Asso Major
by Eric Willis
Asso Major
I bought an old fixed Spool reel in a local junk shop. It says "Major Asso" on the gear cover plate and engraved on the spool. It seems to be a close copy of a Hardy Altex, and was made in Milan, Italy. It is not well made, the castings are poor, and the screw holes do not line up well. It seems as if it was "hand made", but not crafstman made. The crank drive gear has an anti-reverse ratchet but there does not appear to be a spring, only a spring clip holding the ratchet engaging lever in, is it missing ? The reel works OK, there must be some washers missing under the spool tension adjuster, as there are none and there is little, if any, adjustment. What was the arrangment of any friction washers ? Was there a lock nut on the bail arm side of the line guide retaining screw ?, if so it seems to be missing, however the bale arm end is threaded and the end of the screw just sticks out, maybe it was replaced with a longer one. I assume that it was not intended to be a roller guide. Giorgio Cavatorti mentiones the "Major Asso" on his website as a postwar reincarnation of the Itallian reel making industry together with Alcino, but that's all he says. |
