Problem with my old Mitchell Match reel

[Joe Fletcher]

Looking for some help and advice please . I have two old Mitchell Match reels .
A blue one and a black one . For some reason and I cant work out why .
The button on the spool on the blue reel wont lock the spool in place any more . I can swap the spool over on to the black reel and the spool locks in position until I push the button down to release the spool . So I know it not the spool that is the problem . Would be interested to know if any one else who owned these types of reels has had the same problem .

 

[Steven Devereux]

when the spool is on the blue reel ,does it oscillate up & down when you crank the handle ?


from the cobwebs of my mind ,i sem to recall that the mounting post (the pushrod/bar that the spool locks onto & goes through the body and is located too the cross slide (a plate with a peg on it) via a hole near the end.and gears move the slide plate which in turnushes the post up and down.

what i think is wrong is the pushrod post ,isnt located/locked into place and when the spool is pushed on its not snapping into place because the post is slightly lower down than it should be and there's not enough resistance to push the spool against to lock it in place.

a number of things could be wrong here.

the peg on the slide plate is sheared of (very rare ,but possible)

the post/pushrod has come of the peg (because of the tight fitting in a grooved channel this is unlikely)

the drive cog has lost one of its dog teeth (three peg teeth that locate into recesses in the slide plate and its slipped off the dog teeth.(i've had this ,a few times) and the post/pushrod dosn't move)

the slide plate is rusted and clogged up or jammed (not likely as most mitchells internals are smothered in grease or 3-in-one oil /WD40) although the grease may of congealed & clogged up the works

the post/pushrod is bent can happen if dropped without a spool on ,but not likely ?

you could remove the three screws that hold the side on ,be careful not to drop the gears off when seporating the two halfs ,the gears are mostley mounted on the underside of the side panel .once off you'll see the slide plate with its drive gear sitting on to ,lift this out and turn it over too check the dog teeth on its underside & check the post/pushrod is located on the slide plate or not .

my broken/sheared dogteeth/drive gear

 

[Joe Fletcher]

Cheers Steve , Will strip the reel down and have a look .

 

[Ian Crook]

Joe, before you strip it down, I use to get this quite regularly with old mitchels, I found the the spring steel bit on the end of the spindle where the spool sits had got flattened down too far and it is these which the spool is supposed to catch on, try bending them out a little, always worked for me, also make sure there is no dirt in the spool cap stopping it going on properly.

 

[Joe Fletcher]

Joe, before you strip it down, I use to get this quite regularly with old mitchels, I found the the spring steel bit on the end of the spindle where the spool sits had got flattened down too far and it is these which the spool is supposed to catch on, try bending them out a little, always worked for me, also make sure there is no dirt in the spool cap stopping it going on properly.

Cheers Ian will give it a try

 

[Joe Fletcher]

Cheers Ian problem now fixed

 

[Ian Law]

Very informative post Steven

I love my 440a Match. 30 years old nearly... It comes out every spring when I go after big tench on the float. I love the sound of the clutch when it sings....It's timeless, and amongst my entire collection of tackle, which like all us specimen anglers is a huge amount it has to be my most cherished..

Ian

 

[John Newman]

There is a guy on ebay who often has Mitchell spares listed.

Here is a link: skylark31 | eBay

Might be worth keeping a note of for future reference.

I have just returned to coarse fishing from a long break due to the distraction of fly fishing and my 35yr old mitchell 300's have been pressed into service and I see no reason to change them. The fibreglass rods have been replaced with Wychwood Rogues though. Also got a 308 in the cupboard that might see the light of day next season.