Newby with a bbroken Mitchell 308 reel

[aka jim]

Just started collecting early fishing tackle and picked up two 308s.One seems to work fine but the other one has an issue with bale, it works opposite the way it should. The spring holds it open instead of closed. I took it apart and saw the spring is sprung somewhat, is that causing this?

[Midway Tommy D]

The bail spring, cavity and bail arm probably need a good cleaning and adjustments. Don't use grease as a lubricant for bail springs as they slow the action down and collect & retain dirt. Most bail springs can be adjusted/tightened if they get weak but it may need to be replaced. The main culprit of a slow closing bail is that the bail has been bent out of alignment. Make sure the bail moves freely with no binding or restrictions. You may have to check the bail for proper alignment and manually adjust/bend it accordingly. When bending & realigning a bail be careful and do it in small increments & adjustments.

[aka jim]

thanks, will look into that. The end of the spring that fits into the bail is stretched out of round and it looks like the "clocking" is off so that when assembled the bail is in the wrong position. It seems to push the bail in the wrong direction.

[Midway Tommy D]

If both reels look to be close to the same versions, meaning the parts appear to be the same or similar, you can use the working reel as a guide to get the non-working to where it needs to be. Bail springs can be adjusted or rewound to get the correct tension but if they're sprung too far out of shape a new bail spring may be the only solution. They can usually be picked up on eBay for a couple of bucks.

[aka jim]

The old one is badly out of shape, going to order a new one. After taking it further apart I found the anti stop dog spring is missing so I need to get one of those too.