I had the good fortune of making a deal with George, the fellow with the Saintly wife that bought a passel of reels for hubby on the cheap at an estate sale...thank you , George (and wife!!).
When I got the reel, It turned very hard and not far, so I started breaking it down to do a thorough cleaning and lube. To my amazement, all the screws came out easily, but the spool just didn't want to come away from the face plate. I finally realized that a threaded channel that Pflueger wisely used to line the hole through the face plate was stuck to the spindle; lefty-loosey turning unscrewed the whole thing and got the spool loose from the faceplate. The spindle was stuck tight, via corrosion, to that threaded channel, thus explaining why the reel wouldn't crank!...in fact, any effort to turn spool would draw it down even tighter...or if turned backwards, would push the spool against the back plate (that's the "Cautionary" part, folks...if it doesn't turn, don't force it!). There was evidence forced turning had occurred as there was wear to the reinforcing metal on the back side of the face plate.
So, soaks with Kroil and hot and cold treatments finally allowed me to remove the channel from the spindle. The channel is made of brass, so easily buggered up and I thought i was going to have to make a replacement. However, with a bit of cleaning of the threads, I was able to thread it back into the faceplate.
The good news is that the reel is otherwise in excellent condition, with only a couple minor scratches on the back plate, which I chose to leave alone. Any sanding on the back plate would removed the serial numbers at 6 o'clock and the patent info at 12 o'clock, both clearly intact. The reel has now joined a small herd of Montague, Pflueger and JVH HR reels in my collection...thanks again, George!
Pflueger Golden West...a Cautionary Tale!
- john elder
- Star Board Poster
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Pflueger Golden West...a Cautionary Tale!
ORCA member since 1999
Honorary Life Member
Specializing in saltwater reels...and fly reels...and oh, yeah, kentucky style reels.....and those tiny little RP reels.....oh, heck...i collect fishing reels!...and fly rods....and lures
Honorary Life Member
Specializing in saltwater reels...and fly reels...and oh, yeah, kentucky style reels.....and those tiny little RP reels.....oh, heck...i collect fishing reels!...and fly rods....and lures
- RonG
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Re: Pflueger Golden West...a Cautionary Tale!
Interesting adventure with a great outcome.
Ron Gast
https://reelsnlures.com
https://reelsnlures.com
- Paul M
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Re: Pflueger Golden West...a Cautionary Tale!
Nice save, John!
- VintageGeorge
- Big ORCA Fan
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Re: Pflueger Golden West...a Cautionary Tale!
Wow John that is a real beauty now ! Thank you for the kind words !
- Midway Tommy D
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Re: Pflueger Golden West...a Cautionary Tale!
Lucky you, John, and nice restoration. It turned out amazing!
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)
Tom DeLong, NE
ORCA Member - 2027
Tom DeLong, NE
ORCA Member - 2027
Re: Pflueger Golden West...a Cautionary Tale!
Good save! Lucky it wasn't stuck like that on the left side!
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Sid Lehr