Which DAM Series to Fish With?

[foakes]

So, I've recieved my Finessa and 440N today and I took both apart to service. I only got as far as the snap ring because I realised that I don't own snap ring pliers. The ball bearing was obviously spinning nicely so I decided to add some oil and call it a day.

I also added grease to the pinion's opening and rotor nut. I'm preparing the Finessa for a friend to fish while the 440N is mainly for collection. While both are functionally great, I have a few problems I was hoping people on this site know how to solve.

1. The line rollers on both aren't spinning. I've oiled them and they still don't spin under finger pressure. The line guides do not spin —- they are made of Tungsten-Carbide.

2. The Finessa feels like the spool is hitting the rotor. Not too sure what to do here. Could be a bent spool, bent rotor, bent spool shaft,something under the spool contacting the spool on the lowest travel, or 2 or 3 other things.

3. The black tab at the bail wire has fallen off. Is this a big problem? It's that round black thing that holds the bail wire opposite to the line roller.  It is cosmetic —- not functional.
 
4. Is there supposed to be a rubber ring at the bail release tab? I'm sure the 440N doesnt look like it needs it, but I'm not sure about the Finessa.  On 280 & 285 Finessas —- there is a rubber bumper to soften the snap-back bail action.

5. How do you tell when your Finessa was built? My 440N is a 1975 model according to the box. Mine has brown inner sideplates.  Hold the reel a little closer to your computer so we can all see it better.  There are 4 versions of Finessa 280-285's.  Each has tells that will help ID the approximate year.  '55 to '63.

Best, Fred

[Barishi]

So, I've recieved my Finessa and 440N today and I took both apart to service. I only got as far as the snap ring because I realised that I don't own snap ring pliers. The ball bearing was obviously spinning nicely so I decided to add some oil and call it a day.

I also added grease to the pinion's opening and rotor nut. I'm preparing the Finessa for a friend to fish while the 440N is mainly for collection. While both are functionally great, I have a few problems I was hoping people on this site know how to solve.

1. The line rollers on both aren't spinning. I've oiled them and they still don't spin under finger pressure. The line guides do not spin —- they are made of Tungsten-Carbide.

2. The Finessa feels like the spool is hitting the rotor. Not too sure what to do here. Could be a bent spool, bent rotor, bent spool shaft,something under the spool contacting the spool on the lowest travel, or 2 or 3 other things.

3. The black tab at the bail wire has fallen off. Is this a big problem? It's that round black thing that holds the bail wire opposite to the line roller.  It is cosmetic —- not functional.
 
4. Is there supposed to be a rubber ring at the bail release tab? I'm sure the 440N doesnt look like it needs it, but I'm not sure about the Finessa.  On 280 & 285 Finessas —- there is a rubber bumper to soften the snap-back bail action.

5. How do you tell when your Finessa was built? My 440N is a 1975 model according to the box. Mine has brown inner sideplates.  Hold the reel a little closer to your computer so we can all see it better.  There are 4 versions of Finessa 280-285's.  Each has tells that will help ID the approximate year.  '55 to '63.

Best, Fred

Here are the pictures:
This reel has a push button spool and snap ring holding the bearing down. Read somewhere that the earliest ones didnt have either.



 

Wait, when I try putting around a meter or so of line on to test the drag, the non spinning line roller gives what feels like a large drag spike. And Alan Hawk mentioned in his 5001 review that his line roller "spun like the day they were new". Did DAM make a design change with that series? That line roller concerns me.

Also, I think the Finessa spool was hitting the rotor walls initially, but after a bit of fiddling it disappeared.

Is there any way to smoothen the spool lip? The paint's gone in a few places.

[foakes]

I wasn't aware that any of the line rollers on these DAM Quicks spin very easily?

They are generally stationary — at least after usage — but they will spin.

They are made of Tungsten-Carbide.  TC on the machinists hardness scale is a 9.5 out of 10.  This is right under the hardest materials which are Boron and Diamond.

I wouldn't be concerned about your line rollers not spinning.

A proper cleaning and burnishing of the roller and the roller axle mount would likely help any resistance — or a new line roller.  Either is easy to accomplish.

The Finessa is a 285 from 1964.

You can use a flat black Sharpie to touch up and smooth out the paint chips.  Or a flat black paint pen.

Best, Fred

[TJAndrews]

He's probably worried about grooves wearing in the line guide. I'm not going to call it a "roller," because the one on my original 331 has never moved that I can remember in the over fifty years that I've owned it. After hundreds (if not thousands if you count round gobies) of fish and many thousands of retrieves, that line guide looks as good today as the day I opened the box on Christmas. No grooves that I can see, though I rteluctantly will admit that my 73-year-old eyes possibly aren't what they were 50 years ago.
Now that I think about it, if it had been rolling all that time, being made of tungsten carbide it would have worn out the shaft that holds it in place and been lost years ago.  

TJ

[foakes]

He's probably worried about grooves wearing in the line guide. I'm not going to call it a "roller," because the one on my original 331 has never moved that I can remember in the over fifty years that I've owned it. After hundreds (if not thousands if you count round gobies) of fish and many thousands of retrieves, that line guide looks as good today as the day I opened the box on Christmas. No grooves that I can see, though I rteluctantly will admit that my 73-year-old eyes possibly aren't what they were 50 years ago.
Now that I think about it, if it had been rolling all that time, being made of tungsten carbide it would have worn out the shaft that holds it in place and been lost years ago.  

TJ

Exactly right, TJ —-

The "N" series, 110-550 Finessa series, and any of the earlier series DQ's do not have line guides that roll.

If a '00, '01, or '02 series is cleaned and properly oiled —- it will roll.

Best, Fred

[Barishi]

Thanks for the input, my worry was that the line roller will not "give" when drag is pulled which results in a super high start up.

The 440N free spins very well and feels super smooth, but the 285 makes a whirring sound and is nowhere near. I doubt its the gears because its not a buzzing feeling. I think the rotor is the issue here as it was really really tight to remove. Any ideas on whats going on and how to remedy this?

[foakes]

Check if it makes the sound with the rotor assembly removed.

This way you can narrow the culprit down to a portion of the reel.

At this point —- possibilities are gears, bearing, something bent or touching where it shouldn't, under spool trip mechanism tweaked, springs, screws, pins, crud, no lubrication, etc., etc...

Just need to examine and narrow it down.

Best, Fred

[jgp12000]

A Chuck Norris joke comes to mind "How many pushups can Chuck Norris do"? ALL OF THEM!

[CI_Seawolf]

Hello, I was just given a Quick SC 3, it has Korea embossed on the foot and is a rear drag reel.  Is it worth cleaning up?