140/145/146 squidder

[Gfish]

Ok.

[MolBasser]

Yeah, clearly in the squidder when you tighten it down it the spool shaft will press the inner race outwards on both bearings.

I'm not an engineer, and I don't know the hardness of the steel in the bearings, but to actually damage the bearings would likely take more force than your going to use as a cast control mechanism.  (I very likely am wrong).

What IS clear is that you will wear them much more rapidly and they will lose good function much much more quickly. 

Long story short, not the way to do cast control.  But I doubt very much you will do more damage than just wear the bearings faster. (again, I could be/am wrong)

[oc1]

The squidder's enormous ball bearings are sort of anomalous in fishing reels of that size.  (see Gfish photos above)  I think Penn had only used ball bearings in the largest Senators before they put them in a Squidder.  It was a cautious and conservative approach.  Honestly  I don't think you can hurt those bearings. 

The spindle ends are riding on a copper shim so it'd be difficult to wear them out as well. 

Aside from the those vein/fin things in the plastic Squidder spools, the tail plate spool tension knob is all you have to slow it down and make the reel manageable for the intended task, surf fishing.

I'll  say again, the danger of using the spool tension knob is it's ability to crack bakelite side plates.  That may be why Penn put inside and outside rings on such a small reel.

[Maxed Out]

 Yep, The squidder had ball bearings from its introduction in 1939. At that time, the only other Penn reels with ball bearings were the 14/0 & 16/0 senators

[cbar45]

Wasn't there a manufacturer (ABU?) who routinely advised in their reel literature to: "adjust spool tension such that the lure drops slowly to the ground in free spool"? Maybe I'm thinking of someone else; my experience w/Squidders is limited to weight and bait.

[Gfish]

Looking at those Squidder bearings again, I think OC-1's right, they are probably ok for lighter duty cast control. After all, the Squidder was designed to for casting in the Surf. It's a cool little conventional. Some guys remove the A/R on-off switch, but I liked all those different ways it cab be used.

Getting ball bearing cups that have those little spool shaft tip contacts is hard. The ones on the CC 501 are the only ones I have. I do have a size 10 Penn mag. that I got from El pescador, that reel has all the Squidder stuff on it plus a magnet and levelwind.

[Rancanfish]

G-man, the a/r switch was a must have when light line fishing S.F. bay for leopard sharks. When a mud Marlin got your bait and took off you had an option to play.

[jurelometer]

Yeah, clearly in the squidder when you tighten it down it the spool shaft will press the inner race outwards on both bearings.

I'm not an engineer, and I don't know the hardness of the steel in the bearings, but to actually damage the bearings would likely take more force than your going to use as a cast control mechanism.  (I very likely am wrong).

What IS clear is that you will wear them much more rapidly and they will lose good function much much more quickly. 

Long story short, not the way to do cast control.  But I doubt very much you will do more damage than just wear the bearings faster. (again, I could be/am wrong)

Agree.  A bit more detail:


The stainless steel used in reel ball bearings is pretty much always tempered type 440c, which is very hard and used for bearings in much more demanding  situations than a Penn Squidder.

If there is force along the shaft from one direction on the inner race and the other direction on the outer race, this is called axial load.  In the case of a fixed spindle spool, this is going to require some sort of raised lip or ridge on the spindle for the inner race to press against.

It looks like the Squidder has such a lip, but someone else can verify.    Many of the old revolving spool reels don't have such a spindle lip (and also often plain bearings instead of ball bearings) , so tightening the spindle cap won't add any axial load to the bearings.  On these non-axial load reels, friction from the spool end on those sacrificial copper-ish (bronze maybe?) discs will slow the spool down. It was a pretty common cast control technique, and is still used by tournament casters.

If you are able to add axial load on the bearings by tightening the end cap, what is happening  is that you a pressing the inner and outer races out of alignment, and the balls are running along one side of the race under pressure instead of right down the center of the "track". 

So slowing down the spool by introducing axial load  means that you are adding friction the bearing's balls and tracks in a non-optimal way.  Not a great way to do cast control...

However, ball bearings are designed to handle some axial load so that they can also act as thrust bearings in addition to radial duty.  For example, when you throw the lever on a lever drag reel, you are placing significant axial load on a couple of ball bearings on the main shaft.

If you know the dimensions of your Squidder bearings, you can look up the specs for the same sized stainless  bearing from one of the reputable bearing manufacturers or suppliers.  The axial load rating will tell you how much continuous axial load the bearings can handle.  It is probably  much higher than what is useful for "cast control".  This assumes that the bearings are kept clean and properly lubricated.

The bearings will have a shorter lifespan at higher axial loads, and back when the Squidder originally came out, ball bearings were a more expensive, exotic component. I would guess that Penn advice was intended to optimize bearing longevity.

Back in the day, the Squidder was actually considered a much easer reel to cast than the "lesser" non ball bearing models.  I definitely did not find it any more difficult.  A plastic spool will cast better (less inertia) and will be easier to learn on.  Plastic spools died off because monofilament expansion  from winding under tension would break them too frequently.  Modern braid does not stretch like nylon mono, so I have always wondered if those old plastic spools  might be worth a fresh look.

Also, none of my fishing friends failed to master casting the old surfmasters/squidders/jigmasters, so I have always thought that casting these reels reasonably well for distance is something that pretty much every fisherman can eventually master.  It is just that it is easier to switch back to spinning gear nowadays.

On the rings:  I don't think that the metal beauty rings fit tight enough to help prevent cracking.  My guess is that they simply protect the sideplate edges from damage.

-J

[foakes]

A Penn Squidder was an expensive reel when introduced.  At $25, it was generally a week or twos salary for a working man.

The primary purpose was surf fishing, as well as pier and jetty fishing (which generally included rocks to get caught on).

Squid and eels were the primary bait of choice.

This was before spinning reels took over most of the angling market.

The small lever on the right side is called the optional anti-reverse... after you cast out, set the click on and flip the optional anti-reverse, that'll let a fish pull line and not over run the reel... when you want to set the hook, let the slack run out and flip the lever and set the hook.  One thing about a squidder and a plastic or composite spool is never load it with mono... only use dacron or other nonstretching lines... playing a fish where the line is under pressure and stretched, rolling it onto the spool, when the pressure is released it'll pop the sides out of the spool... mono is ok with an aluminum or chromed spool...

The Penn Surfmaster reels were introduced a little later, as Otto H. realized that not everyone could afford a Squidder.  These were nicknamed "Poor Man's Squidders".  However, they also were very effective fishers, in the various widths and sizes.

I have used the small right side lever to enable me to sometimes clear or free a snag —- by easing "out" the line just a bit to unstick the snag.  It lets one ease out the line while in reverse gear, not freespool — and an angler has more control without a birds nest line overrun.

These are excellent reels.  I have a small box of 6 or 7 or them in 140, 145, and 146 sizes.

Plus I have a complete Cortez kit from Tom, that I need to assemble.

Got rid of most of my Penn conventional reels a couple of years ago now.  Just kept the complete set of Senators, and a few dozen loose ones here and there, plus the Squidders.  And it is probably time to get rid of them also.

The Squidders are possibly one of the most capable small Penn conventional reels, the most misunderstood, and most under appreciated reels by folks who just don't understand their function and how to use them properly.

The "quick-take-apart feature is great for changing out spools swiftly when needed.  And the double rings lend strength to the frame assembly, since these are little winches.  They have likely caught more fish in rough conditions than most other modern reels.

Best, Fred