Mitchell Reel Forum

Mates,
Here is a photo of the 300A assembly line in France. Note the power screwdrivers the worker is using. Many modern assembly line plants still use these. There is a spring loaded cable which the screw driver attaches to and makes the weight of the hand held part almost negligible. Modern versions also have a settable torque value so when operating the fastener is given just the right amount of torque.
Kind Regards,
Bill

Bill,
Great picture.

Ted Lanham

Ted,
Would you have any idea of the date this picture was taken. Great information thanks for the article. As a side note, I will bet everyone would love that power screwdriver!

SGTMAR 62,
I don't know what year, but GreatLaker might. My guess would be in the late 70s.

Regards
Ted Lanham

Mates,
I don't have an exact date but if you look closely there are some very good clues. It appears the worker is assembling the bail to the rotor and I believe these are the 5 piece bails she is assembling. The rotors have the information bands on them. That means these reels are gasket reels and my guess is 300A. The 300A reels were made somewhere between 1977 and 1988, but the first two 300A reels, which were distributed by Garcia, had one piece bails. Browning took over for Garcia as the distributor around 1979/1980 with the first of the 5 piece bails. That narrows it down to sometime between 1979 and 1988/89. The photo came from a 1988 catalog.
Anybody else have any theories?
Kind Regards,
Bill