First rebuild questions (Jigmaster 500)

[dustin.brace]

Hello,
I bought an old Penn Jigmaster 500 off eBay recently. It is in good shape, but I would like to go though and give it a cleaning and lube and possibly replace a few parts. In looking at the wonderful tutorial from Alan I had a couple of questions. What type of grease do you guys suggest? I looked at the bait shop today, they only carry Ardent Reel Butter. Any have any suggestions?

Also, do you think it is better to tackle the job by myself, or send it to someone like Alan? I got it for a great price and I have several other reels, so if I mess it up, no huge loss.

Thanks for your help,
Dusitn

[Phinaddict]

Hey Dustin,
Welcome to the madness! Here you will meet several people, like me,  who once were normal, productive citizens. Now, we obsess about oil viscosity, bearing cleanliness, metal protectants, greasing procedures and methods for how to not loose small springs on the floor. Then if you get very ill, like many of us, you will soon be fabricating your own specialty tools, mini bearing pullers and packers, yada, yada, yada.

As for the jigmaster,  spend some time reading up on Alans' tutorials and search the site for grease recommendations.  For starters, you should look for either Cal's or Shimano drag grease, available online.
For your bushings, you can oil them with any lighter weight oil. The lighter the oil, the faster the spool will spin, in general.

Read up, then dive into it! If you get stuck, just give us a shout, you;ll get a lot of answers quickly. Take your time and have fun...and don't loose the dog spring in the carpet. OR, send it to Alan, forget the headaches and have him do it right the first time! Either way, you win!

[alantani]

dustin, he's right.  this stuff is really addicting.  ardent makes a great line of products.  you can also check out smoothdrag.com, dawn has everything you need. keep us posted.  alan

[dustin.brace]

Thanks for the help guys. I think I am going to give it a go myself. I love taking things apart, fixing them up, and then, with luck, putting them back together again.

I suppose a good question to ask is, how much grease do I need to buy? At mysticparts.com I can buy 1 oz for $7.00 or 18oz for $24.00. 1oz sounds like a little bit, 18oz sounds like I could repair a ton of reels.

I have another eBay auction ending soon, that may give me another Penn reel to work with too. Thanks again for the help guys!

-Dustin

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

[kamuwela]

 the 1 oz shimano drag grease will do aprox 3 large reels, drags only. if you plan on doing this more often then buy the 1lb it will last awhile. i bought 2 oz to start then the bug kicked in and i went for the 1lb tub. you can use cals all around but i use alans method yamalube,corrosion x and cal's good luck                                                  aloha
                                                       kamu                                   
                                                                                     
                                                         

[Norcal Pescador]

I bought two of the 1 oz. containers and I've used about 1/2 of the first one to do at least a dozen reels - haven't touched the second one yet. I only use Cal's on the drag washers, and Yamaha Marine grease on the rest of the parts that get grease.
Jigmaster springs are semi-captive, not so with most of the other Penns.

Can't . . wait . . . for . my next . . . fix, uh, uh,  . . . . . . . . . repair job!   Who's addicted? 

Have fun with it!
Rob

[Steve-O]

Dustin, YEAH! you should go for it! In just a short time into this addiction....I mean self education of reel repair I've opened up and successfully serviced an all green (side plates and handle knob) 209, a 309, a Penn 25 GLS, an Olympic (Penn knock-off) and a few Jigmaster 500's and 501's. The Jigmasters are a breeze with the quick take apart screw. Follow the tutorials, have the right tools and lubes and when you're done (if there's no parts still staring at you on your workbench) VOILA! you've got one under your belt and ready to move on to the next one. I've got a few more Jigmasters, another 309, a Penn 111 (2/0) and an OMOTO 2-Speed en route. Addicted? Heck NO! in denial? no way! just enjoying another facet of my piscatorial passion.  Good luck with yours.

Steve-O

[dustin.brace]

I bought two of the 1 oz. containers and I've used about 1/2 of the first one to do at least a dozen reels - haven't touched the second one yet. I only use Cal's on the drag washers, and Yamaha Marine grease on the rest of the parts that get grease.
Jigmaster springs are semi-captive, not so with most of the other Penns.

Can't . . wait . . . for . my next . . . fix, uh, uh,  . . . . . . . . . repair job!   Who's addicted? 

Have fun with it!
Rob

Rob,
Do you live in Oceanside, CA?

[dustin.brace]

Well, I went a big hog wild. I bought 4 different reels on eBay... I don't know what it the world got into me, but I bought them. My wife wasn't thrilled but I told her that one could be a christmas gift.

I picked up a Jiggmaster 500, Senator 113H, 285, and a 200. I don't know much about the 285 or the 200. The Senator 113h isn't the one that Alan likes, but I got them all for less than $60, and all are in perfect working order. Anyone know anything more about the 200 or 285, or even the 113H? I plan getting them all cleaned up, don't know what to do with them after that. Sadly I only own one rod, poor planning I guess!?

Thanks guys!

[Norcal Pescador]

Dustin,
You're addicted already! Sounds like you got a heck of a deal!!  You can get decent rods for the 200 and 285 for as little as $20-25.

There's good info at MysticParts.com on your reels. Here's a link to their listing on reel specs:
https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/ReelSpecs/PennSurfmaster.aspx#specs

The 200 [Surfmaster] is a good reel and I would be comfortable setting it up with 25-30# line. The 285 [Del Mar] is a good one also, but I would limit it to 20# line. Make sure you have a metal [aluminum or chrome over brass] spool in both and not plastic. Both reels would be great for bottom fishing and with an aluminum spool on the 200 would make it good for . . . Surf Fishing! I've got a 113H with 50# Spectra on it with a 6-foot rod for deep-water rock codding or yellowtail in the kelp.

Check your messages for a pm.

Tight lines!!
Rob


"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

[dustin.brace]

Dustin,
You're addicted already! Sounds like you got a heck of a deal!!  You can get decent rods for the 200 and 285 for as little as $20-25.

There's good info at MysticParts.com on your reels. Here's a link to their listing on reel specs:
https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/ReelSpecs/PennSurfmaster.aspx#specs

The 200 [Surfmaster] is a good reel and I would be comfortable setting it up with 25-30# line. The 285 [Del Mar] is a good one also, but I would limit it to 20# line. Make sure you have a metal [aluminum or chrome over brass] spool in both and not plastic. Both reels would be great for bottom fishing and with an aluminum spool on the 200 would make it good for . . . Surf Fishing! I've got a 113H with 50# Spectra on it with a 6-foot rod for deep-water rock codding or yellowtail in the kelp.

Check your messages for a pm.

Tight lines!!
Rob

Thanks for the great info Rob. I got the PM. It actually ended up at $90 for the reels and $120 with shipping, but that is a great day considering that a new Jiggmaster is around $60 or $70 on its own. I am going tomorrow to pick up another rod with my "fishing partner". Ocean fishing is a bit different than I the lake fishing I did as a child. I honestly had never even seen a conventional reel until a couple of months ago. I am excited to get started on all of this

[dustin.brace]

Well, I have finished cleaning up and mending three reels so far, all Penns. 200, 285, and a 113H. No serious injuries to myself or the reels. Very happy and am thoroughly addicted!

[alantani]

you have now mastered the penn dog spring.  there are no other tricks. everything from this point on is straight forward - straight in, straight out.  you will run into problems because things will get stuck.  usually it's screws, sometimes something bigger, and you will wish like hell that someone would have put a bead of grease in that screw hole at the beginning.  soon will be finding boxes of reels on your doorstep with a 6-pack and a note that says, " hey, dustin, thanks for fixing these!  i'll pick them up on friday!" 

and so it begins!

[Bryan Young]

This can be good and bad.  Good because you get free beer.  Bad because they expect you to finish the reels while sober.

[Phinaddict]

  there are no other tricks. everything from this point on is straight forward - straight in, straight out. 

Uh, like the Trinidad/Torium surprise? 

When I was making my 40Narrow into a clicker, I got lucky, the spring landed in my hair!