Pre ABU/Garcia.......ABU Record 600 & 700 tutorial

Started by Midway Tommy, March 31, 2017, 03:46:46 AM

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Midway Tommy

I've been concentrating on going through all my ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinal reels lately. I have a couple of the earliest ABU spinning reels sold, an ABU Record 600 & 700, which needed to be serviced. I noticed there's not much maintenance information out there on these so I thought I'd do a little tutorial on them.  

These reels evolved from the Swiss Record Reel which incorporated a rear drag and anti-reverse and was patented by Karl Seigrist in 1945. The Swiss Record was the groundbreaker for rear drag designs and the forerunner of many rear drag spinning reels seen today.

A. B. Urfabriken Co. (later shortened to ABU) had been manufacturing bait casting reels since the early '40s but Gote Borgstrom, A. B. Urfabriken president, had very little interest in spinning reels or investing in tooling to manufacture them. They were concentrating on their bait casting market. In 1949 Gote was contacted by the Record Reel Co to sell their Swiss Record spinning reels in Sweden and a deal was made. Starting in 1950 A. B. Urfabriken Co. purchased parts from the Swiss Record Reel Co. and assembled them in their Svangsta, Sweden factory. The first model was a half bail with a perforated Bakelite spool, the ABU Record 500 in 1950. In 1952 came the ABU Record 600, an updated version, still with the half bail but with a perforated plain aluminum spool and a couple of other minor changes. The ABU Record 700 came out in 1954. It had the plain perforated aluminum spool but now, as a result of the Hardy patent expiration, had a full bail, and the parts were now manufactured at the Svangsta factory.    

I didn't do a step-by-step disassembly explanation. You can reverse the assembly process for disassembly and removal of parts. The process is fairly simple and straight forward. The following steps can also be used on the many early versions of the Swiss Record, Record 50 models, Record 400, etc.

I'll start by explaining a couple of things about these reels that frustrate and confuse some people. First, to remove the spool the drag knob needs to be tightened down all the way. The spool then unthreads from the main shaft. If the shaft and spool still spin after tightening, the knob needs to be turned tighter yet.



Second, the anti-reverse is a silent spring type A/R that is controlled by the knurled clutch ring/sleeve behind the handle. If the sleeve is turned back tight to the crank handle there will be no anti-reverse and the handle can be turned freely in reverse. If the knurled sleeve is loosened a little it will rotate a short distance and turn/tighten the spring activating the A/R function. It is a simple friction spring tightening method. Many times people don't think it is functioning properly because the handle won't reel in reverse. The main problem when this happens is that the knurled sleeve hasn't been tightened back against the handle taut enough.




Here you can see the main difference between the green ABU 600 half bail and the gray ABU 700 full bail. The 600 was very dirty with a lot of old dried and darkened grease. The 700 wasn't too bad, very little grease at all, and quite honestly, I'm not sure it had ever even been opened before. Every screw on the 700 took extra care and effort to loosen them. The disassembly and assembly are the same for both reels other than the bail aspects.





The pinion gear and bushing tube may be pressed into the rotor. I could not get it to turn and the bushing spun freely so I cleaned it in place rather than trying harder and possibly bending something. A set screw goes into the groove in the bushing to keep the rotor cup in place. There are two small holes in the groove to allow oil penetration in between the brass bushing and main shaft tube.



Here are the 600 parts all cleaned after disassembly. I did the same thing with the 700 parts but didn't photograph them. All non-painted metal parts were soaked in lacquer thinner, wiped and wire brushed or buffed. The painted and plastic parts were cleaned with Original White Goop and washed with warm water & Dawn dish soap.  



I usually start by installing the bail parts onto the rotor cup before my hands get all greasy. Lube the parts prior to installation. I prefer Armor All to lube these parts rather than oil because it won't collect dirt and get sticky. If they get a little slow later I just add more Armor All. Install the roller guide onto half bail and attach the bail to the post. Install the bail trip lever into the slot in the rotor, insert the bail post into the tube on the rotor and install the trip lever spring and screws. Check the bail to make sure it closes properly.



Here you can see the different spring positions when the bail is open or closed.




In this photo you can see the notched screw driver I made for larger split slotted screws, caps and nuts. I took an old cheap one, filed a slot in the center and ground/filed both faces of the blade so they are the correct thickness without a taper. It works on every split slotted bail cap, bail spring cover or handle nut that I have come across so far. First step on the full bail is to insert the trip bar into the slot with the notch on the bottom and in toward the pinion bushing. I use Armor All as a lube on full bail mechanisms, also. Install the bail spring and bail plate. Install the trip bar spring with the longest extension in the V groove on the trip bar and rotate the bail plate into the closed position. Check to make sure the bail fits properly and adjust its bend accordingly if needed. Start the bail cap, lube and install the roller guide, attach the bail to the bail plate and tighten the bail cap. Check to make sure the bail snaps shut without hesitation and adjust if needed.




Install the rotor cup to the body using the small slotted set screw.



Here you see the main shaft and drag mechanism. Grease/lube the inside of the brake tube and install the thin drag washer. Install the main shaft and grease where needed. Grease and install the brake/drag bushing by sliding the slot over the pin at the rear of the main shaft. The thick washer goes at the rear. If not worn out and compressed it should stick out the back of the tube a little bit. It can be installed now to hold the brake bushing in place or can be installed later with the drag knob.



Time to install the main gear, oscillator block/yoke and anti-reverse spring. Add a very small amount of grease in the groove and install the A/R spring with the protruding end toward the outside closest to the reel crank. Grease the shaft area between the ears and install the oscillator block, grease/lube the side plate bushing and install the main gear, grease/lube the main gear and install the side plate/main gear making sure the stud on the gear is in the slot on the oscillation block and fasten it in place with the short oil/side plate screw.




Install the click spring with the screw and one end in the slot on the brake/drag bushing.



Grease and lube any areas that need additional lubrication. Install the cross bar using the two long crank-side side plate screws.



Grease the inside back of the drag knob and insert the drag spring disc with the convex side out toward the fiber washer. The spring disc has two ears to hold it in place so be careful not to over bend those ears. Install the side plate with the large slotted screw. The knurled slotted screw on the 700 side plate is kept intact with an e-clip on the back of the plate.



Install the plastic grip onto the handle. Notice it can be flipped over out of the way for storage. Install the knurled clutch sleeve making sure the spring extension is correctly in the groove. Install the crank handle and test everything to make sure all aspects are working correctly.



Done!




Neat little reels from the early years that paved the way for the rear drag reels of yesterday and today.
Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)

CH

Nice write up Tommy....... :)
Stuff like this is what I come here for.
Thank you!
L2F/F2L
DAM Quick Addicted

oc1


Benni3


foakes

#4
Thanks for the great write up and explanation, Tommy —

This is a reel that I do not think I have — although I may run across one in the outer shop.

In George Thommen's "Complete Guide to Spinning Tackle", Circa 1954 — Mr. Thommen references a similar reel — a Thommen Record, with rear drag and a half bail.  Body and a few other things are different, however.

Are your pair before or after the Record?

Great photos, Tom!

Best,

Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

Crow

Good job on the write-up !  And kudos on your "special" screwdriver !  I have a large drawer in one of my tool boxes full of "special" screwdrivers, sockets, wrenches....whatever, that I've "fabricated" over the last 50 years. Been so long , for some of them...I don't even remember why I did it :D
There's nothing wrong with a few "F's" on your record....Food, Fun, Flowers, Fishing, Friends, and Fun....to name just a few !

bhale1

Tommy,
Thanks for the excellent write-up. Sure is a neat old reel.
I saw the guy in the linked video using that A/R knob on the handle to back reel. Very cool to see it in action!
Brett

foakes

#7
Thought I had some somewhere, Tommy —

After starting at 7:00 to drop 23 trees — was done by 9:30 — getting hot — decided to do the last 24 Monday morning — at 6:00 AM this time!

After hitting the shower — Decided to look for some old parts out in one of the storage containers —

Found 3 bins of old Thommen Records, H&I, Bache-Browns, etc.

Here is one of the buckets.

I do not recall seeing an ABU though.

I am guessing from your historical narrative — that the ABU came after they purchased Record?

One of the Records has a busted plastic spool — but I found a new spool in the old spool bins.

Thanks for sharing your reels — I do not know much about these.

Maybe someday, they will be restored — but I do not know when.  They are not even being considered for restore as of now. 

Best,

Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

Midway Tommy

The Record Reel Company of Zurich introduced the Swiss Record rear drag spinning reel in 1946. There were many models and variations sold through the late '40s, '50s, '60s & '70s. In the early '50s Thommen Sports Equipment of NY was importing them, therefore the Thommen-Record markings on the sideplates. Horrocks-Ibbotson also distributed a couple of models, the HI 600 & 700. By the late '60s and into the early '70s the Swiss Record rear drag spinning reels were imported & sold by Rectrak of California. The ABU connection, as noted in the reels I originally discussed was a short relationship, although they did offer the 700 from 1954 - 1964. ABU contracted with the Swiss Record Reel Co, Zangi of Italy and Sportex of Germany & England for manufacture of some of their early spinning reel models. Those reels could only be sold in Scandinavia. The ABU 500, 600 & 700 were Swiss Record reels with ABU Svangsta on the side plates. While there were a few minor design changes over the years most Swiss Record reels are quite similar to what I have shown in the tutorial. ABU came out with their own ABU 444 and ABU Garcia fulcrum brake design in 1955 and highly promoted them. The came out with the now famous Cardinal line, 66 & 77, i.e Zebco Cardinal 6 & 7 in 1965.
Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)

foakes

The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.