The Swiss Fix-Reel Group

You got 'em, we know how to clean 'em
Post Reply
User avatar
Midway Tommy D
Star Board Poster
Posts: 3135
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:23 pm
Location: Eastern NE

The Swiss Fix-Reel Group

Post by Midway Tommy D »

I haven't posted any restos for awhile so I thought I'd put these out.

I went through three old Swiss Fix-Reels a few months ago. They're really nothing special and their conditions are sort of rough but I figured I'd post a little info & photos of the process just in case someone might have an interest. They consisted of a manual pickup, half bail & full bail. The manual pickup & half bail are from the late '40s & the full bail is from the mid '50s after Hardy's full bail patent expired. The half bail is kind of rare, I looked for ten years before I found one on the Bay. The paint prep on the early models was terrible. The paint peels easily, especially in areas subjected to lubricants. The later full bail fared much better so they must have added or improved undercoating. The half bail is a knuckle buster if your finger is ahead of the leg/foot & not pulled back tight against the leg, mainly because the leg is so short and the half bail has a tendency to whack that knuckle. :roll: The reels are about the size of a Mitchell CAP/304 but somewhat heavier. All three are basically made the same so I'll just use the half & full bails as examples.

One of the side plate screws is an oil port (OEL). I don't think anyone ever cleaned any of them, they probably just added oil every now & then. The drag washer is wool/fiber. As you'll see, they were PIGS!






Here's the half & full bail parts all cleaned & ready to put back together.


The anti-reverse mechanism works against the crank handle. It's a detent type design where the spring pushes the pin against the notches in the crank handle and the pin is engaged. The pin bypasses them when it's pulled back. The spring goes into the hole first, insert the pin with the beveled end in the correct direction and screw the lever into the threaded hole in the pin. Grease & lube the main gear, slip it in place and install the crank handle with the drive pin.


The half bail parts are pretty straight forward. The bail trip plate on the underside is activated by hitting the body and the wire spring snaps it closed and holds it in place.


The pinion gear is held in place with a couple of notches and studs on the back side of the rotor and a spanner nut on the opposite side.


The rotor is attached to the body via the main shaft tube. The shim washer goes between the pinion and body. The tube is held in place by a small screw at the very back of the tube. Next step is to insert the main shaft and install the oscillation block.


Here's the spool & drag knob parts. It has a standard type click dog & spring. The drag knob has two detents to prevent it from turning on the spool when adjusted.



The full bail is an interesting design. The bail spring extension slips into the little slot on the back of the fitting.


The bail arm fits into the large slot on the front side of the fitting.



The bail trip mechanism is detent oriented and screws onto the back of the rotor. When you open the bail the detent catches on the bail arm and is tripped when the bail arm contacts the body just behind the rotor.


Here's the half bail all lubed up and ready to install the main gear side plate, handle knob, spool and drag knob. Just above the leg you can see a hole in the body. That's the oil port when the screw on the side plate marked "OEL" is removed.


All three together. Left to right: manual pickup, half bail & full bail.



Nothing overly special about them but a neat part of spinning reel history, a little different design and some nice Swiss craftsmanship.
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)

Tom DeLong, NE
ORCA Member - 2027
Post Reply