Well, I had the opportunity to get an Eppinger Notangle Free Spool Model EE reel to add to my collection of early free spool bait casting reels. The reel was in semi-rough condition with some of the chrome worn off the spacer bars, face, and tail plates. It was also stiff to crank but would go into free spool, albeit I highly doubt it would have cast at all. I figured once it was cleaned up it'd be a lot smoother and a nice piece but, I mainly got it because I wanted to see the free spool mechanism.
I got the reel torn down, making sure to document each part, where it went, and in what orientation it was when it was removed. Into the cleaning solution the parts went and a couple hours later, I cleaned everything up and moved to putting the reel back together.
I have to say, the person who designed this reel had to have been a -----off engineer or an engineer who hated fishermen - maybe both. Also, this reel has two different design characteristics that work against each other. The Notangle feature and the free spool. Let me explain what I found out about this reel while playing with it. First, let's get familiar with the parts.
Part 1 - Main Drive Gear
Part 2 - Spacer Washer
Parts 3 and 4 - Free Spool Cam and Cam Stem
Part 5 - Notangle Tension Clip
Part 6 - Notangle Thumbing Band
Part 7 - Retainer Spring
The free spool mechanism (parts 3 and 4) work as follows. Part 3 is not circular and the keyway is stamped off center too. The bottom of Part 4 (left side of part) fits inside Part 3's keyway and when the crank is turned to reel in line, Part 4 shifts Part 3 to lock into the inside of the main gear providing grip to turn the gear. The the crank is turned backwards, this loosens the grip of Part 3 and the reel goes into free spool. Pretty straight forward.
The next two parts are worth a Darwin award in my humble opinion. Parts 5 and 6 are what provide the "Notangle" feature to this reel. Part 6, the "Thumbing Band" is placed around the teeth of the main gear and is held in place by a pin on the housing and Part 5, the Tension Clip. The Thumbing Band provides tension around the main gear when the spool is spinning during the cast. Freespool on this reel, therefore, is not really freespool as the pinion gear (located on the spool shaft) is still engaged to the main gear as well as the levelwind. Couple that with the fact you have this Thumbing Band applying friction to the main gear and there is nothing "free spool" at all.
Here is what the entire assembly looks like courtesy of the 1932-33 Eppinger catalog found in the Member Library.
And here is the image I took of my reel assembled on the reel frame with the spool.
The name "Notangle" is very appropriate for this reel , but coupled with "Free Spool" provide one of the best oxymorons in reel design history as far as I'm concerned. In fact, instead of naming this reel the "Notangle" I feel it more descriptive to name the reel "Nocast." To have named it "Nocast" would certainly imply that you will get "Notangles" when you use this reel.
With the Notangle feature installed, there is so much friction on the spool (via the main gear) while in free spool I would be amazed if anyone could cast this thing more than 20 feet - with a 3/4-ounce lure. This is with the spool bushings adjusted so there is a slight slap from left to right.
So, I did what any of you would probably do. I decided to take out Parts 5 and 6 and see if that freed things up any. Here is the image of what that looked like.
Once fully assembled in this configuration the reel spun like a top in "free spool." Again, in my eyes this really isnt a free spool reel because the spool is still connected to the main drive gear.
Now, there is a caveat to my reel compared to the one in the 1932-33 Eppinger catalog I need to address. In the catalog (see image below) you'll notice that the Model EE has an "Adjuster" which consisted of a dial and thumb button. I assume this would control the tension the "Thumbing Band" placed on the main gear. Since my reel doesn't have this, this is only a guess.
I assume the reason my reel doesn't have this feature is because it's an earlier version of the reel. It's serial number is 133, which I would think is pretty low. But, not knowing when this reel was first introduced, I have no clue.
What I need to do is fill this reel with some line and make some casts with and without Parts 5 and 6 installed and note the difference. But, based on playing with it at the desk, the difference will be night and day.
I hope this helps some of you who have this reel or have considered adding one to your collection. And, if any of you have one of these reels and see I have done something wrong with its assembly (which is why it's so stiff with Parts 5 and 6 installed) please let me know!
Take care!!