The Rebuild From H-E-Double L

[EccentricRuss]

So, I can laugh at myself and post the following summary of my first rebuild and the hubris of me trying to write a tutorial the first time around.  Enjoy!  

No good deed goes unpunished...and Murphy's Law is the law of the land wherever I reside apparently.  Here was the idea, I would rebuild my reels in detail and post lots of pics and explanation in the tutorial section in case someone came along and wasn't sure how to follow a Penn 111 tutorial and try to apply it toward rebuilding something like a 180 Baymaster.  This site has been so good to me to gain knowledge, I thought I would give something back...

It was going well, but I was making lots of rookie mistakes, like using a very corroded reel as my rebuild subject and then soaking the corroded parts in vinegar for 12 hours.    From the get go, it was missing screws, had a bent seat, horribly corroded posts, stuck pinion and a plastic spool (you'll know why this is bad in a second).  But hey, if I could post a rebuild of a basket case 180 Baymaster reel, it would help others see how fun it all is, right? Fun FUN!  

After documenting and photographing all the previous steps, I finally got to the point where I needed the pinion.  For reference, I found a good post where Alan et al, posted some how to tips.

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=3123.0

The pinion/spool weld sat in 50-50 ATF/Acetone mix for about 96 hours...and wouldn't budge despite Alan's shimmy, 180 degree screwdriver trick.    In fact, I destroyed the plastic spool and tore teeth off of the pinion in the process.   The spool destruction and torn teeth, I will admit, were off script from the nice thread.  Once those tips were exhausted, somehow locking pliers and the claw end of a hammer (which really did grip the center of the pinion well) crashed the party...but I digress.  The pinion did shimmy off (or maybe flew off is a better description) and I completed the rebuild with svelt remainder of the spool.  But it doesn't really work since the main gear and pinion teeth don't actually engage.  

so i am set to order a replacement pinion, metal spool, the missing screws that were already an issue to begin with, from MysticParts in the morning.  If anyone has any of these parts they want to sell off, I would rather do so with you and help you out, otherwise its Mystic.

Still, I'm not giving up and these are lessons learned and experiences. FUN FUN!  

"I am Jack's Inflamed Sense of Rejection"  

Russ

[Keta]

Fun, fun, fun!!! 

[Aiala]

Quoth Francis Bacon: "...Adversity doth best discover virtue."   

~A~

[Shark Hunter]

Give it some time Russ. Someone here will have the parts. I put off ordering from scott's until I can't any longer and put in order over $200 to qualify for free shipping.

[alantani]

yup, this is how i started.......   

[EccentricRuss]

Believe it or not, it started working!  I put it back together and pinion and main gear were not engaging consistently.  As I sat in front of my work computer this morning I just kept "reeling in" absently as I read emails.  Just keeping myself occupied really.  Then suddenly I heard a crunch and then another as warped pinion gears engaged and bent back into semi-alignment!  First a couple of teeth, then a few more!    Apparently, not all the teeth are needed either, as some sheared off yesterday.

The reel works which is amazing and then again confirmation why I love Penn reels, they just work even through adversity!  A museum reel it isn't and wasn't to begin with, but it's amazed me nonetheless.

The Kalashnikov of the reel world!



Russ

[Aiala]

This is clearly your fishing reel's equivalent of "I Want to Live"; it's begging to be restored back to full fishability. 

~A~