Old Daiwas

[foakes]

Was looking around for a spool for John, as well as a main gear for Keith, this morning.

Came across a  couple of big boxes with around 60 or 70 Daiwa Spinners -- that I forgot I had.

Found the stuff for John and Keith -- then started to look through these Daiwa bins.

Found 3 tiny 7250RLA Microlite spinners.  

Barry was fixing up one of these a few months ago -- and while I helped out with a few parts, I fixed one up for myself.

Most folks do not know how good these little microlites are from the 70's.  After servicing, the bail return is crisp, quick, and sharp.  The drive train and A/R is excellent.  All metal body, push button release spool.

Impressive reels.

Now, there are a few extras.

Best,

Fred

[nelz]

Got any complete GS series?

[happyhooker]

Nice reels, Fred.  Some of those late '60s-early '70s Daiwas sound very interesting.  There is a decent article about the "70s Dreadnoughts-Daiwa 7000 Series Fixed Spools" that I read a few months ago from worldseafishing.com, which peaked my interest in these reels.  Worth a read.  Some info on a 7250HRLA, the "H" apparently referring to "high speed". 

I have an AS 1350, which is hardly the same "classic" reel that some of the 7000 series would be; for some reason, probably because I got this reel after my Dad died, I've used it quite a bit and caught some nice fish with it; a decent enough reel, probably with a bit too much plastic for my taste & has something called an "anti-reverse claw" inside, which as near as I have been able to figure, is a small rubber band-like part that acts as a spring in the AR system (and tends to deteriorate over time).

[foakes]

Got any complete GS series?

Got 3 of the gold 13's.  Might have more around somewhere.

One has a broken foot -- but is in very good operating condition -- and I pulled a new frame out of the parts bin.

Best,

Fred

[smnaguwa]

Thanks for bringing up the old Daiwas which were my favorite reel living in Hawaii in the 60's and 70's. Still have the 7600H which has a label "Sealed Hi-Flo Ball Bearing". Stopped using it; stripped the gears(zinc alloy?) and the ball bearing, though sealed, was rough. Will try to rehab it to use for striper fishing in California with braid line as it is all metal! Fred, You're a treasure of knowledge/resources.

[Gfish]

Just found a GS-3 from the 70's. What a nice, heavy, well made reel. It's my  bros., but I couldn't resist takin apart the gear box and rotor. Big heavy drive gear that looks like it'ed last. Wish I knew more about metal composition and part production methods.
Gfish

[foakes]

Many of the old Daiwas are decent reels, Gregg -- if not pushed past their limits.

Much like many of the old spinning reels from Japan, in the day.

Cast metal bodies, good cranks, simple bails, some have bearings instead of sleeves.

Generally, the gears in Daiwas are a soft alloy of aluminum and other metals to harden them up a bit.

Problem is -- the gears can strip easily enough -- particularly if a reel is in need of cleaning and lubrication.

This is also true of some of the Mitchell's.

However, when fished within their envelopes -- regarding weights, size of fish, and currents -- they will do fine.

IMO, best system is a brass or bronze alloy main -- coupled with a steel worm drive pinion supported at the front and rear of the spinner frame.

Reason? -- the bronze alloy main is tough -- the steel worm drive pinion is tougher, and spins at around 3-5 times the rate of the main.  So in theory, the main would wear out first -- but since the pinion turns so much faster -- they even out longevity.  Plus -- a bronze main, and a steel worm-drive -- are much quieter and smoother that (2) steel gears meshing together.

Quick, Penn, Cardinal, and a few others have this superior drive system.

And these will surpass their intended engineering limits -- due to the strength and attention to mechanics of their components.

Best,

Fred