I recently purchased a Shakespeare 1740 with interesting bearings. The bearings have what appears to be bronze inserts pressed into the brass bearing bodies. Was this a normal factory procedure for the Shakespeare Tournament reels? Or did an prior owner modify the bearings?
The inserts are 3/16" OD. The spool spindles measure 0.0994" and the bearing internal diameters are 0.101". The inserts are 'redder' and darker than the bearing bodies, although not as red as shown in the photos (I used Hot Sauce oil).
Other than the balsa arbor being narrower than usual, everything else about the reel appears unmodified.
Tom
