Way back when, when I was a kid, my grandpa gave me a Mitchell 330 reel. I have been using it since. Not as much as I got older, but recently took it back out, and when I got home decided it needed some tlc. So I have disassembled it, and there was no shim on the pinion gear. I notice that the rotating head has some slack up and down. It's not much slack, but it has me wondering if that is what the shims are for, or are the shims just to make sure the pinion gears mesh well? Because it spins well, and has never skipped or anything when reeling. As you can imagine, then entire insides needed some serious cleaning, which I did, and right now it's back to it's old self. I don't have the right grease so I will be ordering some reel grease and then taking it back apart to get some fresh new grease in there. Is there something I should be looking for as far as the slack goes, or is that just normal to have a tiny bit of up and down? I did not take off the plate under the spool, but will if I need to. As far as winding the line, it seems perfectly fine to me and I don't see any issues there. Also, the slack seems to be the same with the spool on or off if that matters.
Side note here, I have had this reel for at least 45+ years now, and it's hard to explain how much this reel means to me. Crazy how an inanimate object can do that. So nice to see a forum where these beauties are kept up and valued.
1963 330 Question.
Re: 1963 330 Question.
Yes, there should be a slight amount of up and down play. You mentioned that the reel is spinning well? You can test this by removing or adding one shim to see how it feels after. Most people overdo the lubricant. Just enough brushed on the moving parts. I usually put a thin coat on all the bare metal just to protect it.
I hope this helps you. Scott
I hope this helps you. Scott
Re: 1963 330 Question.
Thanks, that does help. I need to take that off and look to see if there is a shim in there. I went ahead and ordered a couple of shims online just in case. Never hurts to have spare parts anyway. I also picked up some reel grease and will be disassembling the reel so I can get everything greased up. It should be in tip top shape here soon, which makes me very happy. Thanks for the help.
