Really bad pinion rub. Why?

[oldmanjoe]

   A inquiring mind wants to know what was the problem .   I don`t think it was the yoke , I can see a jack cam need tweaking ....     With all that free spool , I see birds nests .   

[Crab Pot]

Jason, if I'm high-jacking your thread let me know and I'll move it over to a new post. I think? it's relevant though.

Ok, my head is hurting.

Tell me if I got this straight:

Converting 40-50-60 year old Penn side plates with any modern internals (double dog bridge for example AT, Cortez Conversions, Pro Challenger, ect.) expect to do some customizing to fine tune it.

It's not "plug and play"?

I ask because "I'm not that guy" when it comes to figuring out how to trouble shoot and diagnose internal issues.

Would I (notice I didn't say my wallet) be better off buying custom frames and plates to get performance over original side plates?

Thanks,

Steve

[jurelometer]

If the jack tabs do not disengage fully from the yoke, those ramps on the tab will put angular load on the the yoke, which will put angular load on the pinion which might wedge it a bit on the spool shaft.  That bit of misalignment would cause some rubbing.

I would compare the stock to  aftermarket jack and yoke and see if there is any differences (part thickness, tab angles, etc.)

[Swami805]

I've had some where they worked perfectly right out of the gate, others not so much. The yoke and jack we're normally the culprit

[JasonGotaProblem]

I see birds nests .   

I don't need a minute of freespool to get birdnests. And i think the problem was the jack. I'll get out the caliper and find out which dimension is different but it was getting late I just wanted to put it together. There's some axial play in the handle, and it seems to bind just a bit, so im going back in anyway, it ain't done yet. Dave described the original problem very succinctly.

Steve, perfectly on topic. I think the issue is its a Cortez one piece body with a PC gear set and spool, no idea who made the bridge, or the yoke and jack. We could be talking 3-5 different part makers in here, not including the penn bits. I bet any of them would probably work just fine with penn parts or installed into an otherwise stock penn reel, because that's what they were all quite independently designed to fit with. They aren't necessarily designed to fit with each other.

[oldmanjoe]

  The easiest thing to check is the yokes . put one on top of the other ,and look for shadows .  Hole spread ,the hole diameters and pinion cut out .  No shift in the cut out .    The jack is going to need caliper checking !!!

[Flat Top]

I have been reading along and Jason's post, problems, and solutions, has been an interesting topic.

I use OEM Penn reels so much of this does not concern me, but as a retired toolmaker/machinist (amongst other things) I have had experience fitting moving parts precisely. That being said, if you coat your parts with Dykem Layout Fluid (or even a permanent Sharpie marker)  and when dry carefully reassemble the reel lubricant free, and work the reel through its different processes, then disassemble the reel, the odd, uneven, or misaligned wear marks will be quite evident. That is the easiest starting point to determine a misaligned or worn part problem and works especially well with gear sets...showing wear, misalignment of gear teeth etc, or mating parts that need to precisely work in conjunction with one another.

Over the years I have jumped through hoops, going so far as lapping and polishing OEM Penn reel gear sets and internals and it does make a difference in the smoothness of operation, but it is not a necessity...for the general purpose of catching fish, the OEM Penn reels work just fine for me. I liken the OEM Penn reels to the old 45 ACP pistol or the Kalashnikov rifle. The lack of precise tolerances is actually an attribute (they work no matter the conditions). Are they "target" quality, no, but they will stop the enemy.  The OEM Penn reels exhibit that same trait.

I would like to own a custom Penn reel for the experience alone...maybe some day.

[JasonGotaProblem]

I intended to get back into that reel last night. I was at work til 10:30 and just plain didn't have the energy. But this is high on my list.

[Crab Pot]

Flat Top

That is Genius!

[foakes]

Thanks FT—-

That is a great procedure to narrow down the culprit on problem reels!

Dykem Layout Fluid or a Perm Sharpie.

Best, Fred

[Gfish]

Yeah, I liked your point F-T, about loose tolerances. Something you can abuse and get dirty might continue to function when you really need it to.
 My Dad showed me his Arasaka 6.5 mm from the war. He pointed-out that the engineering was purposefully loose so sand and dirt wouldn't affect the action so much. Also, it was easy to take apart and reassemble. A very long rifle(maybe to function as a spear with the bayonet attached), heavy, and it had a metal end piece on the butt(maybe for hammering). I had to buy ammo for it and try it out. Kinda gutless, maybe comparable to a 30-30.

Maybe think of the "easy take apart" Penn's such as the Jig Master.

[PacRat]

Things that are complex are not useful, Things that are useful are simple. -Mikhail Kalashnikov

[Flat Top]

Things that are complex are not useful, Things that are useful are simple. -Mikhail Kalashnikov

Precisely! When wrist watches were the norm (before cell phones) I owned some very expensive time pieces.....Swiss movements...top of the line. I had a Timex Camper (American made, manual wind) that I wore when hunting and fishing...it was cheap and I thought if I destroyed it, no loss! All my expensive watches have since bit the dust, but the old Timex Camper is still in working order...."takes a lickin', and keeps on tickin'....kind of like a Penn reel!

[oldmanjoe]

Things that are complex are not useful, Things that are useful are simple. -Mikhail Kalashnikov

Weeellll  Some people think a reel is complex , so does that mean that they should keep wrapping string around a stick .  Nothing is complex , when you fully understand it . It`s just a learning curve .

Let me make a spark .