4/0 Sitting outside, sure I'll look at it...

coastal_dan · February 13, 2015, 02:48:39 PM

...so begins the tale of these four Senators that have had a rough life as teaser reels on a friends 23' Hydra-Sports. Stuck clickers, non-spinning handles, missing screws, un-adjustable drags and darn ugly about sums up these guys. But, alas, I have faith that they can come back from the dead. I think I am officially addicted to this 'sport' of ours...reel resurrection as it may.

So I sprayed them down with Corrosion X and it worked wonders on the bakelite...I missed a picture here so this is after a Simple Green Soak and partially reassembled...

And back together...

And for comparison on the chrome...post CorrosionX spray down and simple green soak...

And now onto the other three!!

Are they perfect, new looking reels? Nope, but they work excellently and look far better than they did previously; and not spending a dime is a fun and challenging experience. I am missing a couple screws though...may need to get creative there...or ask one of you fine citizens

Thanks for looking and I'll update with a final completed photo once they are done.

Aiala · February 13, 2015, 03:05:16 PM

Fantastic! Great old war horses getting ready to head back out... excellent job.

~A~

BMITCH · February 13, 2015, 03:24:01 PM

Great job CD. Great satisfaction in this kinda rehab. Keep us updated on the three others.
Bob

Bryan Young · February 13, 2015, 03:46:50 PM

Great job. What screws do you need and what length?

foakes · February 13, 2015, 03:57:30 PM

Excellent skills, Dan!

Yes, Penn reels give you a solid platform to start from when rebuilding these old soldiers -- however, many of the folks on this site do not even realize how much knowledge and experience that they possess.

Everyone on this Board -- who has this skill set, approaches and completes their reel jobs a little differently. But at the end of the day, your experience, common sense, and skill get the job done.

And you are rightfully entitled to charge a fair price that will enable you to continue doing these reel jobs. If one charges too little -- the completed job is not valued as it should be.

You saved this guy close to $500 -- since he did not have to replace these reels. And, with greased CFs -- he now has 4 reels better than new ones out of the box. So whatever you charge, subtracted from $500 -- is how much you saved him out of pocket.

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes...

Like I shared, everyone approaches these jobs a little differently -- if it were me, I would rob any screws or other parts needed from the last reel -- then 3 would likely be complete -- clear those off your bench -- then just get the extra parts you need to complete the last reel. This way you move forward with other jobs -- and if the guy needs his reels back right away -- 3 are ready to go back to work.

Nice job, Dan -- Thanks for sharing.

Best,

Fred

coastal_dan · February 13, 2015, 04:30:29 PM

Thanks all, I can't get over how great it feels working on any of these reels, and the satisfaction of it working correctly bring quite the natural high!

Thanks for the words of wisdom Fred, I hadn't really thought about the dis-assembly/re-assembly that way.

Bryan - I'll let you know about the screw sizes when I measure tonight. thanks

johndtuttle · February 13, 2015, 04:38:20 PM

The beauty of the enduring Senator design is that the tolerances in the design are just loose enough to allow this sort of complete resurrection.

Something farther upstream is harder to return to better than new condition as those reels with such precision will often never be the same after a bit of corrosion.

There is a lesson there.

Tightlines667 · February 13, 2015, 04:45:19 PM

Great job!

John...well put! I think this is partially why I like the older Internationals so much as well. There is just enough play with tollerances to sllow them to kerp in tickin, after takin a serious lickin.

harryk3616 · February 13, 2015, 05:15:25 PM

great job, great therapy, ya can't kill those penns

Shark Hunter · February 13, 2015, 06:30:05 PM

Good Job Dan! Great work!

Bryan Young · February 13, 2015, 07:07:51 PM

Quote from: coastal_dan on February 13, 2015, 04:30:29 PM
Thanks all, I can't get over how great it feels working on any of these reels, and the satisfaction of it working correctly bring quite the natural high!

Thanks for the words of wisdom Fred, I hadn't really thought about the dis-assembly/re-assembly that way.

Bryan - I'll let you know about the screw sizes when I measure tonight. thanks

Or which screws are missing from the sideplate. I have basically 4 types of screws:

Bridge
Bridge - Yoke
Bars
Reel Foot

Sorry, I just though if it now. my brain is not working that fast for communicating properly and effectively this week.

Bryan Young · February 13, 2015, 07:14:56 PM

Fred, I do the same...rob Peter to pay the Piper and look for the remaining parts.

If I get all the same reels in for servicing and they all looked like that, I personally would disassemble all of the reels and clean and polish them all at once...paying special attention to make sure that the main and pinion gear for each reel stay together.

Then after all of the cleaning, screw inspection, post threading (making sure that nothing is stripped), I dry everything out by compressed air and air dry for a few days, then I put it all back together, one reel at a time, with each part separated in groups...same screw lengths in one pile, posts in one pile,...

I can get the reels all put together faster this way...again, all of the main and pinion gears stay in their respective pairs in cleaning and installation.

foakes · February 13, 2015, 07:34:53 PM

Hey, Bryan --

For me, I cannot do it that way.

Probably just the way I am wired, I guess.

With the exception of the old Penn reel contest we have going -- each reel gets put on a tray -- and it stays on that same tray through every step of the process -- inspection, evaluation, disassembly, Ultrasonic cleaning, additional cleaning and burnishing of parts, reassembly, grease, oil, drag settings, tighten all to torque specs, test all functions -- drag, smoothness, free spool, AR, clicker alarm, etc, etc -- spray off with a little WD40 -- wipe down -- set aside -- then re-test 24 hours later -- wipe all finger prints off -- pack it up and ship it out.

I have a 10' main bench -- and can work on 12 or 14 reels simultaneously -- but they need to be not mixed up for my thought process to work somewhat organized.

My thought process is a little weird probably -- but I am not an engineer, like you -- just a reel mechanic. 😎😎😎

Best,

Fred

coastal_dan · February 13, 2015, 07:40:55 PM

Quote from: Bryan Young on February 13, 2015, 07:07:51 PM
Quote from: coastal_dan on February 13, 2015, 04:30:29 PM
Thanks all, I can't get over how great it feels working on any of these reels, and the satisfaction of it working correctly bring quite the natural high!

Thanks for the words of wisdom Fred, I hadn't really thought about the dis-assembly/re-assembly that way.

Bryan - I'll let you know about the screw sizes when I measure tonight. thanks

Or which screws are missing from the sideplate. I have basically 4 types of screws:

Bridge
Bridge - Yoke
Bars
Reel Foot

Sorry, I just though if it now. my brain is not working that fast for communicating properly and effectively this week.

Thanks all!

Brian - Missing 5 bar screws and 4 reel foot screws. Funny that the one reel was even together...honestly the corrosion was giving it Hulk strength or something, haha.

basto · February 13, 2015, 08:24:03 PM

Well done Dan.Good therapy and doing something constructive is good for the soul. A very satisfying feeling and personally very addictive.
In the very short time that I have been playing with these old Penns, I have found that changing the spool from a heavy chromed one to an alloy one and upgrading the drag to greased carbontex or HT100, makes life a lot easier for these reels. If these 2 things are done, I`m personally happy with a post frame and actually like the look of it better. JMO.
Basto