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Post 11 Aug 2022, 22:15 • #1 
Guide
Joined: 07/12/22
Posts: 207
I have read quite a few posts from Bulldog and have recognized a real aptitude for mechanical improvements but also equally if not superior old school machinist skills. Not talking about CNC machining but picking up a Dremel and finessing a solution to what was originally a design flaw and probably amplified by the limitations of production manufacturing of the particular era. I have some amazingly machined turn of the century Meisselbach baitcasters but the average individual could not afford them when they were made. I couldn’t afford them if not for the fact that most serious collectors have passed. But most of your average fishermen had to make due with mass produced and then off shore copies of the better design. I picked up some very inexpensive but potentially usable Pfluegers 1774s and something called a Compac 26. That had an interesting 3 ball bearing/ramped drag system which I was able to repair with a little trial and error. Found the parts diagram on EBay. Someone sold it for a few bucks but the photos were still available Just saved the screenshot. Not a bad idea. Based on an old patent. But the issue I keep running into is this. Get the reels. They all click well. Clean off the caked on grease and they stop clicking. All seem to be the same issue. At one time the entire assembly was pressed and relied on friction. I have tried low temp solder and even carefully punched around the gears. (works on old British motorcycles). Tried a little UV glue. Works for a few minutes. Thinking about using a hand press but then would need to make fixtures for every situation. I see that JB weld is a popular method. I have repaired valve seats with this stuff, but it doesn’t flow via capillary action which I think would be needed. My other solution would be to stop wasting my time. Never had any issues with the old Martins and just picked up a beautiful Beaudex. But I have a hard time getting rid of these but they are essentially free spool reels now. Actually the Compac is a nice reel with a functional drag. Just silent. Any ideas would be appreciated.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 00:57 • #2 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
You can drip very thin super glue under the clicker gear. Spin the gear and drip at the same time (have acetone on hand for the times you glue yourself to the spool). With time the repair won't hold up.* If you really must fish a 1774 long term, drill and pin the clicker gear to the spool (don't even think about trying this with a Dremel tool).

But face it, life is too short to put lipstick on a pig.

Read the Click pawl reels thread - all 24 pages of it. There are many, many, better reels than a Pflueger 1774 (or the more recent version, the Pflueger 576 Trump). Start with a decent reel, clean it up, and fish it. For example, the Airex Meisselbach** Ablette reels will work much better than the 1774. If you don't mind red, look for a South Bend Finalist 1122. The Hardy made System reels can often be found for a nice price. The beat up ones usually fish just fine after a full bulldog cleaning, and the drag has mellowed with time. The newer Pflueger Supreme 1834 or a BassPro White River UL are modern reels that often sell relatively cheap. Watch for poorly presented classics on eBay. There are plenty of better choices.


Tom

* For the record, I have 4 copies of the aluminum frame Pflueger Trumps. I set them up with 4 weight through 7 weight lines. The reels have cork arbors and just enough backing that all the reels come to the same weight. I use these for test casting so the reel weight doesn't effect the casting feel. I don't need a drag for grass trout. The Trumps are excruciatingly cheap reels, but that's fine for this purpose. Take them fishing? Not a chance.
** No relation to your other Meisselbach reels - but bulldog1935 tells that story much better than I do.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 07:10 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
I have ended up with several of those old Pflueger reels.Some folks I buy we) and trade witt threw them in on deals.I really didn't want them I think they are steel?Some are still in the box.I put line on couple to test some cane rods as they are a little heavy and seemed to balance them better.I will do as Tom does and use them to see what lines work on which rods.Great idea Tom.Also good for letting others try a rod and not scratching up my nicer reels


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 08:27 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Sometimes wasting time is it's own reward. To paraphrase Thoreau, don't worry about saving time, spend it. So if you have plenty of time to spend, and given that we all have 24 hours in the day, wasting it by spending it on these reels isn't that bad. It is press-fit philosophy. Later on, you wonder why you did it, but it is already done, so that doesn't matter. Cleaning thoroughly and avoiding modern penetrating lubricants afterwards is the key. I would press and peen after using Seal-All glue. If that doesn't stick something together, Rube Goldberg himself would be out of suggestions. When the riveted pillars loosen so the sideplates shudder, just wind up more slowly and be the clicker.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 08:52 • #5 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Thoreau did read his pond as a fly fisherman would.

btw, you guys need to give me paragraphs if you want me to wade through it.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 10:15 • #6 
Guide
Joined: 07/12/22
Posts: 207
Thanks to all. Looking closely at one, it has a narrow diameter arbor with a center groove to tie the line to. The gear, bronze spacer and even the spool back plate move independently on the arbor sleeve/bushing/tube which Is firmly attached to the front plate.

Maybe a perfectly drilled sized 80 hole centered on the contact point which would be challenging even with an end mill due to the material difference.
I might save that for a really boring winter day.

The other one is not coming apart. I noticed someone sheared the retaining screw at some point. And the spool is firmly attached to the shaft. A dab of oil and the entire shaft turns at the peen point in the frame. Not many would notice. Just have no idea what’s going on behind the spool. But it clicks and works fine.

I agree, I have plenty of other reels to use.
I will do the cyanoacrylate method on one and put these on the shelf. I just have a weird compulsion to fiddle and make things do what they originally did at one time. The old engineer motto-“If it ain’t broke, take it apart and fix it”.
Bought them real cheap at thrift stores before I knew anything about them. Almost as if they modified their production methods continually until they finally achieved something that would last exactly as long as the limited warranty. Which is the opposite of the Pflueger bait casters I have. From the beginning, right up to the model 2800 (despite its somewhat delicate stamped aluminum end caps) even the lower end models show continued improvements in functionality and manufacturing tolerances.

It also could have been deliberate because one was intended to be an ergonomic functional winch and the other a line holder.

Thanks again for the advice and guidance.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 10:24 • #7 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Not this reel, but this same Young pattern 1.

Image

I repaired a slipping drag gear using the peening end of a jewler's hammer. Just keep turning and keep peening until it's stuck.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 11:04 • #8 
Guide
Joined: 07/12/22
Posts: 207
Hi Bulldog,
I am about half way through the Click and Pawl post. I have read bits an piece before. I have been taking your advice on Martins and have a MG-3, LM45, 67SS-A, in the box 60 and 62 plus a Young Beudex. Not sure how to properly identify that one. The spool measures 3” x 9/16” but the OD of the frame is 3-1/2” x 1-1/8”.

The all work flawlessly.

I started with a used SA 456 marked “Made in English”. But I do not know much about this reel. But I did have to repair one spool. It came with two. The clicker gear had a crack. It didn’t slip but I added some cyano because I could pop it off and didn’t want to accidentally lose on the river. I think it is a Duralin plastic. Probably left in extreme heat and the aluminum expanded beyond its ability.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 11:33 • #9 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Your Beaudex is 3-1/2" contracted (narrow), which is the most useful size. Note it won't quite fit a DT5, except maybe a 406 DT5, but a very useful size up to WF7.
I'm particularly fond of 3-1/4" Beaudex and Pridex for most of my small warmwater fishing.
Love to show off my early postwar Allcocks Gilmour, Pridex in a tuxedo.

Image Image

I converted over 200 RHW Young reels to LHW, and kept a hobby business going turning these for what I considered the cost of my labor.
Even my collection has mostly burned a hole in my pocket for other projects, but some, like the Gilmour, are here to stay.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 14:05 • #10 
Guide
Joined: 07/12/22
Posts: 207
That is really nice looking reel. Thanks for sharing the photos.
My collections have also set me back over the years. Not ready to retire yet, but when I do, my motorcycles are going first. I can’t ride anymore. Just like to look at them and remember.
Just happened to get lucky being left handed.
But learned to become pretty ambidextrous after years of working with my hands. Did everyone used to think that it was to difficult to reel in with your left hand way back when? All my bait casters were perfectly set up. Not that you could change them. Sure, I cast with the handles up and not down, but at least I didn’t have to change hands if the fish grabbed it on the splash. Always did the same with spinning reels. Made them right hand wind. Made sense to me. Plus I always have my strongest arm on the rod.

But than again, it took motorcycle makers along time to figure out it was easier and safer to clutch with your hand and shift with your foot than the opposite.

I have one old reel that actually has the drag knob on the crank side. Not the nicest reel but has gold and brown anodized finish that goes well will my Fenwicks. It’s a click pawl Compac # 26. Made in Japan for a US importer on the North West Coast and Canada. It uses three ball bearings, a cog with three asymmetrical cut outs with a spring washer to add various pressure. And a drag washer on the clicker side of the spool. It acts as a one way clutch like on the new reels. But is actually based on an old patent I found in the Patent archives. That’s how I figured it was missing parts when I got it. A little trial an error and I figured out the best size. Figured it had to be a readily available metric ball. It also has a labeled reversible pawl with coil spring and repositionable chrome line guard. You just remove the spool and flip the pawl over on the pin. But the drag of a nice feature. Not a lot of information on them.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 14:45 • #11 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
this is where we can't really have a discussion without a photo - it's likely something seen and maybe discussed here under a different name.


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