Mitchell Reel Forum

I have a second version half bail. The bail wire is longer than the bail on the third version half bail. The problem I'm having is when the second version half bail is mounted on a rod, the bail will not close because it is hitting on the rod handle and wedging before it can close. Anyone else experience this problem?

I thought they were all the same (or similar) length throughout production, albeit bent higher or lower? I am intreagued!?

If possible, can you post a photo of the two reels as a direct comparison please? I am not an expert by the way, but I think it would be helpful to those here that are.

Second version on the left. Bent differently but definitely looks longer. I bent it slightly by hand and the problem disappeared.

Thank you for posting your comparison photos.

Yes, the bail wire certainly hss a lot less of a curve to it in your photo, but I think this is creating an optical illusion; have you measured them both?

Hopefully, some of our more experienced and knowledgeable members will comment.

Glad you managed to fix the problem though.
I have (shall we say) 'coaxed' a few bail wires away from rubbing on their spools, and though the wires seem to be fairly 'maliable' (is that the right word?), it is a scary operation, particularly on a 2nd version.

Yeah, the whole time I was applying pressure to it, I was picturing it snapping. Those parts aren't just sitting around. So far so good!