Assembling a Few DQ’s This Morning

[foakes]

Went to bed by 9:45 last night —- rolled out at 0500 this morning.  51 last night.

After a few small chores (feed dog, cats, birds) —- pulled some reels out of the bins to build for members that might want a DAM Quick fully restored with new parts.

A couple of 110 Microlites, a 220, a 221, a 1001 Microlite, a 265 Microlite, a 3000 Champion series.

Done is (1) 110, the 220, the 3000, the 265.

Working on the other 110 right now, still to do today is the 221 & the 1001.

Stopped for breakfast.

Plus listened to our Church service online.

Basically, the process just involves pulling a reel out of the bins —- full disassemble, inspection of all parts, ultrasonic cleaning of all parts, polishing and burnishing of all parts  inner & exterior, replace any cosmetically or mechanically deficient parts with new, reassemble with modern synthetic lubes, adjust, tune, micro-tune, re-check finished reel for proper functions and appearance, bag & tag.

The 221 is sold —- the rest will be available.

Enjoyable day so far.

Best, Fred

[oldmanjoe]

    Another easy day in the office , or should i say you make it look easy  .   

[foakes]

Finished up the (7) DAM Quicks today that were started early this morning

Each received a full ultrasonic cleaning of all parts, all new frames, rotors, sideplates, badges, handles, bearings, springs, drags, any goobered screw slots were replace with new screws, etc..

These are not repaints —- they are as new.

A 221 for a client, (2) 110 Microlites, a 265 Microlite, a 220, a 3000 Champion Series, and a tiny 1001.

The 1001 is a very neat and effective Microlite.

It is identical to the 1000, except...

When the new line of "01" reels came out —- they included the new "Black Ops" look.  There was a 1401, 2001, 3001, 4001, and The Godfather —- the large 5001, which is considered by many experts to be one of the best spinners of all time.

Anyway, DQ considered the tiny 7.8 ounce 1000 Microlite to be perfect as is with no changes except cosmetically.

This included a black drag knob, black crank arm, black crank knob, black bail angle lever, and a black aluminum spool.

This gave the complete new line (6) reels from the smallest to largest.

Neat reel.

Sue made spaghetti pie for dinner.  So we will dine on that and watch a little Netflix or Paramount streaming.

I will offer these reels throughout the week.

Best, Fred

[Midway Tommy]

I have a NIB 1001. I think it may be the nicest UL reel Dam made. If it had the spring loaded fold down handle I would say it might be the best overall reel Dam ever made.

[foakes]

I know you haven't fished you NIB DQ 1001, Tommy —-

But I do hope that you have had a chance to fish a 1001 or a 1000.

The weight, materials, no shortcuts, and clever yet simple engineering makes this Microlite reel so smooth and well balanced —- that folks who use these, generally consider it their favorite reel.

I have a few NIB 1000 & 1001's —- and just sell or trade them to clients and members of AT.com.

However, I always have one with me when in the mountains, boat, backpacking, or just fishing a lake or river.

The crank shifts from the left to right sides in less than a minute —- with no tools.  And it folds down really nicely for storage and transport.

DQ wanted this feature of easy side-switching of the crank assembly.  Plus, they needed to keep the weight down.  A spring mechanism like on the larger reels (which I also like really well) — would probably put the reel over 8 ounces —- plus make it bulkier and perhaps not balanced as well.

My favorite combo is this reel on a Fenwick, Wright-McGill, or Conolon 5.5' glass rod.

Best, Fred

[Balvar24]

I've got a couple of those 5.5' Conolons.  It may be heresy, but I'm going to forgo the Mitchell and stick a Microlite on one.

[Midway Tommy]

Yeah, it doesn't take much to add weight to those little UL reels.

As an example, the ABU Cardinal 152 is cute little left hand wind only rear drag UL that fits in the palm of your hand. It weighs in at 8.0 oz. It's cousin, the ABU Cardinal 52, which is the exact same reel except that it can be quickly converted to right hand wind comes in at 8.25 oz. Just adding that through handle shaft adds a quarter of an oz.

On another note, the Zebco and ABU Cardinal 3s weigh 7.85 oz. Their next generation, the black ABU Garcia C3s weigh just 7.55 oz. The switch to the skirted design & graphite spool reduced the weight by .30 oz.

75% of my fishing is done with a black C3 or green line Cardinal 3. Fishing a 7.5 oz reel is a joy, especially when you never use a rod holder.   

[foakes]

I also really like the Cardinal reels, Tommy —-

Either Swedish or the C3.

Have used a Cardinal 3 for hiking and backpacking for over 12 years now.

Started personally using a Swedish ABU Cardinal 54 a few months ago for a little larger reel when conditions warrant.

I really like it a lot!

For vintage, "Golden Age" spinning reels —- I stick with DQ, ABU/Zebco Cardinals, and Penn. Can't go wrong with any of these that were offered in the 70's & 80's.

Best, Fred