JVariance frames...Speaking of 113H's....

[Phinaddict]

Has anyone tried the Jvariance frames?

Since we were discussing hot rodding Senators recently, I started thinking about building a pair of narrow 113's for a friend in Puerto Vallarta. Does anyone have any mid or long term user reports on these frames?

The guy selling them is local, (uh, local to us bay area folks that is).  He has an Ebay store and sells them online.
Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated, just looking for info.

http://jvariance.com/

So, anyone? Thanks in advance,
Gene

[alantani]

i like frames for 113h senators.  i'm not a big fan of side plates.  they are, however, VERY nicely made.  alan

[Diesel]

Hello, this is my first post here. Been an avid reader and taker so I thought I'd share my experience with the JVariance products.

I just hotrodded my 113H with JVariance side plates. I already had the Accurate narrow frame. I'd been looking for Accurate side plates but they were not available or when you did find them the price was outrageous. That's when I decided to try the JVariance.

Before I give my opinion, let me say that I only started really getting into tickering with reels after seeing Alan's tutorial on the web. Man , Alan, you got me hooked too! Anyway, having a machining background, I am impressed with their craftmanship, detail and finish. It is first quality stuff. I was also impressed with some of their mods. For example, they used nylon washers under the freespool lever and clicker to keep from sratching the anodized coating. Nice touch.  

Another cool touch are the stainless steel Torx cap screws that attach the plates to the frame. Being in the aerospace industry, I thought it looked very finished compared to your typical screw driver slots. They also provided shorter screws for the narrow frames.

Issues... Yup, I had a couple, one a little annoying and another could be a potential problem. First, the bearing pocket on the right side plate has no way to drive the bearing out if it gets corroded and stubborn about coming out. You'd have to machine (drill or mill) out the bearing if it refused to come out with a puller. That's not a BIG issue but I'd rather have acces to drive it out in the event it needed replacing.

Second, I had a small issue with assembling the left side plate clicker assembly. Getting the snap ring on the the clicker button was impossible because the nylon washer was a little thick. I sanded the nylon washer a little thinner and everything went together as it should.

Again, all in all, I am very satisifed with the JVariance side plates. I haven't seen their frames yet but I will soon. I'm going to go old school and fab a YTS with the higher gear ration. I also saw on their site that they will soon have upgrades for the 114H also. I've got a 114H that going to get a facelift!

On a side note, does anyone know where a guy could pick up a 4.25:1 gear for the 113H? Thanks!

[alantani]

thanks for the review.  these guys have their factory in the san francisco bay area, only 20 miles from my house.  i really should head over there some time and do a photo shoot. 

[landingcrewman]

Wished i saw this post before i asked my question. Everything answered.
Would be cool to see pics of their shop and update what they plan making in the future.

[Phinaddict]

If I remember right, I was told a 4/0 narrow frame, a topless 4/0 and Jigmaster frame.... but that was over a year ago and they have not changed the website since it went up.

Nice guy, I talked to him about a year ago and he said the Jigmaster frames were going to come out around summer 2010 ... so not sure what's up, It may be there is just not enough interest to develop all of them.

I've since lost interest. Recently,  I was going to build a couple of YTS's for a friend, but we decided to go a different route... (Trini 40 Narrows with clicker dog and Carbontex).

[Alto Mare]

I've built a few custom reels for myself using JVariance plates and did not get to use them yet, but planning to. A friend mentioned that he had issues with salt build up inside them after a few months. Did anyone experience the same? Thanks for your time, Sal

[Bryan Young]

This issue is common with all reels, but probably more noticeable with reels with aluminum sideplates if the sideplates are not coated with a light coat of marine grease prior to use.

[suitekids]

Seems there is a small issue as of yesterday afternoon, All Jvariance products from Ebay are now gone, as I had 2 seperate YTS complete kits in my item watch one Gold and one Silver, he had other misc. frames and spools and I believe a couple sideplates. I e-mailed him regarding other colors represented on his web site and the full frame models he had made, 3 days later his response was he "maybe" had a black full size frame or 2, but no matching sideplates, but he could hodgepodge other color sideplates to make a package. I had to pass on that, it was a complete package in gold or silver in narrow or nothing from the Ebay store from what I could ascertain. He was very nice, don't misunderstand what I'm saying, he also asked if I needed a schematic to make sure my reels would work with his product, I again replied to see if there was any indication of new batches coming out in full frame and in colors as on the website and that I would buy his stuff anyway and to go ahead and send the schematic and gave my e-mail addy to him, that was on Fri. 5/4/12, no resonse as of yet, It makes me wonder if he is selling the limited inventory he has left and graciously going away. Now I am a little nervous about any purchases if I ever should need a part, there is nothing on his store left on the Ebay Store which is the only way to purchase if I read it correctly, hopefully he took a break for the weekend and will re-list on his Ebay store this week, it sure looks like he makes a beautiful product for a reasonable price, It's perfect for our fishing needs, since we are sort of hard on the equipment, maybe some of ya'll have an inside track, since he is in Cali.

[limakoko]

Seems there is a small issue as of yesterday afternoon, All Jvariance products from Ebay are now gone, as I had 2 seperate YTS complete kits in my item watch one Gold and one Silver, he had other misc. frames and spools and I believe a couple sideplates.

I noticed this too.  Since I purchased a couple of standard kits (one gold, one silver) from Jvariance last year, I keep an eye on their e-bay auctions and I was hoping they would come out with a topless Penn 6/0 conversion.  The last update on their website was from something like 2009, while I don't like to speculate, yeah he could be selling off what's left.  He's a very nice guy and his customer service is top shelf.  Hopefully he's just changed his machining over and the topless 6/0's will come out tomorrow   

[suitekids]

Seems there is a small issue as of yesterday afternoon, All Jvariance products from Ebay are now gone, as I had 2 seperate YTS complete kits in my item watch one Gold and one Silver, he had other misc. frames and spools and I believe a couple sideplates.

I noticed this too.  Since I purchased a couple of standard kits (one gold, one silver) from Jvariance last year, I keep an eye on their e-bay auctions and I was hoping they would come out with a topless Penn 6/0 conversion.  The last update on their website was from something like 2009, while I don't like to speculate, yeah he could be selling off what's left.  He's a very nice guy and his customer service is top shelf.  Hopefully he's just changed his machining over and the topless 6/0's will come out tomorrow   

Yes, I was hoping for a reply so I could get a couple sets of the standard size, but I will even settle for the YTS if I absolutely had to, atleast one set anyway except black

[suitekids]

Update.... Jeff from Jvariance contacted me this evening, he told me that he was going to do another prodution run this summer, he told me he would reserve and contact me for atleast 2 red standard side/frame kits when they were done, also told me red was the most popular and he always sold out of those first. We will take him on his merit and look forward to hearing from him in the near future.

[suitekids]

Jeff at Jvariance has re-posted some more kits in the YTS design, I was able to pick up a gold complete setup, nice looking stuff, and with the stainless inerds from Alan and Lee and an Accurate Stainless gear set and Accurate ball bearing knob, it should last the rest of my fishing days. I can't wait to build it and post some pics!!!!

[broschro]

Jeff at Jvariance has re-posted some more kits in the YTS design, I was able to pick up a gold complete setup, nice looking stuff, and with the stainless inerds from Alan and Lee and an Accurate Stainless gear set and Accurate ball bearing knob, it should last the rest of my fishing days. I can't wait to build it and post some pics!!!!

It will be sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

[suitekids]

I have seen a few posts regarding the difficulty with the nylon washers on the Jvariance sideplates, with the new set I got on 5/14/12, it seems the issue has been addressed, my clicker button washer was a little tight but I was able to get the c-clip on without too much effort and it works as it should, and the shift lever on the handle side washer fit perfectly, no issues with it and shifts smoothly, no adjustments were required except the stainless "clicker ring" needed to be opened a tad. Waiting for a few more parts to complete my little project, hopefully it will take a dip in the deep blue for some dolphin next weekend, also picked up a Penn reel sheath to help protect it in transit, and a Penn Senator 3165 roller rod for 89 bucks at amazon, pretty nice rod for cheap with free 2 day shipping. I think I have a decent setup for about 250 bucks invested in a rod and custom reel with heavy duty internals from the kind folks here. I do believe I like this setup so much, I'll have to make the first mate one also, it was alot of fun and self gratifying and cheaper than my other hobbies, ya'll need to try this cheap build!!! Here's a list of stuff

Jvariance Complete 113H Narrow Frame Kit = 115
Penn Senator Roller Rod 40/60 3165 = 89
Heavy Duty Stainless Bridge Sleeve from Alan =25
Heavy Duty Stainless Dog from Keta (Lee) = 3
Heavy Duty Stainless Clicker Ring (Came with Kit)
Heavy Duty Stainless Yoke = 4
Heavy Duty Stainless Accurate Gear Set ( already had it)
Heavy Duty Accurate Ball Bearing Round Knob ( already had it)
New HT100 5 disc Drag Pack w/Washers =17
New Under Gear Carbon Washer Replacement 6-875 =1.35
The Fun of Building = Priceless