Fin Nor LT 100

Started by Shark Hunter, February 25, 2016, 02:04:11 PM

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cbar45

Sal, good point about the mainshaft wearing down the interior of the pinion gear over time.

I serviced a few 850's with that problem and it was difficult hunting down a new pinion; Had to wait quite a while for one to show up on the big auction site.

That's the only thing about Penn SS--They are proven tanks, but replacement parts aren't as readily available unless you had the foresight to create a stockpile while they were still in production..;)

If you were to do that for the LT-100 today, a new set of gears and handle would cost you about $35 plus shipping.

Throw in a few other parts and you should be good for a long time:

http://www.tackleservice.com/Consumer/Product_detail_m.aspx?ProductID=5420

Chad

Alto Mare

Very interesting Chad, I might grab one of these reels and a couple of parts for spare.
With that said above about the pinion, as you probably already know, I still love my SS spinners very much ;)
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

handi2

My last order with them I added 6 of their roller clutch bearings at less than 4 bucks a piece.

They are the same ones used in the Shimano Calcutta 7000 reels, Penn Torque reels, and many, many others. It's the tall AR bearing with the blue colored roller retainer inside.
OCD Reel Service & Repair
Gulf Breeze, FL

foakes

Smart, Keith...

Best,

Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--

I never make the same mistake twice.

I make it 5 or 6 times, you know, just to be sure.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

Alto Mare

Keith, besides the weight, what do you think of these reels. I'm not sure of the shell but the inner parts look very good to me.
It's heavy, probably because the inner parts are well made. A little extra weight won't bothered me,  I rather have it this way.
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

johndtuttle

#20
Quote from: Alto Mare on February 28, 2016, 01:44:38 AM
Keith, besides the weight, what do you think of these reels. I'm not sure of the shell but the inner parts look very good to me.
It's heavy, probably because the inner parts are well made. A little extra weight won't bothered me,  I rather have it this way.

FWIW....the internals are definitely solid. The main gear teeth are not finished as nice as they could be and that makes it noisy, but that is no knock on its strength. Have not heard one complaint of anything inside the reel.

The troubles are the line lay (fundamentally the main shaft is too long leading to bottom heavy line lay) which make braid digging in under high drag a possibility), some main stems have been breaking under high drag and the handles breaking when people crank too hard with them.

A few bail wires have come loose and one bail arm dropped off (poor assembly issues that happen to nearly every reel) but seems to be rare.

For the money and fished modestly still hard to beat.

Not a true big game reel however by all evidence on truly big fish.


Marcq

Was looking at those for a while but found it to heavy, wish the LT 80 was built the same

Marc..

Alto Mare

Quote from: johndtuttle on February 29, 2016, 06:50:24 PM
Quote from: Alto Mare on February 28, 2016, 01:44:38 AM
Keith, besides the weight, what do you think of these reels. I'm not sure of the shell but the inner parts look very good to me.
It's heavy, probably because the inner parts are well made. A little extra weight won't bothered me,  I rather have it this way.

FWIW....the internals are definitely solid. The main gear teeth are not finished as nice as they could be and that makes it noisy, but that is no knock on its strength. Have not heard one complaint of anything inside the reel.

The troubles are the line lay (fundamentally the main shaft is too long leading to bottom heavy line lay) which make braid digging in under high drag a possibility), some main stems have been breaking under high drag and the handles breaking when people crank too hard with them.

A few bail wires have come loose and one bail arm dropped off (poor assembly issues that happen to nearly every reel) but seems to be rare.

For the money and fished modestly still hard to beat.

Not a true big game reel however by all evidence on truly big fish.


Thanks John! I always appreciate your input.

Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

handi2

#23
Quote from: Alto Mare on February 28, 2016, 01:44:38 AM
Keith, besides the weight, what do you think of these reels. I'm not sure of the shell but the inner parts look very good to me.
It's heavy, probably because the inner parts are well made. A little extra weight won't bothered me,  I rather have it this way.

Besides the size and weight they are a beast. I've replaced 4 handles in the last 12 months but the parts are cheap. When you can get bearings from them for 3 bucks and handles for around $13.00 parts don't seem to be a costly issue. If you ever need them. I've seen no corrosion problems inside or out.

http://www.tackleservice.com/Consumer/Product_detail_m.aspx?ProductID=5420
OCD Reel Service & Repair
Gulf Breeze, FL

foakes

Quote from: handi2 on March 01, 2016, 03:39:48 PM
Quote from: Alto Mare on February 28, 2016, 01:44:38 AM
Keith, besides the weight, what do you think of these reels. I'm not sure of the shell but the inner parts look very good to me.
It's heavy, probably because the inner parts are well made. A little extra weight won't bothered me,  I rather have it this way.

Besides the size and weight they are a beast. I've replaced 4 handles in the last 12 months but the parts are cheap. When you can get bearings from them for 3 bucks and handles for around $13.00 parts don't seem to be a costly issue. If you ever need them. I've seen no corrosion problems inside or out.

http://www.tackleservice.com/Consumer/Product_detail_m.aspx?ProductID=5420

Plus, Fin-Nor is a company that will install better handles, make stronger frame stand stems, etc. -- just need to make them aware of the issues -- and they will likely improve the product -- moving forward.

It is our responsibility, as repair guys -- to let them know the issues during real world fishing experiences.

Good company, good value products overall, responsive.

Best,

Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--

I never make the same mistake twice.

I make it 5 or 6 times, you know, just to be sure.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

CapeFish

Quote from: Alto Mare on February 26, 2016, 12:44:16 AM
Quote from: basto on February 26, 2016, 12:18:32 AM
This is a size comparison with 9500SS

I'll bet if you start fresh with both reels being in new condition, after 30+ years only one of them will look the same :)

Sal

will any spinning reel that is regularly fished ever last that long? Even multipliers? I have seen reels literally beyond repair from wear and tear, not lack of maintenance, frame and spool gaps for example widening up so much from sand and salt grinding away at them, handle shafts totally worn out and drive shafts simply eating away at the frame over time. Then at that stage main and pinion gear have also been replaced. It just makes no economic sense at some point to repair it?

Marcq

Quote from: CapeFish on March 03, 2016, 07:27:05 AM


will any spinning reel that is regularly fished ever last that long? Even multipliers? I have seen reels literally beyond repair from wear and tear, not lack of maintenance, frame and spool gaps for example widening up so much from sand and salt grinding away at them, handle shafts totally worn out and drive shafts simply eating away at the frame over time. Then at that stage main and pinion gear have also been replaced. It just makes no economic sense at some point to repair it?
Of course they will, IF they were properly cared for and if parts were available

IMO
Marc..

CapeFish

I honestly doubt it, maybe if they are fished once a month, even then, but a few times a week in a salty, sandy environment?

Marcq

Quote from: CapeFish on March 04, 2016, 08:18:21 AM
I honestly doubt it, maybe if they are fished once a month, even then, but a few times a week in a salty, sandy environment?
Of course if you dunk your equipment at the beach and do nothing about it, it wont last very long but with proper maintenance it will last a life time, like anything else. 
Marc..

Alto Mare

I agree, but some reels could take more abuse than others.
I have brought back some Penn that were in really bad shape. Being able to do the same to others, I would say they're great reels as well... and there are many out there.
This reel above appears to be a good one, the problem would be with parts availability.
Yes, there are a bunch of parts available now, but will they be available for the next 20-30 years from now? I'm going to guess no.

I'm not comparing Penn to other manufacturers, I just wish they would follow and do the same.
After 80+ years in production, I'm still able to find parts for my reels.

Another point I want to mention, Penn has reintroduced some great spinners from the past, looks like they're not just going for 100 years for parts availability, it appears they're going  for way beyond that. Of course we won't be here to find out, but 5 or 10 generations from now probably will. ;D

Penn has gained lots of respect from me within the past few years with doing so.
I read this as customer satisfaction and not greed.

Don't shoot the messenger, this is just my opinion.

Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.