Mitchell Reel Forum

I notice this post is from the First of April.

Thank-you Sandman, nice to hear they are still in business.

Thank-you Sandman, nice to hear they are still in business.

A question for all our American members if you can help. Does anyone know if the Oregon based Fred Meyer shops sold fishing reels? I've just found that a boxed reel I have, marked 'Fair Traded' has a little sticker with Fred Meyer Adavau $28.75 on it. Does anyone have a clue what 'adavau' might mean...

The Aluvac trademark was for products made at the Fonderie de Precision, Boulevard National, Nanterre, Paris. They also made Solide stylish toy cars an the plastic bodies for Jaz clocks ( Owned by a Carpano family member!) Also parts for Piaggio and Lambretta scooters, I put an image up of the facto...

Whatever you think best Wallace, I'll PM you today when the coffee has woken me up. There are a number of French sites that might be of interest to members. As you open them with Google it offers to translate them for you. I've actually put a desktop icon to Google Translator on my screen so I can '...

Just two old images from 1895, Constant Carpano ( son of Louis) sitting on the turbine and the turbine in place beneath the Carpano et Pons factory. Turbine, carpano et pons.jpg Turbine 2 carpano et pons.jpg You'll probably remember that arch from other shots of the factory. I know it's a long way f...

Thank-you for your kind words. I also tracked down the foundries Mitchell used. I think everyone has seen the 'Aluvac' casting mark on early Mitchell reels? Aluvac was the brand name for the Fonderie du Precision at 32 Boulevard National, Nanterre, a Western suburb of Paris. They also made Solide to...

I have finally found out why the Mitchell factory at Thyez was also referred to as Somfy. Somfy, or Société d'Outillage et Mécanique du Faucigny was a subsidiary of Carpano et Pons, set up in 1969, which is still in business today. In fact they occupy the original Carpano et Pons building in Cluses!...

Here is their last factory in Marignier, near Cluses, then and now. In the 'now' image you can just see the faded name Mitchell on the wall in green, between the two round windows:

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Following on from that great thread from 2021, I thought I would spend some time seeking out the old factory sites. Here's the thread in case you missed it: https://www.mitchellreelmuseum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=88 The following is a then and now of the Mitchell SOMFY factory at Theyz Mitchell fac...

That looks really good. I would love to know what products you used.

Most of the advice on here is US based and uses products we just can't get.

These reels possibly suggest that the anti-reverse lever was changed before the other changes. Remember 'version' is a thing we created to talk about the reels, whereas Mitchell just talked of 'continuous improvements' saying their were over 500. Great save on the paint job, I wish I could do that. ...

Technically, no. The counterweight is held in place by a cross-shaped distortion at the end of the handle. One thing I would add about handle straightening...OK two. 1/. Never do it with cold metal always warm it a little...a good polish will do that 2/. Put the handle knob screw on and the eye can ...

That's a great find and is the earliest serial number yet found, I believe. Well done. It was most likely stamped on the very first day of serial number usage early in 1952, which would make it 71 years old! Wow!! Incidentally, it cost $29.25 in the US, 50cents more than the left hand wind reel! It...

That's a great find and is the earliest serial number yet found, I believe. Well done.

It was most likely stamped on the very first day of serial number usage early in 1952, which would make it 71 years old!

Wow!!

It always seem to me that the later, French made, 300 reels are just a 300A without the badge. They have a red gasket and M8 gears. They have the later, steel, 3-piece bail arm. I recently had two reels here for service. One was a Christmas present from the owners late parents, the other a birthday ...

Apparently Chris Shannon has already compared both....and could find no difference!

How strange.

Who is going to be brave enough to open up a 304S so we can see if the gears are of a different metal to a 304? If you do make sure you choose exactly the right screwdriver. Mitchell screw heads have shallow slots and those screws are just chrome plated brass and can be the very devil to get out und...

That appears to be one of the last 351 reels made in about 1963. It was replaced by the 401 in that year. It is indeed a faster 300 originally being marketed as the Rapid. To accommodate the larger gears inside they had to make a different anti-reverse dog and reposition it too. It also has a differ...

Extraordinary price! £1247.23 Which would currently be $ 1,544.44

That's six times what I thought they were worth.

Good point Bill. I was once fishing when as serious storm went over Salisbury Plain. As well as the cane rod needing drying the reel got water in it too...good job I checked. There's no source for these shims in the UK and the only ones left seem to be in France and the US...and somewhat expensive i...

These M7 shims have turned up already. I was concerned that the outside diameter ( OD) might be too large at 13mm but it turns out that the size of main gear centre boss they would sit next to, so they should be fine. You can get them from this eBay seller: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224326415431?ha...

Great collection John. The two in the middle were probably being assembled at the same time! How great that they are all in such good condition.

Thanks for the link, Bill. That's enabled me to search for some main gear shims 81-035 that are so hard to find now. It turns out European M7 shim washers suit, but with a slightly larger OD at 13mm, not 10. and ID at 7mm, not 6.579mm. They are available in 0.001, 0.003 and 0.005mm thicknesses, so g...

This is what many call the third version of the reel and since it has a serial number on the body ( not the foot )it'll be a late one, made after A70000. So it probably was made between 1951 and early 1954 and would have had a B or C prefix. It's not one of the last with a 6 number serial, as they w...

The majority of half bails do have a serial number on the body, and just a few on the foot. But that is only because they were the later reels made and they were in full-on mass production. Earlier reels did not have serial numbers and are generally identified by whether or not they have 'Made in Fr...

It's certainly a very early reel as it just has 'Rapid' on it and a butterfly anti-reverse lever. I had thought these were only released in Europe, but since it doesn't have the green arbour and handle knob, maybe it's the first one to be sent to the US? I guess that makes it a first version, which ...

Sorry for your loss, Don. I don't think anything hurts as much.

I don’t have a new Mitchell reel book. Or, an old Mitchell reel book. Just this: https://mitchellreelmuseum.com/dating-mitchell-reels-by-serial-numbers/ It said A prefix was 49-50, and I just guessed that A2 was fairly early in the run. But, anywhere between 49-52 is still older than me. As to the ...

I don't think any of the 300 spools have anti-reverse in them. Just a clicker to let you hear that a fish is taking line. These spools will fit a right or a left-hand wind reel and are interchangeable. The anti-reverse on the 300 is operated by the lever on the left hand side of the reel, behind the...

I think the reel is a little younger than 1949. George Saul's new book would put it as 1952 when the first serial numbers appeared. The gears inside will be very high quality.

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For those in the UK there is once more stock ready for posting. Use the e-mail address in the original post and your details will be forwarded to the despatcher.

Only that the lower reel has had its anti-reverse lever re-fitted in the wrong plane. I guess it's about 90 degrees out.....

Any use Bill?

https://www.reelschematic.com/wp-conten ... A-301A.pdf

I got it from this site:

https://www.reelschematic.com/reel-sche ... #gsc.tab=0

Sometimes the box sleeves were Match ones altered with a sticker. For some reason the reels production figures were not fully recorded by Mitchell but some were made in 1983, the reels in 1984, '85 and '86 are possibly included with the numbers made of the 440 reel. This reel and it's changes are we...

I'm lucky to have a copy of this book and I think it is outstanding.

So many interesting images of the factory, old adverts and publications. And every reel illustrated so perfectly.

The UK release sold out in four days without being advertised....

Yes, they will fit a 300C OK, you have a deep and a shallow spool there, the shallow being the one with the most line on. It looks as though that spool has a buckled clutch adjuster possibly.

Sandman it's a 301 reel not a 308.

I believe Christain told us the first were made by Thecla in Delle, but I thought they put their name there, not a circled LM but I honestly can't remember now.

Another of these leftys with LM turned up in the UK last year I read.

Thank-you Bill. I will link to more images. The reel appeared on a Facebook Mitchell reel group yesterday and I asked permission to capture the image. The original poster may be from the US and his post can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/Pops-Tackle-Box-Vintage-Rod-Reel-111591670343572/ In ...

I wonder if anybody has seen a right hand wind reel like this before? The axle seems deliberately not to be gripped by the casting, except where there are two unusual 'pressure marks'. It also has unusual casting marks RHW leftty unusual marks crimping axle.jpg LM in a circle....is this Thecla from ...

George Saul's new book " The Mitchell Century" states that the first 401 reels were released in 1963, so they should have a seven digit serial number. It's technically possible to build up a '401' reel on an older 301 body but it would probably have a poorly matching side cover to body if ...

Thanks Paul. I'm just working on a late Sixties reel and there are no sides to fold up at all at the rear.

I used to know Portland well, friends in the MOD police there. It had the best fish & chip shop I ever saw...battered mushy pea balls!. A queue around the corner on a Friday night.

Wallace covered this in his book. I think it was something to do with any international trade that the US was involved in Post WW2.

I also have 2 of the very first "B" numbered hoop bails complete with required rotors and baffle plates. Both have the normal pitch angle. One has the long stem; the other the short stem. I have never seen any evidence to suggest that the first "B" numbered hoops were anything o...

Ah got you, Kim
#

I have now found a complete NOS bail arm assembly for David. And the bumper isn't perished!

piscesman wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 11:01 am david, those bail bumpers are very scarce. Came in red and black colors. I remember someone was selling them but can't place where. Maybe EB? Only seen a handful in years of collecting. Good Luck in your search.
Kim

I had no idea the first version $00/401 bail bumper came in black!

[quote= The pixels on this picture was 1400 at 800 you can post the picture. [/quote] I think that is using Windows Paint Don? I have read that this will soon be discontinued and replaced by Windows Paint 3D...that said, I read it on my PC I bought in 2020 and it still works fine. Before I had Windo...

Thank-you Mitchell 330, you can never have too much information. The book in question is now with the printers and should be available next month or soon after. I've had the honour of a little peek and I think everyone will be very pleased with it. There's a few people on here who have contributed a...

Thinking it through again it seems as though the two sides to the rear of the guide were not bent upwards at 90 degrees as the forward sides had been. Since there seems to be extra metal at the rear on my one, just waiting to be bent up I think it was possibly an error in manufacturing which for one...

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