Altex Worm Gears?

[Silfield]

I have just become the proud owner of an Altex No2 Mk5, my first and the realisation of a desire held for years. I knew that it had a couple of issues that need sorting out, the low price reflected that it had had a full life but was brought as a bit of a project to keep me busy.
I have so far made a new drag washer (thankfully not the one with the multiple indentations) and got that working well again, dragged a huge amount of old and new grease out of the reel and managed to get to the bottom of a slight stiff spot on the spool.
What I cant see is if there is any way of taking the backlash out of the worm gears? Admittedly, there is play in the handle mechanism (I think it is where the handle is pinned on is rather sloppy) that exaggerates the amount of play so when that is sorted the perceived worm play may not be as bad as first thought.
If anyone can shed any light on the adjustment of the worm gear it would be appreciated.
Having never seen the inside of one of these reels before, they certainly look interesting to work on.

[ReelMaker]

I had a no 1 Altex and made a new bronze handle as the old one seemed sloppy, inside the back of the reel inside there is adjustment to romve play in the front drum ,I guess the worm and drive gear could be worn you have a problem to sort that out.Reelmaker

[Silfield]

I had a no 1 Altex and made a new bronze handle as the old one seemed sloppy, inside the back of the reel inside there is adjustment to romve play in the front drum ,I guess the worm and drive gear could be worn you have a problem to sort that out.Reelmaker

Thanks Reel Maker,
I am toying with the idea of stripping out the handle mechanism tonight to see what lies beneath-if I can take out the play in the handle mechanism I think the backlash in the gears wont be too much of an issue (I plan to only turn the handle one way anyway )
Getting the screw out that holds the bale arm roller in place (nasty groove in the roller) could be another matter thou!

[Tonkin Wand]

Oh the joy of tinkering !!!!!

[Silfield]

Oh the joy of tinkering !!!!!

I enjoy it, well most of the time!

[Cat]

Hi,
Um...Altex servicing and adjustment! As I'm sure you are aware, there's much really useful info on playing around with an Altex on the TFF (worth having a realy good read over an evening), and there are many who are more knowledgable than me. Stripping them down is not for the faint hearted! I suspect that the handle 'internals' are prone to wear...there's a great difference between a tight Altex and a worn one, but I've yet to come across backlash from the work gear (yet). They are indeed idiosyncratic and quite delicate, made from strange metals, and all that. I've never got around to tapping out the rivets for a full strip down, having always gone in from the back or side. Have a good look at the schematics on the site. Useful if Reelmaker expands on the adjustment suggestion as that may help.
Regards Cat

[Silfield]

Thank you Cat, I have spent many an hour looking for sources of information on the Altex. Glad to report that the majority of it has been on the TFF, it's just a shame that the 'photo pirates' have taken a lot of the early stuff!.
It will be interesting to find out a bit more about its inner workings once I pluck up the courage to dive in, if only there were a set of proper assembly drawings out there somewhere.

[Cat]

Hardy Altex stripdown typed into TFF probably gives the best assembly drawings.