Thanks, Ken. I managed to put that tiny ball in place after several tries, dropping it a half dozen times but not losing it. (Thanks for sending the extra ball). The ratchet is together and working. It isn't a real good user, it's a bit finicky. The ratchet came from an estate auction. The gentleman lived about 1/4 mile from here and used to have garage sales and sometimes a table of stuff free by the curb. He was probably a mechanic or at least was into old cars and anything mechanical. I'm glad I was able to fix this ratchet and also that I was able to have a few other nice tools from that auction.
The thumbwheel is the direction changer, and has an inner cam shape that moves one or the other pawl to change direction. The ball and spring locates into two relieved areas of the cam to hold it in position. The retainer ring is pressed into place so is not very serviceable.
