Shakespeare spinning reels from the '70s.....

festus · April 26, 2018, 01:18:33 AM

Quote from: The Fishing Hobby on April 25, 2018, 11:27:24 PM
I like those you posted a picture of. Nice color scheme. I picked mine up on eBay but I have since seen them locally (Arkansas) in some flea markets.

I think that's why I like it so well, the colors. Very popular color combo over in the town I grew up in, maroon and gold are the school colors.

basto · May 07, 2018, 10:15:47 PM

Quote from: The Fishing Hobby on April 26, 2017, 01:49:33 PM
I have a few Shakespeare light spinning reels that I thought I would post some pics of in case others were interested in looking into them.

2400 made in Japan
Nice reel. Lots of modern features (2 ball bearings, skirted spool, and a bail that can be easily closed manually), aluminum body and good paint. Drawback is a poorly balanced rotor. This one may be my next rotor balancing candidate.

Just found a 2400 and only thing needs attention is a missing handgrip. This one has the letters DC after 2400 on the side plate.
Do you know what that stands for?
I could not find a schematic for it, only the 2401? It seems like a very well made reel to me.
Basto

2200 (not Sigma) made in Japan
These reels are a sleeper and often overlooked and underappreciated. This reel is pretty smooth cranking, you can feel a little bit of vibration from gear meshing that could possibly be eliminated with some strategic shimming. There is very little friction when cranking, it feels like a good quality 3 ball bearing reel but there is just one (pinion bearing). Good looking little reel. I checked the rotor balance on this one and it is very well balanced without any modifications.

2052 made in USA
These are a real beauty. This one I have polished, they usually come with maroon colored paint. These used a worm gear drive so they should be a work horse. This one has a lot of steel parts so keep them away from saltwater.
Poorly balanced rotor, but once you balance the rotor they are silky smooth with zero vibration from the gears (one of the benefits of a worm gear drive). There is more friction when cranking than the previously listed reels so the handle doesn't spin quite as easily but the smooth cranking makes up for it. Polishing out the main drive gear shaft and oilite bushing may free it up a bit but I don't think I will bother with it. It isn't tight by any means. It may also be due to the fact that a worm gear drive isn't as efficient as the other gear setups...but again the gears are smooth as silk and it is a more robust gearing system due to the fact that there is more contact area of the teeth.