Restoration and spool dating

[Dfitz56]

Hi all.
New member here. This is a great site. Using the information contained within I was able to date my Mitchells, all 300s. I was blown away by Wallace’s 1939 restoration. I have half a dozen old Mitchells, most could be restored in some fashion. Wallace, I would love to know your detailed process as I’m pretty meticulous about bringing old things back to original where possible (I repair/restore clocks).

Also, does anyone know how to date the spools?

Thanks

[GreatLaker]

Dfitz56,
Speaking specifically about Mitchell 300 spools, it's pretty tough to date spools. There is no known method I have ever heard of.
About the only way, that I have come up with for myself, is if I have a reel that I need a spool for, I look for photographs of a mint NIB reel and try and match that. The other way is if I have a schematic, of a specific reel I want a spool for, I go by the part numbers on the schematic to locate a spool. Neither method is sure fire. This is one area where we all could benefit from a method, but it would be quite challenging to do so IMHO.


Kind Regards,
Bill

[Bonaventure]

Hello,

I have one spool on a 300 that is Graphite Composite, it may have come from a Taiwan made mitchell, but i am not sure. Any info as to when and where these were made?

Thanks

Glen

[GreatLaker]

Hi Glen,
I know that some graphite spools were first introduced on the 300A series reels around 1984. I say 300 type reels, because the classic 300 model reels were replaced by the 300A designated reels for a time.

These first 300A graphite spools had white lettering on the drag nut which was later replaced by gold colored lettering. The 300A reels were still being made in France at that time.

Kind Regards,
Bill

[Wallace Carney]

Hello Dfitz56 and to our forum!

Sorry for the late reply but I'm doing so much work behind the curtains trying to rebuild the site, sometimes I lose track of where I'm at. That is a sign of old age from what I hear.

I'm not a painter but I do know that the best restoration is where you take as many steps as needed to get the reel ready for fresh paint. In the past I've used several methods to strip the paint but the only one I would highly recommend is to use a sand blaster but use crushed fine walnut shells and NOT sand. Since most people don't have access to a sand blaster, try going to the neighborhood body shop and ask for help.

Before I go any further, can you find someone who can help with the paint stripping? Let me know and we'll take it from there.

Kind Regards,
Wallace

[Bonaventure]

Good day Bill,

thank you for your response to my question about graphite spools.

Wallace's answer about using Walnut Shell to blast paint off is also timely. There is, too, a process called Plastic Media Blasting that can remove paint without damaging the substrate. this is available in an abrasive booth, similar to a sandblasting booth. It is widely used in the auto and aviation industries.

Best wishes

Glen

[Dfitz56]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I’m thinking about buying a small booth blasting cabinet (Harbor Freight) and I’ll check out the different blasting media’s. With respect to the spools, I have a real mixed bag with different materials, different spool pawls and springs, painted and unpainted spool spindle base, 3 and 4 spoke? wing nuts, etc. GreatLaker posted a set of diagrams that show spool parts 1950-55. If there are others out there with this type of documentation we could narrow the field regarding spool age.

Thanks again

Danny