Nettuno A.P.

Started by Midway Tommy, July 28, 2020, 03:45:52 AM

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Midway Tommy

Nettuno reel manufacture began in Nova Milanese, Italy, which is a few miles north of Milan, shortly after WW II. Reel production continued until the early seventies. Nettuno translates to Neptune in English, but no reel actually sported the word Neptune, just Nettuno. Nettuno was established by Attilio Postini and most reels carried the initials of the founder, AP, or noted dealers such as AF, Achille Fusi, Fortuna, a dealer in Milan, R or ERRE, Ravizza, etc. Many reels sold abroad had specialty names such as Milbro, Delfin, Fortex, Bella, Chief and others. In the early nineties, a few years after Attilio Postini's death in 1986, the company was purchased by his nephews. The company no longer manufactures reels but still produces small tackle accessories such as landing nets, etc.

I've had this Little AP Nettuno for 15 years or so. It was in one of my "to-do" totes and I forgot about it when I was going through my Italian reel ensemble. I came across it a few weeks ago and decided to clean it up and put it out with its other Italian counterparts. It is a fairly early full bail example circa 1953/4.

It hadn't been cleaned in quite some time but it wasn't terribly dirty, mostly just old grease. The anti-reverse lever is riveted to the dog and it slipped. It needed tightening so I re-peened it. I still slipped a little at times so, as you'll see later, I added a little solder to keep it from slipping. Here's what it looked like when I opened it up.   



I did my usual process of scraping off any old grease, soaking all the unpainted metal parts in lacquer thinner and cleaning all the painted and plastic parts with Original White Goop and warm water Dawn wash. All the parts (not very many) are cleaned and ready reassemble. I greased with Super Lube and used synthetic oil.



I started with the spool. Not many washers in the drag, just one keyed stainless steel washer in the top pocket held in with a wire C clip.



It has an interesting and simple click spring, a stiff metal band retained in a slot and wrapped around the inside of the recessed area with an inward bend on the end that rides against the main shaft click gear.



Next I installed the bail spring and bail. The bail arm is riveted to the bail so I adjusted the bail fit before installing the spring. These can be a little cumbersome so it's best to insert the bail spring as few times as possible. As you can see, the line guide is stationary.



Time to install the bail trip lever and spring. It's a pretty straightforward and standard process.



The main shaft tube goes through the rotor, into the body and is retained in the body by a small brass screw. The slot in the tube is for oscillation. The tube has a fixed dog/lever that trips the bail lever.



Here you can see the brass pinion gear. There is no bearing, the rotor rides on the tube in the pinion. It acts like a bushing.



Next I installed the anti-reverse spring. Here you can see how I added a little solder to hold the dog and rivet together. Rivets are tough to tighten on a dog once they've become worn and loosen up.



Next step is to install the main shaft. There's a resin washer between the click gear and spool. Surprisingly, while there's not a lot of adjustment, the drag is actually pretty smooth. The threaded pin works the oscillation.



Time to install the main gear. The pin in the main shaft rides in the groove in the main gear and provides oscillation.



Here's one of the more interesting facets of the Nettuno A.P.,  the main gear doubles as the sideplate. The crank is a permanent part of the main gear. It is supported and rides on the brass fitting pressed into the body. Getting the pin in the oscillation groove and meshing the main and pinion gears can be a little tricky.  There's not a lot of space between the anti-reverse dog and the main gear teeth. ::) Interestingly, too, the anti-reverse works against the main gear teeth.



Time to add the handle knob, spool and drag knob.



Here it is, all back together. It's a cute little reel, works well but is the noisiest reel I've ever worked on. Nothing I could do would quiet it down. I don't think filling the cavity with grease would even make a difference. The main gear sideplate right there against the pinion and oscillating the main shaft make for a lot of racket.  ::)  :)




Here it is next to a Shakespeare 2052 for size comparison. It was a fairly small reel back in the mid '50s, and probably average quality for the times.







   

   
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)

sandbar

Great tutorial Tommy!
I picked up this reel on eBay being sold as an Italian reel, brand unknown. I got it real cheap and thought I had made a good purchase until I received it and the bail was broken. I missed it in the pictures and it wasn't disclosed in the description.
Is there any hope of finding a replacement?

Midway Tommy

If the seller posted photos that don't show it clearly and didn't mention it in the description, that's BS. If I were you I would request a return and prepaid shipping label. Document it well, and if you provide good photos and he won't accept the request file claim. eBay will issue you a full refund. If you opt to keep it you will probably have to wait around for a rough donor to cannibalize. Parts for those are few and far between
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)

sandbar

Thanks for the tip Tommy. I requested a refund, sent a video and they refunded my money. They told me to keep the reel. Just a family selling off their father's stuff. I don't think they had a clue it had a broken bail wire. I think of you of the Italian reel expert. If you would like this reel let me know and I'll send it to you. Maybe you can do something with it.