I believe you guys now.

[JRD]

I have never had a problem with a Penn plastic spool ........ before today that is.  A NOS Surfmaster 100 loaded 1/2 with spectra and another 1/3 with 15lb mono to test out my new Newell kit from Randy, new Sal's crank from Motive and Alan's 45 mm knob on some benign shallow water rock fish.  LOVE the crank and handle, and very pleased with the Newell kit, not happy with the spool however.  10 minutes in I hear a light "tink" and the reel locks up.  I just put it together last night so I'm thinking I made a.bone head move but no idea what.  I have 150 feet of line out, no way I want to handline it so take the side ate off at the rail.  The spool came out in three pieces.  I removed the broken pieces, reassembled and was able to reel in. 

I shoulda listened and trusted the experience here.

[mo65]

    Sounds like you had it spooled correctly, but 15lb. mono wound on tight can develop a lot of pressure. The lighter lines stretch more than heavier ones. Who knows...that spool may have had a crack already. I guess 50 year old plastic is a gamble.

[Keta]

I have load tested plastic 29-100 spools loaded with Spectra or Daccron and 100' mono topshots and so far never dammaged a spool.  I have several heavy bronze 349 spools that were destroyed by mono.

[alantani]

ouch.  yeah, it was the mono!

[Porthos]

The only times to disbelieve us are when:

• we are bobblehead Christmas elves spewing out Holiday tunes (http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=20124.0); and
• SoCalAngler goes off on how much gear to bring on fishing trips (http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=18129.30) Ask Lee to tell you all about that one...

[Keta]

:0)    I like SCA though, he is a member of our family.

[mizmo67]

Yeah...those old plastic spools start to dry rot even under the best storage conditions.

Combine that with that plastic just not able to stand up to the pressure of modern lines (since they were made for linen line) and that's what you end up with eventually.

It's okay...some lessons just have to be hands on.

[oc1]

You can't go wrong with spectra or Dacron because they don't stretch.  Braided nylon squidding line stretches a lot but does not seem to break spools.  Maybe because it can flatten out.
-steve

[JRD]

Well I have another plastic spool but have a metal one on the way, bought the whole reel just for a spool. Fun little reel and won't get retired cuz a spool breaks.  Now I'm looking at my squidder with distrust tho. 😀. Good excuse to go parts shopping.

[Calusa]

Yeah...those old plastic spools start to dry rot even under the best storage conditions.

Combine that with that plastic just not able to stand up to the pressure of modern lines (since they were made for linen line) and that's what you end up with eventually.

It's okay...some lessons just have to be hands on.

Good to know. How do the plastic/fiberglass spools on the old green Spinfisher reels hold up? I've got one that doesn't appear to have ever been used, but I'd like to spool it up with Ande mono and use it.

[oc1]

The dogma is that the plastic spool on a green 710 is not as strong as the  metal spools on 700, 704, etc.  However, I've never heard of one actually breaking or warping.  It could be because the spool is fairly thick but does not have much capacity making it less susceptible to mono damage.  Also, the tolerances are not that close so it would take a lot of warping for the rotor to rub the spool.

Sometimes a plastic squidder spool will warp from tight mono and start rubbing the rings then return to normal when the line is removed.  Other times they are permanently ruined.  I was taught to remove the line every time it fights a strong fish.  The warping and damage may take time and not happen immediately.
-steve

[gstours]

Good Job finding out where the weak spot is!!!  If you can,     be glad there was not a nice fish on the other end!   
   Like said earlier may be a crack, or flaw?  When I go fishing,  I,m the Flaw!

[mizmo67]

Yeah...those old plastic spools start to dry rot even under the best storage conditions.

Combine that with that plastic just not able to stand up to the pressure of modern lines (since they were made for linen line) and that's what you end up with eventually.

It's okay...some lessons just have to be hands on.

Good to know. How do the plastic/fiberglass spools on the old green Spinfisher reels hold up? I've got one that doesn't appear to have ever been used, but I'd like to spool it up with Ande mono and use it.

If it looks pretty good? Hand spool on the line with steady pressure but not tight. Do not use a machine. You might still see it break, it really depends on how the plastic has aged.

[mo65]

   This would make a good "sticky" thread. There are a lot of pitfall warnings here...and ways to avoid them. I have a Surfmaster 150 I'm working on right now, and surprisingly, building it around a cool brown/black speckled plastic spool. It came with a nice Penn aluminum spool...so I'll probably keep it spooled and ready. I thought about looking for a cheap plain black plastic spool to reach limitations on...one that won't make me sick when it pops...HA!

[handi2]

I too have broken one spool on a Newell reel. I was disgusted at myself because I knew better.

A customers 710 with the green spool was cracked on the bottom but it still ran true and didnt rub anywhere. I wouldn't use a machine to spool the spinning reels. When you use the spinning reel it will put the line on as when using the reel.