DOES ANYONE SIGN THEIR REELS BEFORE CLOSING THEM UP?

[Dominick]

I sign and date the inside of the reels I maintain .  Does anyone else do this?  This photo is the guts of a Penn Senator 6/0 114HLW.  I'm getting it ready for Tuna the first week of June.  Alan, I do not mean to beat the chopstick advice to death, but I use a sharpened chopstick to write in the grease.  As a matter of fact I use chopsticks a lot in my maintenance.  I cut them on an angle and use them to scrape away varnish.  Even the side of a bamboo toothpick works pretty good.  Dominick

[Alto Mare]

Good idea Dominick but you have the wrong date, you opened it today and it's already a year old.

[Dominick]

.  Now that is embarrassing .  No excuse, Rob don't say it.  Luckily I have not closed it up.  The Giants opening day game was on.  Dominick

[Alto Mare]

Nothing to be embarassed about Dominick. Was it the Giants or the Zin?

[Dominick]

Sal:  I was wondering where that bottle went.     Thanks for reminding me.

[Doug]

Hi Dominick  Great idea! I am new to this board but you do know that  your 114h appears to have injection moulded side plates.
If you find loss of anti reverse or the bridge screws start backing out for no apparent reason Penn will replace them. I have a 114 h and a 113h with injection moulded parts and  never had a problem    Doug

[Dominick]

Hey Sal, thanks for keeping me honest.  Now I hate say this, but I finished with my maintenance of the reel, put 2 screws in and remembered the wrong date,  so I pulled the plate off again and changed the date.  Don't laugh.  Rob, stifle it.
Doug: What's with the molded side plates?  You got Me.  I have it loaded with 80lb mono for Tuna and Marlin.  I (we) have caught 5-6 Marlin with that reel.  I leave the spool bearings open and oiled with Reel-X.  I set the drag at 25lbs.  That way we can live bait it and cast it to Marlin on the surface.  So if the Marlin do not hit the lures the old 114 is the candidate for a hook-up.  Having said that should I be concerned about the side plates?  The reel has behaved flawlessly with big fish.  Dominick

[Alto Mare]

Dominick, I'm going to go ahead and answer your question. Few years ago Penn switched from the compression molded plates to the injection molded plates (like yours). This coused two problems,(1)Scews continually backed off and (2) The anti-reverse failed. So around 2001 Penn went back to their original design... the compression plates. I beleive that Penn will still exchange the plates, but if you did not have problems in the past, you should be OK. Here is some more useful information, just copy and click on here .... repair bulletin 1 - Penn Reels .           Let me know how you made out.

[broadway]

Nice tip Dominick... does it stay like that until you crack it open for the next maintenance.  If so, that would be something I'll put in the arsenal.  Hey Rob and Sal, way to keep Dominick on his toes!  Sal, is 100% correct on the molded injection plates.  I'm working on (2) 113h's with the molded plates, and they have no problems at all.  If they don't have issues... they most likely won't in the future either. 
Thanks
Dom

[codhead]

I don't sign my own reels after servicing but I do now security mark the inside of any reel (or other high value item) that I may sell on eBay. Some time ago I sold a mint TLD10 and shortly afterwards received an "item not as described" complaint. When the reel was returned, I received something that may once have existed as a TLD10 but certainly wasn't the reel I shipped. I've known smoother and quieter coffee grinders.

Result? dispute found in buyer's favour and I lost £80 on the deal and had to spend another £40 bringing the returned reel back into a serviceable state.

So now every high-value item is security marked and photographed.

[alantani]

you have one of the side plates that was on recall!

[Dominick]

Sal, Alan, Dom, anyone:  I read the repair bulletin.  I don't want to wait to see if it will fail.  I believe in preventive maintenance, so I will ship the side plate to Penn for replacement.  Do I ship both sides, or just the right side plate?  Dominick

[Alto Mare]

I don't know, give them a call Dominick, they have a toll free #

Looks like you will be changing that date for the third time.

[Doug]

Hey Dominick I am almost sorry I brought this up. The injection mouled plates do have some advantages ,they are less likely to crack and chip,
they are less likely to swell ( the side plate issue).Just check the screws once in while to make sure they are no backing out on you . I have a 114h and a113h both with injection moulded parts and never had a problem. I think Penn did this as a cost reduction thing that kind of backfired.
Doug

[Alto Mare]

You did good Doug, don't fill sorry about it. I'm sure you helped a lot of guys here. I wasn't even paying attention, I was concentrating on the date. Take care, Sal