Mitchell Reel Forum

Good Day Mitchell Friends,

Today, a fellow at work brought me 2 Mitchell 300A reels. one is Taiwan, the other France. He wanted one Serviced and told me I could have the other.

His is the one with less corrosion, the Taiwan reel. inside was a mess. Hardened Brown Grease I cleaned it with Brake Cleaner and got it pretty good. i lubed it with Super Grease Synthetic and put it back together. The counterweight was covered with rust, I just left it, I didn't think it would come off. i cleaned under there as best i could and brushed grease all over to protect it from further corrosion. The outside had a few spots of corrosion that i buffed off with Scotchbrite. i then primed the bare aluminum with zinc chromate, shot these areas with flat black from a spray can and gave the whole reel a thin coat of clear polyurethane satin. It looks OK. This was the worst reel (inside) that I have yet overhauled.

The France reel had a side plate screw that was completely stripped. The screws are Phillips, brass. I drilled down to close to the bottom of the countersink depth with a 5/64 drill, then put a small countersink in the drill and removed most of the head. I was able to pry the side plate off with a screwdriver. i then had about 1/8 of an inch of screw shaft sticking up which I turned out with pliers. No damage to the threads. I am going to overhaul this reel in a bout a month, when my friend comes back to work. he will be able to strip the paint, remove corrosion with acid and treat the aluminum with Chromacoat. i will then repaint the reel. I have done this to 9 300s in the past. This France reel is worse than the Taiwan reel was.

Let you know how things go. I am really happy with removing the stripped screw without damaging the threads in the housing.

Best Wishes, Plenty Fishes

G. Glen Simpson
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Hi Mates,

just a note on drilling out the screw and removing the countersunk section with a countersink. I used an SAE countersink, which is 82 degrees, for American countersunk screws. A machinist here at work told me that Metric Countersunk Screws have a countersink angle of 90 degrees.

Glen

Have had similar ones, just drilled head off with small bit.
Am very careful not to drill case. Remove remaining screw with small vise grips.
Found a very tiny screw extractor which works super ( made in USA)
Had a lube port screw messed up, bought a cheap screw extractor from harbor freight that was made of harden steel it disintegrated returned and received full refund. ( made in china) does not warrant capital letters.
The trick is do not over tighten screws. Aircraft Rule tighten till screw stops then a quarter turn.
You will have very little trouble getting them out.
I swear some people use a 12" breaker bar on the case screws.
Another factor is use a screw driver that fits.one that is in correct tears up the slot.
Enough about the Mouse, LOL

I know what you mean Schrack, when I was a Navy aircraft mechanic, we were encouraged to use our 1/4 inch drive set as much as possible. That way there was less chance to over-torque bolts. A lot of SMALL DIAMETER fasteners held down many engine parts, like the cylinder on a radial engine. We also had a 3/8 inch drive set, but needed to go to the Tool Crib for 1/2 drive stuff. Most of the fasteners there were nuts going onto studs. This caused less wear and tear on the aluminum alloy that was threaded for the stud.

For reels, I use a precision screwdriver set with the swivel on top of the handle. Cannot get too much torque with this.

Best Wishes, many Fishes

Glen in Nova Scotia

Roger Dat, I gave 40 yrs to Air Force.
Was always amazed that people would torque screws to 350 ft lbs, lol
As you said some items are critical and must have proper torque value, but Mitchell Reels my rule appies.
Am waiting on a 55 I just bought, looks almost new, but handle is a 300A.

Still haven’t done anything with this reel. I think it will just be for parts. The bail is too corroded. I also have an older 300, boomerang shaped anti reverse lever which is similarly corroded.

Glen

I do not get concerned about bail wires, only where the screw and line catch is, they normally do not have effect on line just guide it.
I have some nasty ones that function normal.
Have not cut or damaged line.