quick jigmaster questions

[Alto Mare]

Unfortunately, these reels with proper care will outlast both of us.

Why is that unfortunate?  Outlasting us is a good thing.
Pullrachet,
If you can afford it, why not do as some of the others suggest?  Put a Tiburon frame on your Jigmaster, replace the other necessary worn parts, and upgrade the gear sleeve.  "Old School" is cool.  Then buy a Baja Special, too.  After all, who can manage with having just one reel?   
I have a Baja Special, but I use my three Jigmasters more.  One is Newelled, one is Tiburonized (both "99" width) and one is a Newelled 501.  In fact, I don't remember catching a fish with my Baja Special, although I've only taken it fishing with me three times.   
[/quote
Unfortunate for us George, not the reel. Hey maybe I'll tell the kids to place one of my favorite reel in the box for when they lower me in the ground,you never know.


Pullrachet,on your reel with all of that corrosion, I'm still going to say that it's not worth it,unless you don't need your money. When you start costumising it, you will find out that the reel you purchased does not exist anymore, there is just too many parts for you to replace. Like I mentioned earlier, replace the drags and go fish. I own a few custom reels and really like them,but I started with a decent reel. Just my 2 cents

[Norcal Pescador]

Don't hold your breath waiting for it to break on you, if you didn't want to invest the money, just get yourself a new set of HT100's, clean it a bit  and enjoy it. ...........

Pullratchet,
The 505 is a good reel with its ball bearings and 5:1 gears on top of the basic jigmaster. There's a reason the 500 is still in production after 52 years. It catches fish!   What has the bad corrosion? If it's the spool, scrub it off with a wire brush to see if it's usable. if not, a new spool is $30. Anything else on the exterior is pretty much cosmetic. Soak any green fuzzy parts in a cup of vinegar and 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda for 24 hours, scrub with a toothbrush, and rinse. If that doesn't work, take a wire brush to the parts that need it. A lot of appearance improvement can be done with a some Brasso and some auto cleaner wax.

Sal's reply is my opinion also. If the 505 is to be a "working reel" then it really doesn't matter what it looks like as long as it works right.  Sure, most everyone takes pride in their gear's appearance, but in the long run, the fish don't care. Clean it up, Tani-ize it, and go fishing!

I'm done,
Rob

[pullrachet]

basically all the sideplate screws are going bad..i guess i could try and soak them..but its this on top of whatever else i find..domino effect kind of thing

[Norcal Pescador]

The screws are relatively cheap. You need good heads on them so they don't strip while loosening or tightening. That would be a major PITA. Have you opened it up and assessed the guts yet?

[pullrachet]

I have..it looks alright, old and pretty used, but alright..nothing major that cathces my eye although a good clean up would probably do it good. 

[Norcal Pescador]

Good so far. The only other major (as in $$) issue I can think of will be the ball bearings. If they don't spin butter-smooth after cleaning and a very light oiling, they need to be replaced. A good spool is good news! As far as cleaning, 409 or Simple Green along with a toothbrush combined with elbow grease should solve that.  Good luck!

[pullrachet]

thanks really appreciate everyone's input!