth cranking machine now!

[Rancanfish]

Nice work!

[Gfish]

Yes, very nice! Wonder what coulda happened to the gears...?

[Donnyboat]

Beautiful job, thanks for posting the final pics, cheers Don.

[Crow]

That looks great!