What is it that makes you interested in reel repair or hot-rodding?

[David Hall]

Alan made me do it.

[Yogi_fish808]

I've loved fishing since I was a little kid and here in Hawaii Penn was always known to be super reliable and capable of handling good fish. I've always liked knowing how stuff works but really started taking pride in doing things myself/ understanding investing in tools after working with auto mechanics during college. Just like with car repair, I know exactly what is going into my reels and usually at a much lower cost than having someone else do it. After starting my reel repair/modding education from this site I know I can do as good a job or better on most reels as any shop I'd take it to here, while having piece of mind that things were done right and not having to wait a month or more. I also like having something a little different than what can be bought off the shelf so when I saw what was possible to do to some of my favorite old reels, it was an easy choice to start hot-rodding them!

[Shark Hunter]

Well said Yogi.

[MFB]

We have a saying over here Kiwi ingenuity. This was brought about by our isolation from the rest of the world, and our not being able to source parts readily from the local store or even overseas. So we had to make, modify or repair things with what we had. I'm not sure if buying your dream reel or car is as satisfying as repairing or rebuilding a wreck. It requires skill, patience and dedication and hard work. If something's worth doing it's worth doing well.

Regards

Mark     

[oc1]

newly acquired Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

[sharkman]

Always enjoyed working on mechanical things. Anything from building hotrods to reels. I have a soft spot for vintage items. I think its the fact there were build to last and not just look pretty.

[TomT]

For the part of the question as why most fishermen don't maintain their reels---Most fishermen I know do not fish regularly.  They buy a new reel and just fish it.  If they think it needs maintenance, Penn and other manufacturers include a tube of oil for reel maintenance to squirt into the reels.  About 20+ years ago, I needed to tear some reels apart and there was this guy-- who was in some fishing mags talking about doing your own reel repairs and lubrication and using these special lubes--that was not the little manufacturers' tube of oil.  I started following him and then heard he was "online" at some of the fishing websites.  On some of these sites he had what he called "tutorials" for specific reels--most of them Penn's or Shimano's.  He included pictures as he tore the reels apart and as he put them back together.  As I had mainly Penn's, this helped me get thru some of my reel maintenance.  But then he started talking "crazy".  He was saying you should buy a BRAND NEW reel and tear it completely apart, then lube it, and then put it back together again.      My thought was go buy a brand new car and then tear the running gear(including the engine, transmission and rear-end) apart and check them and then re-lube everything "properly".  My thought was, Is this guy NUTS"??  If a manufacturer can't build and lube a product properly, people will just quit buying them.  Who would think of buying a new 3/4 ton diesel truck and tearing it all apart  before you even drove it??!!
After a few years of doing his type of maintenance on some of my older Penn reels, I bought a brand new Penn 114h and decided to "maintain" before I used it like this crazy guy said.  I went to my fishing websites and could not find his pictorial tutorials.  But somewhere in my electronic stuff I had an old email address, so I wrote to him to ask for advice on where to find his tutorials and he referred me to his own site.  I was a "Lurker" for many years and then decided to join.  I remember when most of you very talented posters were just here asking questions.  We now have many, many members who are very, very talented.  Alan Tani has gone from this "crazy guy" to being one of the most well known names in reel repairs--over 2,000,000 hits in one month--WOW!!  There are literally too many of you members that are way above "super talented" to mention.  I feel honored to be allowed to be here to absorb all of your knowledge.  Unfortunately, I have some age issues that keep me from doing a lot of maintenance, but I have rebuilt over 100 reels, mainly for myself, family, friends and a few Mexican pescaderos.  And I never do this maintenance without referring to the tutorials on this site.  Of course, I have purchased a few reels on this site and on e-bay just because I "needed" to.  For some of you guys, it is an addiction, but I NEED to buy some new reels once in awhile--I am Not Addicted.  I have even made a "tank" or two.   And I always refer to your tutorials to help me get my brand new reel back together.   Thanks to all of you but expecially to Alan.
TomT

[Reel 224]

Also Tom were keeping the art and fraternity of reel maintenance,reel building and modification alive threw every person that participates on this site as well as keeping the older reels ALIVE!!

Joe   

[thorhammer]

I grew up fishing, beginning with a cane pole in a stroller, then with three cane poles laid out in front at once (when that picture of age four surfaced, I was quick to inform my family that this reel thing was their fault...I was imprinted early). My father reloaded his own, did some smithing, and made ka-nifes, so I was in the shop popping primers and knew the correct ICBS dies at age five. Flash forward, lack of funds got me being creative in rod repair and soon after reels 25 years ago. Then I got the bug of finding a $5 yardsale diamond in the rough and started building Penns out of boxes of parts. I had no schematics or internet obviously, just reverse engineering and tinkering. I still have
8 of my first reels as a kid in the 70's: a Johnson Sabre, Daiwa 210, Daiwa Minicast, Shimano Bantam 100, Zebco 6040, Abu 1000, Abu 5500C,Olympic 1500. Whats missing are a Sabre (stolen), Daiwa 212, the regrettable Zebco 404, 202's and 33's, and my first Penn, a 60 LB on a St Croix tobacca stick I bought new at Rose's Dept Store after reading Zane Gray's "Shark" in 1976. So I had 15-20 reels before puberty lol...Mainly I like tinkering to keep the old quality stuff alive for another day; all the better if I make something out of nothing or it turns out to be a really nice hard to find piece.

[sdlehr]

All good answers, and I'm learning something about myself as I look through the answers of others.... which is why I asked the question.... keep 'em coming!

Sid

[steelfish]

For the part of the question as why most fishermen don't maintain their reels---Most fishermen I know do not fish regularly.  They buy a new reel and just fish it.  If they think it needs maintenance, Penn and other manufacturers include a tube of oil for reel maintenance to squirt into the reels.  About 20+ years ago, I needed to tear some reels apart and there was this guy-- who was in some fishing mags talking about doing your own reel repairs and lubrication and using these special lubes--that was not the little manufacturers' tube of oil.  I started following him and then heard he was "online" at some of the fishing websites.  On some of these sites he had what he called "tutorials" for specific reels--most of them Penn's or Shimano's.  He included pictures as he tore the reels apart and as he put them back together.  As I had mainly Penn's, this helped me get thru some of my reel maintenance.  But then he started talking "crazy".  He was saying you should buy a BRAND NEW reel and tear it completely apart, then lube it, and then put it back together again.      My thought was go buy a brand new car and then tear the running gear(including the engine, transmission and rear-end) apart and check them and then re-lube everything "properly".  My thought was, Is this guy NUTS"??  If a manufacturer can't build and lube a product properly, people will just quit buying them.  Who would think of buying a new 3/4 ton diesel truck and tearing it all apart  before you even drove it??!!
After a few years of doing his type of maintenance on some of my older Penn reels, I bought a brand new Penn 114h and decided to "maintain" before I used it like this crazy guy said.  I went to my fishing websites and could not find his pictorial tutorials.  But somewhere in my electronic stuff I had an old email address, so I wrote to him to ask for advice on where to find his tutorials and he referred me to his own site.  I was a "Lurker" for many years and then decided to join.  I remember when most of you very talented posters were just here asking questions.  We now have many, many members who are very, very talented.  Alan Tani has gone from this "crazy guy" to being one of the most well known names in reel repairs--over 2,000,000 hits in one month--WOW!!  There are literally too many of you members that are way above "super talented" to mention.  I feel honored to be allowed to be here to absorb all of your knowledge.  Unfortunately, I have some age issues that keep me from doing a lot of maintenance, but I have rebuilt over 100 reels, mainly for myself, family, friends and a few Mexican pescaderos.  And I never do this maintenance without referring to the tutorials on this site.  Of course, I have purchased a few reels on this site and on e-bay just because I "needed" to.  For some of you guys, it is an addiction, but I NEED to buy some new reels once in awhile--I am Not Addicted.  I have even made a "tank" or two.   And I always refer to your tutorials to help me get my brand new reel back together.   Thanks to all of you but expecially to Alan.
TomT

nice, this story sound pretty familiar, a lot similar on how I've been following the Boss, and specially the part of reel for myself, family, friends and Mexican pescadores .. 

I still have hard time convincing friends to let me tear down their brand new shiny reels to grease it properly, as soon as they say "I dont think its necesary", I tell them, ok, you lost your opportunity, when you come back telling me the reel feels funny and making noises you will pay the cold Tecates and a large tube of yamaha grease.

[Cortez_Conversions]

The mechanics definitely. I can't tell you how many times I got in trouble for taking things apart when I was kid. Sometimes I even got it back together!
I gotta know how it works!
How can I make it better?
How can I tailor a reel to my specific needs instead of the marketing needs for the masses?
How can I use today's technology to enhance a 100 year old design and out fish some dude with more money than sense?
How can I help you get that old wall hanger back in the game?
In today's disposable market, I take pride in breathing life back into quality American goods. As an American machinist I have to. That's my job going over seas. I won't help the hang man build the noose.
Tom

[Vintage Offshore Tackle]

Reel repairing and hot-rodding are two of my favorite spectator sports.  I gave up on participating when I was in elementary school, after the third for fourth time that I took a reel apart and then had to take the parts in a shoe box to one of my more mechanically inclined friends to put it back together, but I still love to be in the room where repairing and hot-rodding are under way.  The sights, the sounds and the smells...The thrill of  watching someone else try to find those little Penn dog springs when they fly into the high pile carpet...listening to the blue-streak of obscenities as they unsuccessfully try time after time to rotate the bridge without letting any of the little bits move...the smell of the flop sweat when those new trick gears bind and they can't figure out why or how to fix it.

There's no other spectator sport that I know of where you get to be so up close to the action, and it's usually free.  What could be better? 

[basto]

I like the materials that reels are made of. Brass, stainless steel, aluminium, "plastics".
When I was younger I had an interest in vintage motorcycles and even though they were not the fastest, as long as they were running as good as they could, I was happy.
I also had an interest in firearms and used to reload for about 5 calibres , but if any of my rifles were not sighted in, I could not sleep.
I suppose my reels are the same. Got to be running as good as possible.

Basto

[Reel 224]

The mechanics definitely. I can't tell you how many times I got in trouble for taking things apart when I was kid. Sometimes I even got it back together!
I gotta know how it works!
How can I make it better?
How can I tailor a reel to my specific needs instead of the marketing needs for the masses?
How can I use today's technology to enhance a 100 year old design and out fish some dude with more money than sense?
How can I help you get that old wall hanger back in the game?
In today's disposable market, I take pride in breathing life back into quality American goods. As an American machinist I have to. That's my job going over seas. I won't help the hang man build the noose.
Tom

Tom; Of all the answers I read, that touched home for me as well. Pride in American!! Some how we have lost that leadership and it feels good to find it hear.


Joe