Johnson Reel Collectors Assn. (J.R.C.A.) since 10/10/14

Earlier this year, I got a good deal from eBay on a Century Lite 125 graphite reel with a broken-off reel foot.  Some time later, I got another good eBay deal on an early Century 225 missing the push button.
Then I got to thinking, "They're from about the same time period, I wonder if I could create a usable Century Lite 125 graphite from these two reels?"  The game is afoot! I've already established that the Century Lite 125 front and back covers work on the early Century 225 body.  The Century 125 Lite drive train is much smoother and the star drag is correct, so more changes are in order.
Updates to follow.
Skip








skippdates to follow.

Making headway on cleaning/preserving the reel collection.  Last spring, I realized that about 1/2 of the reels had been put on the shelf in "as received" condition.  Several were seized up by dried-out lubes, others were very stiff.  I started a program of cleaning and preserving, coating all moving parts with Vaseline until putting in service on a rod.  Seven reels done, 18 to go, oughta keep me busy 'til Thanksgiving.  I love working on reels, although some of 'em do cause x-rated language.  My most recent opponent was a 710B  with a very stubborn crank nut.  It needed a ratchet and socket, but I won the contest.
Skip

Well, darn it!  I was hoping to have a Johnson mini-spincast reel to pursue trout, bluegill and sunfish with.  I have examples of each of the reels mentioned in the subject box, as well as a Chinese-made Johnson Sabra 4 from the early 2000's.  Alas, these small reels are fraught with problems. 
With the Sprite/Sprint models, if your lure or hook gets snagged, the line retrieve doesn't stop.  Even with the drag tightened down, the reels keep cranking until the line is hopelessly twisted.  I have two Sabra 4's, haven't succeeded  in getting either one to retrieve line.
I'll keep these reels as "display only", rare curiousities. 
Interestingly, the only Johnson "mini reel" I've had good service from is the Chinese-made Scorpion O5U triggerspin.  It hasn't been seriously tested in landing a fish of any size, but at least it casts and retrieves reliably.

I can't figure out how to participate in "Johnson Fans Chat".  Doesn't seem to be any way to highlight, and respond to, a specific comment or question.  What am I missing?

Many of you know that I service and maintain the fishing tackle for Camp Barnabas, a nearby summer camp for disabled kids.  Most of their tackle is the cheapest variety of Chinese Shakespeare's and  Zebco's.  For the 2016 season, I decided to try to upgrade their tackle a bit, and provided some 6 Johnson graphite reels, with thanks to Chad B. for a generous donation.
When I collected their equipment at the end of the 2016 season, I was stunned and, frankly, a bit outraged, that nearly all of those graphite Johnson reels were unusable, front and back covers missing, nothing but parts.
For 2017, I resolved "No more good stuff", so the Camp got the cheapest stuff I could round up.  I still felt the kids deserved better, and over the winter, I began to wonder if the Century 100B reels might a better choice.  Yeah, they're old, and parts are a bit of a problem, but they're built like an M1A1 Abrams tank and they're easy for Skip to work on.  Plus, the only part readily removable without tools is the front cover.  A phone conversation with Al cemented my resolve to give Johnson's another shot.  For the 2018 camping season, I'll introduce a pilot program of a handful of Century 100B's and see how they survive.  Don't care if the front cover looks like the reel has been dragged through a gravel pit behind a Jeep Wrangler, don't care if it has a 1967 pushbutton and a '78 crank handle, as long as it casts, retrieves and the drag works.  Not spending over $15, in my mailbox for complete reels.  Donations of complete reels or parts are welcome.

In 1983, Johnson introduced a graphite composite reel body/foot, replacing the cast metal unit used in their earlier reels.  The graphite reels had what Johnson called "drive train drag", which they claimed eliminated spool slip that caused line tangles.  In catalogs and advertising, these reels were called "Tangle-Free".
The 1983 model line consisted of these reels:
Sprint 445, Century Pro 345          rated for 14 lb. line
Force 525, Century 225                 rated for 10 lb. line
Century Lite 125, Spirit III            rated for 10 lb. line
Uni-Spin 7256, Uni-Spin Lite 7155  rated for 10 lb. line
The 445 and 345 were larger than the other models, 525,225 and 125 were much alike, the Spirit model had a shorter back cover.  The Uni-Spins were an under-the-rod model that could only be used on the rod they came from the factory with, because the line-release pushbutton was on top of the rod.
By 1987, several changes were made in model names and new models added.  The Sabra 545 was a very large reel rated for 17 lb. line. The Sprint 445 was still available, but it's 14 lb. line companion was now the 710.  The 525 and 225 were unchanged, but the Century Lite 125 was now rated for 8 lb. line.  A new model was the Crappie Pro 230, rated for 6 lb. line.  Uni-Spin 7256 was unchanged, but the smaller version was now called Crappie Spin 730, rated for 6 lb. line.
1989 brought major changes to the lineup and model names.  The "tangle-free" feature was emphasized in the names.
TF 17 Sabra        17 lb. line
TF 14                  14 lb. line
TF 10 Century      10 lb. line
TF 8                    8 lb. line
Crappie Pro 230 and Crappie Spin 730 continued to be offered, rated for 6 lb. line.  The larger Uni-Spin was discontinued and with the exception of the Crappie reels, only one model was offered in each line test weight size.
In 1992, the 1989 model line-up was joined by TF 8 Plus and TF 10 Plus.  The Plus series claimed improvements to the spool and body/foot design and heavier gears and drag system.
In 1993, the "Sabra " name was dropped from the TF 17 and the "Century" name was removed from the TF 10.  The original 1983 front and back covers and pushbutton were replaced with Plus style covers and pushbuttons on all models.  A new model was Century 2000, which had all of the Plus series features and selective "pulse retrieve", which claimed to send a fish-attracting low-frequency vibration through the line during retrieve.
I believe the 1993 model line-up was offered until 1997, when production was moved to China.

Nice job of posting the catalog collection, Al!  I'm glad someone got around to doing what I don't know how to do with them