DIY CT Conversion

[oc1]

I bought a kit once and thought it was a rid-off for the price.  Next time, I just threw away the levelwind worm, carriage, idler and shield and moved the top bar down to where the levelwind had been.  As I recall, some small washers and a bit of filing was all that was needed to secure the bar where the levelwind had been.  Then add in some magents.  ABU leaves plenty or room for them under the hood.

[oldmanjoe]

 I do not play with these reels , but if you are looking to replace the level wind with a bar .
    I might use a stain less tube and tap that     OR  .
    Stain less tube and then slide a stain less steel stud inside the tube to give it the bulk dia .
          Stainless threaded rod maybe cheaper and you can cut to your length  . Just some ideas

https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/stainless-steel/0-25-od-x-0-035-wall-x-0-18-id-stainless-round-tube-304-seamless/pid/12913?variant=12913_12_0&gclid=Cj0KCQiAm5ycBhCXARIsAPldzoW9cCocFYqYzcePZmBClagm2L1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/373544343935?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D243418%26meid%3D99f92dc0f1c84693ab39dc9d8db62379%26

[day0ne]

There is a youtube channel called "Team Hard Life". In his video list, he visits a tackle shop in Texas that specializes in surf and distance casting tackle. I can't remember it's name. An English man owns it and is a record holder. That video will tell you the shops name, he is a source of Euro parts and rods.

Breakaway?

https://www.breakawaytackleusa.com/

[0119]

There is a youtube channel called "Team Hard Life". In his video list, he visits a tackle shop in Texas that specializes in surf and distance casting tackle. I can't remember it's name. An English man owns it and is a record holder. That video will tell you the shops name, he is a source of Euro parts and rods.

Breakaway?

https://www.breakawaytackleusa.com/

[/float

I think that's it. It was in that area of Texas. I contacted them for Rocket Fuel Liquid Grease after Jerry closed up. I miss Jerry, hope he is well and happy.

[Fish-aholic]

Have you considered replacing the LW cage with a designated CT cage rather than hacksawing a good LW one to fit aftermarket conversion bars?

The cost will be similar and having the ability to revert back to using a LW again for those times reel could be used for bait fishing where line guiding manually becomes tiring can be a good option to still have further down the road.

[JasonGotaProblem]

Have you considered replacing the LW cage with a designated CT cage rather than hacksawing a good LW one to fit aftermarket conversion bars?

The cost will be similar and having the ability to revert back to using a LW again for those times reel could be used for bait fishing where line guiding manually becomes tiring can be a good option to still have further down the road.

You're not wrong in concept. My logic though is I have 2 5000C laying around. So if i screw it up or get sick of it i have a spare.

[thorhammer]

Have you considered replacing the LW cage with a designated CT cage rather than hacksawing a good LW one to fit aftermarket conversion bars?

The cost will be similar and having the ability to revert back to using a LW again for those times reel could be used for bait fishing where line guiding manually becomes tiring can be a good option to still have further down the road.

Sorry, but not even close. Custom CT conversion bar is 20 bucks plus shipping. CT cages are 4X that if not more, when you can find one, and billet frames are a hundred for Rocket and go from there. If you find good CT cages for 20 bucks I'll take 50 right now.

[Breadfan]

Have you considered replacing the LW cage with a designated CT cage rather than hacksawing a good LW one to fit aftermarket conversion bars?

The cost will be similar and having the ability to revert back to using a LW again for those times reel could be used for bait fishing where line guiding manually becomes tiring can be a good option to still have further down the road.

Sorry, but not even close. Custom CT conversion bar is 20 bucks plus shipping. CT cages are 4X that if not more, when you can find one, and billet frames are a hundred for Rocket and go from there. If you find good CT cages for 20 bucks I'll take 50 right now.

This is the reason I did it myself. Finding a ABU CT cage is difficult. Paying shipping from England for modifying just one reel was another reason. But, making a CT reel with the existing parts was very satisfying.

[thorhammer]

Michael, keep us posted and with pics of what you do....there's a couple of us with vocal interest but there are others just reading too.

Kurt, if my idea comes out decently, Imma shoot you a couple to try to break.

[steelfish]

Good to have you on the forum! I did my Abu 5000 without ordering anything. I hacked the top bar and made studs from those and glued them with epoxy. They look good but they do show brass since they are chromed brass, but no big deal. For the CT bar, I just removed the pawl and glued the worm gear to the housing and then glued the whole thing to the frame. Yea, it's permanent but its very stout.

it looks pretty cool and Im bet it works even better, I was tempted to do something similar years ago, but at the end, in my local beaches it doesnt matter if you cast 60yds or 130yds cuz the way the tide works here you will get the same kind of fish, the sea star to get deep and alive from the 300yds or 500yds   

we need to drive 2hrs south or so to get better chances to catch something worthy from the beach.

short note: the tide here goes up and down with a range of 500yds or so when is low tide, leaving the sea floor exposed so you can made some long walks but mostly everything is dead or empty as the dry sand of the desert, this happens two times per day so, you can imagine there is no much living creatures in that zone even with high tide, your only chances to catch something is when the high tide is coming and when it stops for few hours until start to get back again, eventho I live in from of the sea if I want to catch something worthy I need to drive few hours as if I was any other city boy   


PS: what glue you used to put the worm gear housing permament?

[JasonGotaProblem]

Partially related, just because I know the abu folks who would know the answer are reading this thread:

Are there any higher ratio gears that'll fit in my '73 5000C? As i think about this more I'm not sure i wanna cast super far on a reel that retrieves at like 12" per turn.

And Alex, my thoughts are that I would walk out at low tide and cast from there, see what's out even further. But that's just my unreasonable optimism at play.

[r_shackleford]

Michael, keep us posted and with pics of what you do....there's a couple of us with vocal interest but there are others just reading too.

Kurt, if my idea comes out decently, Imma shoot you a couple to try to break.

Thorhammer, I have an old 5000 that needs a complete overhaul. Since I'll already be tearing into this reel, I'm gonna use it as the test subject for my CT idea. I'll post updates and photos as I work through this.

[tincanary]

eReplacement Parts sells the 6500CT frames for a bit under $100.  I know you have a 5000C but it's just an idea I thought I'd throw out there then you could get a 6500 spool and axle and be done with it.  Yeah it's spendy compared to a CT kit, but I feel like the CT frame would be more rigid versus adding bars and plugs to an older frame.

[steelfish]

And Alex, my thoughts are that I would walk out at low tide and cast from there, see what's out even further. But that's just my unreasonable optimism at play.

tried that several times, the true is when tide is going down and kind of stops, its not like if you will cast into 30ft deep hole on a 50yds cast or even on a 100yds cast, the water is still pretty low /shallow for several yards, the blue water is still far from a good cast, since the tide moves pretty long two times per day the current is pretty strong when the tide is going up or going down, no even a 8oz spider weight will hold with the strong current of the tide, so after several tries I gave up, so no surf fishing on the local beaches, two hours south is just start to get better on beach fishing.

Low Tides
The bay of San Felipe is found 3 meters above sea level.

At Low Tide, the water can back out up to 2 kilometers, this way exposing around 7 kilometers of a sandy bottom, offering the opportunity to walk over the ocean and enjoy the beautiful landscapes of this port, making this activity, a unique experience.

The low tides of San Felipe are ideal for clam searching, the only thing you will need is a rake or a good shovel and there you go, explore!

https://sanfelipe.travel/en/low-tides/

[Breadfan]

PS: what glue you used to put the worm gear housing permament?

I used the Pro Paste epoxy from Mudhole. It stays where you put it and it does not run. It also dries very hard. I use it for reel seats mainly, but I am finding other uses for it!