Bag of mess

[Jiggin]

Just got through posting up about the 113H upgrades and the mailman is at the door with a package for me to sign for. Buddy of mine called me a few days ago and said he was sending me a reel to look at - said it had a bent spool shaft and he ordered a new one and included it with the reel.

This is what I got from him - a failed attempt at replacing it and a bag of mess. Can only hope all the parts are in the bag!

Looks like a jigsaw puzzle after lunch.

[Jiggin]

So I pulled the reel apart and the problem became worse - a touch - the main shaft actually had and slight "S" bend in it from his falling on the reel at a jetty. This meant the pinion etc couldnt come off as easy because it had to be pulled with force. And dont ask me how but somehow in muscling it the eccentric broke. This is a cheaply made part that I wish wasnt so weak. Just ordered another one for $5. Reel should be back in use soon.

You can see the slight bend where the little pin is (thats the broken eccentric!) - reels arent good for breaking falls some times.

[lemaymiami]

Here's how I deal with that kind of problem... Once you know the shaft is stuck, bent, etc.... instead of forcing it apart take a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel and carefully (without touching anything else) cut the shaft into two pieces (that's after removing the side plate to get to the shaft). That should allow you to dis-assemble the rest of the reel without damaging anything. With a bit of luck you'll also be able to remove the pinion without tearing it up. I like to save the pinion since the main gear and pinion are a set (replace one and the other one needs replacing as well). Hope this helps. I've got a couple of hook and line commercial guys that bring me reels by the bucket full, most in really bad shape so I've had to learn a few tricks in working on them....

[Jiggin]

Sounds like it would work but with the heavy grease on the inside how do you deal with all the metal shavings that get inside the reel?

[lemaymiami]

That's the easy part... As I tear down a reel each piece (if it's metal...) goes in a small bath of mineral spirits (at the store the label will just say "paint thinner"). After a short soak each part is brushed off with an old toothbrush then laid out on a paper towel to dry out. That solvent bath is where the shavings will end up, along with all the old grease or lube, bits of corroded metal, salt, etc. Works like a charm and won't harm anything with one exception. If exterior parts have decals you'll want to keep any exposure to mineral spirits to a minimum - the stuff will dissolve the glue that keeps decals in place... Any exposed race bearings will get special treatment. I'll try to spin them while submerged in the solvent to loosen any debris, etc, then remove them without allowing them to sit back in the crud at the bottom of the solvent. By the way an old margarine tub is just right to drop most reel parts into.

One other note, plastic parts get the solvent treatment as well but only just as long as it takes to cut the old grease and dirt off of them. I've been doing the cleaning part on reels this way ever since I learned it at a shop a lot of years ago....

[Jiggin]

Cool! I love to tinker with reels and resurrect older Penn reels - I like to collect the Penns - I appreciate you passing along some of your knowledge

[Avenger]

So, how are you making out with this project?

BTW, in my industry, when someone brings us a basket-case like that, we call it a "kit".