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!
