You will remember last episode, I was trying to bring back a nice old Pfl tuna reel from the dead and needed end caps. thanks to a nice fellow named Ray Hencken (send him your old fly reels!), I got an old beater reel that was virtually identical to the Pfl and had end caps...amazing, considering it had no handle and lacked the "button" to work the clicker! the beater also had good bushings and since I needed one for the Pfl, I decided to try and make an exchange...note to self...don't do this again...they were apparently molded in place in the hard rubber and have a groove in which the rubber is embedded. So I ended up with a bushing and a side-plate (pic of the crime below)
As usual, I decided to try and rescue the old reel at the end of the day...just can't bring myself to give up on these things. The sideplates had been scraped for some reason...must have been encrusted heavily at some time and someone who didn't know the joys of Simichrome had pretty well abused them. You can just make out the word "TUNA" at the top center of the headplate (imagination helpful) and what might be "PAT'D OR PATENTED" underneath (imagination a necessity), but no sign of "Pflueger"...Brian pointed out that this looks like a Montegue tuna/tarpon reel, rather than a Pflueger...I can't imagine how they avoided patent infringement...the gears, holes and all, are identical to the Pflueger...only diff is that the sides are solid rubber with the metal rims instead of the Pfl aluminum "sandwich" style. Phil, if you are still reading and haven't fallen asleep
, you got any news to add? Thanks to Brian, he also pointed out repair tips that had been in the reel news in the past and so with God's help and epoxy spiked with black walnut stain, the bushing is back in place.
Now, all I need is a large handful of old parts and I can get this one back on the shelf. Of course, that will required finding a couple "beaters" to scavenge from...but of course, I will then have to fix the "beaters"
Oh, well, it's still cheaper than a psychiatrist.
