Because of several health (and patience) factors, I really don't take in much reel work these days. I do have some guys that kinda depend on me for their season-end reel work, and so I do try to accommodate them. Most are reels I've worked on before, and so the really cruddy ones no longer regularly "grace" my work area.
I must say, in truth, I still do enjoy an occasional cleaning/repair challenge and so I will help out any board member that finds hisself (or herself) in a reel repair pickle. None have materialized of any real consequence this season though, except for the following situation.
Here is a bag of really high-end, extra-large Daiwa Saltiga and Shimano Trinidad reels that require a going thorough/complete re-lube, prior to their heading to Florida, for the prying of oversized grouper and snappa' out of their Keys-based rocky/coral lairs. Has to be at least $3,500 worth of gorgeous Japanese engineering excellence in this bag - and so I make it a point to take the best care possible of this fella's tackle. Plus, he's as nice a guy as they come, so there's that as well:
All went well in the tear-downs, clean-outs and re-lubes - until I got to the last reel. Ever notice that the last one of anything is ALWAYS the problem? How is this so consistently possible? I assure you, be it changing spark plugs in the boat, replacing errant outdoor decking boards, or working on a pile of reels, beware that very last piece - nearly always a b-buster.
Anyway, on teardown this is what I found:
How this could have happened is a bit of a mystery. No real dent on the outside of the reel that would indicate it took a shot. Or maybe it was dropped, square-nuts on the screw head. Or maybe there was a flaw in the metal casting. Who knows?
In any case, there was no way that the original Shimano short screw was gonna hold in that boss, what with the lack of good thread. A replacement for this particular brake plate was at least $60 every place I looked - yeah, not gonna go there. So I checked in my "reel junk tray" for a longer screw that would have more bite on what was left of the boss:
Every "reel guy" has such a tray, it kinda comes with the territory. So after fishing around in there and test-fitting a few, lo' and behold, a pair of dopey Abu 5500 frame screws had just right thread and length to make the repair happen. Got out my trust Snap-on tap and die set and carefully tapped the boss deeper than original, and bingo - it all went together like it was meant to be.
My buddy is now the proud owner of the only Trinidad 40 with a pair of Swedish screws in it. He should feel lucky!
Finishing up those reels left me strangely unsatisfied. So I was looking for something else of my own to do. Damn, I've been so wrapped up in some minor work on the boat that I completely forgot to service and store my own tog setups. So, that was the rest of that day, tearing every one down, cleaning out whatever salt and old lube stew was in them, and rebuilding them all back to as-new condition. Took some time, but I got it done - and all are now resting comfortably in hibernation, awaiting next October.
Still not completely satisfied, it was time to tackle a job that I've been putting off, as its one of those tweekers that rarely turn out to my satisfaction, leaving me more unhappy than had I not attempted the repair to begin with.
I am the (semi)-proud owner of a first-gen Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500. This was the "OG" of Shimano's long-fiber, carbon-reinforced frame spinning reels, aka: the "grand daddy" of the brandy-new Vanford reel series. (Stradic Ci4 -> Ci4+ -> Vanford) A lovely little reel, that always suffered from excessive gear lash and a somewhat "geary" drivetrain. Jigging with it caused a constant clicking, as the lash between the main and pinion gears would load and unload with every twitch of the rod tip. Plus it had a lack of fluidity to its retrieve. This combination was annoying enough that I really never gave it much boat time at all.
So I spent some time thinking about it, as this coming season I really would like to give it a shot for deep fluke casting/jigging instead of my truly excellent Tsunami Evict 2000, principally because the Stradic is like half the weight. It does make a difference, when jigging for 6 hours.
After much on-line research, schematic-reviewing, Youtube reel repair vid watching, plus a few conversations with my reel-tech peers, I ordered in a bag of washer-type gear shims from Shimano. Trial and error fitting of these 0.1mm shims to the main gear resulted in the reel taking 4 additional shims, versus the single one Shimano's factory assembly specs called for.
The bottom line is that the reel is now completely transformed, about 95% of the annoying gear lash is gone, and the cranking geary-ness is greatly reduced. I now deem it satisfactory for my use. And this "repair" of a factory defect only cost me $4 in parts. Not bad, at all, as it "saved" me from purchasing a sexy new $220 Vanford. Whew, a close call, as I really do like shiny new reels!
I was so pleased with the results that I ordered in an EKFAN Winn-type handle ball knob (via AliExpress), and a matching reel stand for the opposite side, so to prevent paint scratches should the outfit be laid on its side. That almost never happens on my boat, but you never know. Plus, its a very convenient place to hook my leader when not actually fishing.
There, I finally feel like I accomplished something!
I must say, in truth, I still do enjoy an occasional cleaning/repair challenge and so I will help out any board member that finds hisself (or herself) in a reel repair pickle. None have materialized of any real consequence this season though, except for the following situation.
Here is a bag of really high-end, extra-large Daiwa Saltiga and Shimano Trinidad reels that require a going thorough/complete re-lube, prior to their heading to Florida, for the prying of oversized grouper and snappa' out of their Keys-based rocky/coral lairs. Has to be at least $3,500 worth of gorgeous Japanese engineering excellence in this bag - and so I make it a point to take the best care possible of this fella's tackle. Plus, he's as nice a guy as they come, so there's that as well:
All went well in the tear-downs, clean-outs and re-lubes - until I got to the last reel. Ever notice that the last one of anything is ALWAYS the problem? How is this so consistently possible? I assure you, be it changing spark plugs in the boat, replacing errant outdoor decking boards, or working on a pile of reels, beware that very last piece - nearly always a b-buster.
Anyway, on teardown this is what I found:
How this could have happened is a bit of a mystery. No real dent on the outside of the reel that would indicate it took a shot. Or maybe it was dropped, square-nuts on the screw head. Or maybe there was a flaw in the metal casting. Who knows?
In any case, there was no way that the original Shimano short screw was gonna hold in that boss, what with the lack of good thread. A replacement for this particular brake plate was at least $60 every place I looked - yeah, not gonna go there. So I checked in my "reel junk tray" for a longer screw that would have more bite on what was left of the boss:
Every "reel guy" has such a tray, it kinda comes with the territory. So after fishing around in there and test-fitting a few, lo' and behold, a pair of dopey Abu 5500 frame screws had just right thread and length to make the repair happen. Got out my trust Snap-on tap and die set and carefully tapped the boss deeper than original, and bingo - it all went together like it was meant to be.
My buddy is now the proud owner of the only Trinidad 40 with a pair of Swedish screws in it. He should feel lucky!
Finishing up those reels left me strangely unsatisfied. So I was looking for something else of my own to do. Damn, I've been so wrapped up in some minor work on the boat that I completely forgot to service and store my own tog setups. So, that was the rest of that day, tearing every one down, cleaning out whatever salt and old lube stew was in them, and rebuilding them all back to as-new condition. Took some time, but I got it done - and all are now resting comfortably in hibernation, awaiting next October.
Still not completely satisfied, it was time to tackle a job that I've been putting off, as its one of those tweekers that rarely turn out to my satisfaction, leaving me more unhappy than had I not attempted the repair to begin with.
I am the (semi)-proud owner of a first-gen Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500. This was the "OG" of Shimano's long-fiber, carbon-reinforced frame spinning reels, aka: the "grand daddy" of the brandy-new Vanford reel series. (Stradic Ci4 -> Ci4+ -> Vanford) A lovely little reel, that always suffered from excessive gear lash and a somewhat "geary" drivetrain. Jigging with it caused a constant clicking, as the lash between the main and pinion gears would load and unload with every twitch of the rod tip. Plus it had a lack of fluidity to its retrieve. This combination was annoying enough that I really never gave it much boat time at all.
So I spent some time thinking about it, as this coming season I really would like to give it a shot for deep fluke casting/jigging instead of my truly excellent Tsunami Evict 2000, principally because the Stradic is like half the weight. It does make a difference, when jigging for 6 hours.
After much on-line research, schematic-reviewing, Youtube reel repair vid watching, plus a few conversations with my reel-tech peers, I ordered in a bag of washer-type gear shims from Shimano. Trial and error fitting of these 0.1mm shims to the main gear resulted in the reel taking 4 additional shims, versus the single one Shimano's factory assembly specs called for.
The bottom line is that the reel is now completely transformed, about 95% of the annoying gear lash is gone, and the cranking geary-ness is greatly reduced. I now deem it satisfactory for my use. And this "repair" of a factory defect only cost me $4 in parts. Not bad, at all, as it "saved" me from purchasing a sexy new $220 Vanford. Whew, a close call, as I really do like shiny new reels!
I was so pleased with the results that I ordered in an EKFAN Winn-type handle ball knob (via AliExpress), and a matching reel stand for the opposite side, so to prevent paint scratches should the outfit be laid on its side. That almost never happens on my boat, but you never know. Plus, its a very convenient place to hook my leader when not actually fishing.
There, I finally feel like I accomplished something!
