lews reel parts

[SHAWNFISH]

does anyone know where to get parts for lews reels? could not find no info on their site and checked 2 other sites for a schematic and had no luck...

[the_reel_doc]

  There are some parts on e-Bay. Depends on what reel you're looking for. There is a guy here in south Alabama that had some at one time. Not sure if he still does or not. Place was called Dolly's Attic.

[Pro Reel]

The phone number of Lew's customer service to order parts is  # 877-470-5397. They are in springfield MO so it's central time zone.

[oc1]

I bought a Lew's Inshore BB2 not long ago. It was put on a ten foot rod rated for 0.5 to 1.75 ounces.  It will throw a 1.25 ounce jig about over sixty yards with all four centrifugal brakes on and the magnets turned down low.  It's a really comfortable, smooth, low profile and long casting reel that holds all the line I need.  But, after 5,000 to 6,000 casts it was starting to get a little rough despite regular use of Reel-X on the bearings.  I broke it down and found that the problem was not in the bearings but in the centrifugal brake race and the little plastic brake shoes.  



The little plastic brake shoes were worn and burnt and they had scored and almost eaten through the race.

In hindsight I realize that it was being abused and is not designed for the heavy rod and jigs.  These reels have very little metal.  They're light and well designed, but it's all plastic.  They're also inexpensive.  Think I paid $165.  Made in Korea.  Mike's site says Lew's is owned by Zebco now.  Where I come from, "zebco" is a derogatory adjective.


So, I called the number above and a nice lady answered "Lew's". I told here I wanted to order a spool cover assembly (which includes the brass race) and four brake shoes.  The price was six dollars and change including shipping which did not sound bad at all.  When the parts arrived, I found an entire left side plate with the magnet adjustment knob, magnets, bearing, spool cover assembly with the brake race, etc. (all together, twenty different parts from the schematic) and the entire brake assembly with brake shoes, springs, holder plate, etc (a dozen parts from the schematic).  All for $6.  Maybe they made a mistake; I don't know.

The reel felt like new after the repairs.  This time I put it on a lighter rod for throwing 3/4 ounce jigs.  I also bought a Lew's Inshore BB1 to put on a still lighter rod for throwing 3/8 ounce.  These are my two favorite casting rigs and I use them all the time for bonefish and small trevalle.  

So, despite wearing out the BB2, despite being made out of plastic and the Zebco stigma, I'm a Lew's fan now.  They are the antichrist of the old bullet-proof Penn.  But, the times, they are a changin'.
-steve

[0119]

Zebco is just a brand name under the Bradley conglomerate umbrella.  I don't think Lew's is owned by Bradley but is owned by an ex friend and corporate manager for Johnny Morris, a.k.a. Bass Pro Shops.  Sad to hear its mostly plastic but not surprised since its an Abu Revo with cosmetic changes sent out a different back door of the same factory.

[oc1]

Thank you very much for that clarification.  I'm relieved.

Like I said, it seems well-designed for the intended purpose and outperforms my antique reels by a wide margin.  If it were not plastic then it could not exist at that price point, with that weight and performance.  Also glad to know that the Revo is built with the same mindset and I'm not missing anything there.  I did not intend to flatter Penn either.  The last Penn I purchased was a small Penn Fierce.  Very inexpensive, but the reel would freeze up from corrosion after every use and it was pitched in the trash within a week or two.

[foakes]

Sounds like good customer service on Lew's part...

Best,

Fred

[whalebreath]

 Where I come from, "zebco" is a derogatory adjective....

Me too-I grew up poor but not poor enough to own a Zebco.

[foakes]

While there are some cheap plastic Zebcos, about 20,000,000 of them! -- they have also made some very high quality products over the years.

Take any of the metal open face spinners from the 80s, or the Cardinal open face spinners built with ABU -- IMO, one of the highest quality spinners ever produced.

Even some of the old metal closed face spinners from the late 40's or early 50's will bring crazy high prices to collectors.  Someday, I will go through about 10 bins just with closed face reels inside (probably half of them, or around 300, are Zebcos) -- might find a gem or two.

I have nothing but respect for a company that started business in 1932 as the "Zero Hour Bomb Company".  They produced a time delay bomb to drop down oil drilling sites to explode and enable the oil to start flowing into the wells.  When their patent ran out in 1948, and oil production was moving from the US to the Middle East -- the owner was a watchmaker by trade -- and just started to make fishing reels.  

In Tulsa, Oklahoma.

His first two prototypes were failures -- then came the model that we all taught our kids to catch their first fish with -- the 202.  Simple, cheap, anyone who could push a button, could catch a fish.

The rest is history -- over 20,000,000 reels later.

Not everything has to be expensive -- and there is a place in the angling world for a starter fresh water outfit -- at a cheap price.

Just my opinions and a different point of view -- no disrespect intended -- just my viewpoint.

Best,

Fred

[oc1]

Hi Fred,

When I was a young smart alick jetty/pier roach we described any tackle that was not up to the task at hand as "zebco".  "Zebco" was, in turn, a euphemism for any light spincast rig.  It was not uncommon for someone spincasting for panfish to hook into something they had no hope of stopping.  If you were lucky it broke off but some loaded their spincast reels with heavier line so they would not lose as much terminal tackle to the rocks and pilings.  For these, the gears would strip or the drag washer would melt and fuse.

But you are absolutely correct that they have their place.  The three in front were our kids first reels:


My first reel was a red and black spincast.  It was made in Japan and looked exactly like a Tasco 1669 and was probably made by Tasco but branded for the Western Auto stores.  I think they called it a Revelation but am not sure.

One of my mother's favorite past times was surf casting for whiting (Menticirrhus littoralis).  She was pretty good at it too.  I cleaned and scaled a lot of whiting and we ate a lot of whiting.  She always insisted on using her green South Bend spincast on a seven foot solid glass rod with boat handle.  Sounds weird but the rod would load and cast well.

My grandmother thought surf fishing was unseemly because you had to wear a bathing suit and it would mess up your make-up and hair.  Her game was catching golden croaker (Micropogonias undulates) and such from a comfortable chair on the dock.  She insisted on using her direct drive, knuckle buster, closed face reel on a solid stainless steel bait casting rod (yes, the rod blank was springy stainless steel).  I have one of those rods but have never seen another reel like it.  There was a cut-out on the rear of the reel where you would thumb a rotating cup inside.  It was like thumbing a knuckle buster conventional reel but you never touched the line.  It was probably made in the late 1940's or early 1950's and slightly predated spincast reels.  With the closed face it looked sort of like a spincast reel but being direct drive there was no clutch or bail pin so you can't really call it spincast.  If anyone knows who made them please let me know.
-steve

[foakes]

Thanks for those memories, Steve --

Think I have one or two of those old shiny baitcaster rods -- among around 100 old baitcasters from the 50s.

Do not know when I will ever get the time or inclination to go through all of the reel bins I have -- but if I ever run across the one you describe -- I will let you know .

Some of the boxes of old closed faced spincasters have 30 or 40 reels in them.  Of course, I recognize Johnson, Southbend, and Zebco -- but there are probably many dozens of names that I do not recognize.

Best,

Fred

[oc1]

Dang !!  I'm speechless....

[oc1]

One thing I forgo to mention about Lew's Inshore Speed Spool; the BB1 is better than the BB2.  The BB2 has a slightly wider spool and more line.  But, the wider spool means it is more difficult for the line to get off the spool when the disengaged level wind guide is at the far left or far right side of the reel.  All disengaging level wind reels have this problem but it becomes more pronounced on wider spools.  One of Lew's marketing points is that they moved the level wind mechanism forward a bit to lessen the effect.  But if you think you need more line than the BB1 you might be better off looking for a larger diameter spool rather than a wider spool.

I'm waiting for the bait casting reel where the disengaging level wind guide automatically centers itself on the spool, or better yet, where the level wind guide just gets out of the way all together during the cast. 

-steve