Bronson Dart No. 905, brake adjustment?

Started by festus, May 14, 2019, 10:05:41 PM

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festus

I got this old Bronson spincaster from eBay in a lot of 9 reels.  Line pickup works and it casts.  

Not much online about these reels other than they weigh 7 oz, they were manufactured from about 1960 to 1967 and they have a preset drag.

However the ad states that the drag is adjustable.  As you can see, there the only working exterior parts are the handle and the push button line release.

Anyone have an idea how you would adjust the drag?  ???

mo65

Quote from: festus on May 14, 2019, 10:05:41 PM
Anyone have an idea how you would adjust the drag?  ???

   Maybe that knurled knob on the front?
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


festus

Mo65, that's what I thought also about the knurled knob, but it doesn't work.  Maybe after I take the entire thing apart and give it a good cleaning, it might start functioning.

Midway Tommy

The knurled knob is the drag knob. It is threaded and will easily unscrew out. The washer between the knurled knob and the spool cover is supposed to be a little convex to lightly apply pressure. The drag washers are behind the cover. There should be 3 washers, 2 metal with a fiber, teflon or rubberish type washer between them.
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)

festus

Quote from: Midway Tommy on May 15, 2019, 03:26:31 AM
The knurled knob is the drag knob. It is threaded and will easily unscrew out. The washer between the knurled knob and the spool cover is supposed to be a little convex to lightly apply pressure. The drag washers are behind the cover. There should be 3 washers, 2 metal with a fiber, teflon or rubberish type washer between them.
Thanks, Tommy.  Earlier today I had it partially disassembled.  Had the knurled knob out and all the washers you mentioned.  All parts are there, but the brake just doesn't function.  If I can find a schematic, I'll try more.  Never had any experience servicing spincasters.

festus

Quote from: Midway Tommy on May 15, 2019, 03:26:31 AM
The washer between the knurled knob and the spool cover is supposed to be a little convex to lightly apply pressure. The drag washers are behind the cover. There should be 3 washers, 2 metal with a fiber, teflon or rubberish type washer between them.
Tommy, here is the washer that's supposed to be a little convex, not quite sure it's working or the correct part.


Meanwhile, I took the reel apart, cleaned what I could, then re-greased it.  It's running smoother, but the drag still isn't working.  The knurled knob turns, but it doesn't affect the drag.






While I was at it, I serviced the last reel in the lot of 9, a Shakespeare 1797, a spincast reel made in the late 1960s.  This one has an odd drag setup too.  Tightening or loosening the hood controls the drag.


This 1797 is listed at $34 retail in the 1969 Shakespeare catalog. I seldom use spincasters anymore except rarely with the Zebco 733 and Zebcp 888, but would have been happy with this Shakey in 1969.



Midway Tommy

Were there any washers behind the line pickup spool cover? There should be three behind it, two metal with one fiber type between them. Yours could be an upgraded variation from the convex washer design. Don't expect too much out of those things, they weren't a very high quality reel in the first place. I feel lucky if I can get the line pickup to work properly without jury-rigging new springs.  ::)
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)

festus

Quote from: Midway Tommy on May 15, 2019, 05:29:29 PM
Were there any washers behind the line pickup spool cover? There should be three behind it, two metal with one fiber type between them. Yours could be an upgraded variation from the convex washer design. Don't expect too much out of those things, they weren't a very high quality reel in the first place. I feel lucky if I can get the line pickup to work properly without jury-rigging new springs.  ::)
Yes, the three washers you mentioned were there, but I didn't get pics.  Wasn't really expecting too much out of the reel, just curious about how the thing operates.  It's probably been 4-5 years since I used any type of spincasters.