Another crank design.

[trond_solem]

Without reading about custom cranks I started to draw up some cranks myself. It is not ment to be a copy of anybodys design, but there are a finite number of ways to do this.

I am going to get them cut by a laser cutting company in England. They will need some wok afterwards, but several hours in the polishing tumbler will brighten them up after cutting.

One of the designs looks like the attached picture. This is for the small reels with 98-155 - 98-60 type gear sleeve.
Mounting on inner hole gives 75mm or slightly below 3" from center of gear sleeve to center of knob axle.
Outer hole gives a distance of about 3.5"
That's enough for the small reels.

[alantani]

you know, the set screw hole is not absolutely necessary, and the hole size needed for our grip is 3/16ths of an inch.  you could have the laser cutter cut three of the "double D" holes at one end and and three 3/16ths inch holes at the other and have a highly adjustable reel handle arm. 

[Keta]

Nice!!!!  Keep it up, I hope the laser cutter works out for you.

[Tightlines667]

you know, the set screw hole is not absolutely necessary, and the hole size needed for our grip is 3/16ths of an inch.  you could have the laser cutter cut three of the "double D" holes at one end and and three 3/16ths inch holes at the other and have a highly adjustable reel handle arm. 

I like this idea.

[Keta]

FYI, this CAD work is not mine but we have "worked together" on it.  Go for it Trond, I hope you do well.

[trond_solem]

you know, the set screw hole is not absolutely necessary, and the hole size needed for our grip is 3/16ths of an inch.  you could have the laser cutter cut three of the "double D" holes at one end and and three 3/16ths inch holes at the other and have a highly adjustable reel handle arm. 

I made a test with three holes for the gear sleeve, but the third one is way to long for the the small reels. The test was just a raw prototype I cut from a 2mm SS sheet. I have a limited range of tools available so the holes was drilled with a battery drill and the double-D holes was filed with he wrong size files. A quick and dirty test, bt it gave me some answers.

This is the crank arm on a 49 reel. The knob is from a old handle. I had to put a 1mm thick M8 washer between the handle nut and the handle since the crank is thinner than original. It is stiff enough though.

[trond_solem]

you know, the set screw hole is not absolutely necessary, and the hole size needed for our grip is 3/16ths of an inch.  you could have the laser cutter cut three of the "double D" holes at one end and and three 3/16ths inch holes at the other and have a highly adjustable reel handle arm. 

I like this idea.

I have placed the double-D holes a bit thighter together than others, so the difference between the holes is less.
On the cranks for larger reels, I have drawn three of them on some cranks. For the small reels it isn't neccessay with the third hole. The crank will be way too long. In my mind at least. :-) Have a look at the picture of the crank on a 49 reel.

[trond_solem]

FYI, this CAD work is not mine but we have "worked together" on it.  Go for it Trond, I hope you do well.

I willl get a set of cranks cut in a week or two.
I have to fetch my RCBS case tumber to polish the cranks. I suppose I have to sand the edges a bit after the laser cutting since it won't be perfectly smooth. It will alo have a small edge of heat burning. Sanding the edges and polishing them in walnut shells in the tumbler twill ake care of that.
I will slip a couple in the mail to you when fiinished. Looking at a drawing is good, but holding the actual crank in tha hand is better. :-)

[Alto Mare]

No disrespect to you Trond, I do not like that handle . Adam sent me some that are similar that he really likes, but I told him that I wasn't crazy about the small round holes. He understood. It is never personal and it was just my opinion that doesn't mean much anyway .
Me and Lee (Keta) went back and forth for a while in the beginning, he does make some nice handles. On our latest conversation, I told Lee that from me installing  the handles on the reels, I did not like the feel, I told Lee to shorten them down a bit, close to stock, maybe just 1/2" longer. This has not happened yet.
Be careful with the length, they might look nice but just don't feel right. On smaller reels, they would also help with damaging the gears.

Again, just my opinion...go for it!

Sal

[trond_solem]

Everyone has a right to their own opinion.  :-) No problem.

I have several other designs drawn up in the CAD software. Some of them are close to others designs, so I have chosen not to publish them at he moment.

You mention the length. Yes, making them too long will slow down the cranking and be a great aid to destroying gears. On the other hand, too short and they will need more force applied to turn them and the sideways force on the bridge post increases. Getting it right is a bit of trial and error. Based on the length (too short!)  of the crank I have used on my 112h reel, I think about 3" or 75mm is about right for me anyway.
I have seen "power handles" with a length of 5" and more. That is way too much. It's like using a 10" long wrench on a 5-40 bolt.
Anyway, this cranks are for reels with steel gears and SS gear sleeves. Preferably with a custom spacer sleeve that reduces sideways motion of the gear sleeve to nil.
It will still be possible to destroy gears if you are hell bent on it, but using the inside of the head a bit and don't cranking down the drag star to absolutely locked, the gears will probably survive.

I do understand your concern about long handles on small reels. It is pushing the limits.

[trond_solem]

For those of you that don't like the design with several holes along the crank, this is an alternative.

This one is for the small 98-60/98-155 bridge reels.

The other image is of a shorter prototype of the ones with holes, mounted on a 49 reel.

[Bryan Young]

I don't care what Sal says, your handle arms are great looking.

[Keta]

Sal helped me improve the handle arms and I agree with what he posted.  Too long does not feel right, too much cut out and they flex, too soft and they bend, just right and they are nice.  I have a 5 gallon bucket with 8" of scrap SS from the handle arm R&D, about $300 out of pocket.

[Bryan Young]

Picking the right type of SS is just as important as the design.  Too soft, too thin, it will bend.  Too hard it could snap.  Too thick It may not fit right.

[Keta]

That's why I have a bunch of expensive scrap.