Penn 710z mod project

[foakes]

It won't corrode —- it will just dull and oxidize if left as is.

You might find a protectant that works.

There are a few hundred out there.

Best, Fred

[circlehook]

Work kept me busy for the past few weeks but last night I decided to get back to this project .

For what it's worth, I picked up a cheap battered  710 housing off the auction site and decided to use it instead of the 710z housing (mostly because I dig the metal cover + brass spinfisher emblem ). Also, the covers were slightly different in dimensions and not cross compatable between  the 710 / 710z chassis.


Slowly getting there .. most of the effort was to sand out imperfections / putting in the casting and the associated paint or debris buried in them .

Tried a bunch of tools from my garage but these are what worked for me.

1. Micro sanding block with an assortment of sandpaper for first pass sanding
2. Battery powered Dremel type tool with wire wheel to get into the crevices (this actually burnishes to a shine)
3. 1000 / 2000 wet dry sandpaper with a micro sanding paper
a. lubricated with water / dish washing soap
b. second pass lubricated with a slurry of water and some random turtle wax polishing (not wax) compound . This actually worked better than (a) at removing fine defects

Still some ways to go but most of the grunt work is done.

They look better in "reel life" than the pic.

[circlehook]

After 0000 steel wool and some mag wheel polish. As before, pics don't do this justice and seem to highlight almost  invisible( to me, at least) flaws.

I think I'm done with the polishing work . I could go for a mirror finish but I prefer a duller finish . It will look better with the eventual dings and scratches .

Now to consider if I want to drill the rotor or not

[JasonGotaProblem]

Ask yourself two questions:
can you get your drilled holes spaced absolutely perfectly evenly?
AND
Would it bother you if the holes are not perfectly spaced?

The answer to those will help you decide whether or not to drill. I wouldnt personally do it, because i know I couldn't get them perfectly spaced, and it would definitely bother me. But that's just me.

Great work so far.

[Brewcrafter]

I will totally endorse Jason's suggestions.  And now will give you my unsolicited thoughts.  Which should NEVER guide you in your direction - hey Man, you be you.
Those machined/slotted reels look VERY COOL.  Not gonna say otherwise, and I know the level of work involved when you go down that road.  Lot of work - beautiful results.
BUT - I am old enough to remember when "skirted spool" spinners first came out, and they came out for a couple of reasons:
A - They also looked different and cool at that time.
B - They helped alleviate line suck under the spool.

I have seen so many great works by folks on this forum and elsewhere, but a part of me keeps wanting to say that the skirted spool spinner evolved to help keep Line and "stuff" out from behind the spool.    So now if I do a bunch of really cool metalwork on the rotor of a standard reel - well, those are all slots for dust, dirt, etc to get in behind the spool and eventually down into the works.

Listen, polishing old reels is cool, and a lot of work.  But once you get into "skeletonizing" old reels, that is also cool, and also a LOT of work.  BUT - you are now exacerbating the conditions (line, dust, etc) getting under the spool and into the works that the original skirted spools were developed to avoid....Depending on how you are going to use your reels this may not be a problem - again, you know you - but I must say I am totally looking forward to seeing your finished piece!!! - john

[jurelometer]

Kind of agree with Jason and John.

I have heard claims that porting these type of rotors allows for ease of turning and/or improved water drainage, but I don't buy it. I think most folk that do this to make the reels look modern (which is fine), and are reaching for a functional reason to justify it.

First of all, if you are removing significant amounts of metal, everything has to be matched so that the rotor is still balanced as it turns.  Next, there should already be a counterweight of some kind semi-permanently attached to the rotor.  It is probably not going to be the right size after porting. 

If you don't port the rotor so much as to compromise the durability, you will not be lightening it enough to affect performance. 

There is also some advantage for greater rotor weight, as the momentum keeps the rotor turning consistently, sort of powering through the change of  oscillation direction.  This could make the turning feel less herky-jerky.  Same reason that they put fly wheels on piston engines.

The old style rotors keep larger debris from getting trapped inside a turning mechanism, but the spool gap still readily allows water and finer debris to pass in both directions (for better and worse).

I wouldn't do it, but then I wouldn't do all the work to have a polished finish. 

Kind of up to whoever is doing the customization.

-J

[circlehook]

Points well received . Now that I think about it,  the beaches here in Texas can be very windy with a lot of dusty blowing around and drilling a rotor might be asking for trouble .

Might be time to start ordering misc parts ( bail springs etc ) and then start putting this back together .

On a side note, I also have the stripped 704z and it's (unfortunately, now mismatched) black cover plate.  I'll think up an alternate finishing scheme for that .. which will probably involve paint .

[oldmanjoe]

   You can do plan B and get another spare rotor to cut up .     There is several pages of pictures and "How to make jigs for machining slots or holes .   
https://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/topic/846891-penn-staal-templates-710z-and-704/#comments

https://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/search/?q=drilled%20or%20slotted%20rotors%20&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=52
   See if this works it`s a search page to work with .

[Bryan Young]

I love what you have done this far. I'm just here to see and learn, and just to be amazed. Cool stuff!!!

[circlehook]

I'm waiting on an eccentric liner before I put this back together . I suspect I'll have to replace some of the bail / trip) hardware (it felt pretty weak and  gritty even after the initial cleaning) but I'll have to re-evaluate now that I've taken the reel completely apart and degreased everything . Might have to polish off any rust spots . If I need to replace bail related hardware, I'll consider bail-less options .

I'm thinking of dressing up the rotor cup recesses ( the line capacity stickers were all scratched up  from age but I saved them to use as templates) with some holographic lure tape or even matte gold vinyl.

[JasonGotaProblem]

I have some old but fresh Z spool stickers. I'll see if a 710 is among them.

[circlehook]

I put the reel together (with 712 gearing / pinion) . The one big change is I decided to try bail-less by sacrificing a new-style 712 bail (24-712). I cut off the bail wire as close as I could to the roller guide assembly with a Dremel  and finished off with a bit of light grinding / sanding . To counter-balance, I used a nother pen nut (33a-722) although on further research, I think I should have used part 23-116 from a senator (or possibly 23-114 without the oiler port that is unnecessary here .. have not verified)


References: https://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/topic/263338-penn-710-made-into-bailess/#comments

(I left the bail trip / bearing retainer cover plate in, not sure why this guy removed it. It doesn't hurt and makes it easier to go back to bailed mode if needed).

Spooled with 15 lb mono. - trilene big game with 30 lb shock leader . Line lay seemed ok (as "ok" as possible for a vintage spinfisher , that is) with more or less even lay and not conical like my 704.

For what it's worth, this toor feels more balanced  (less wobble) when cranking (though not perfect) than a stock 710. When mounted on a rod, the wobble is insignificant.

Will test when the weather outside is better .

[circlehook]

Some more bling to come when I figure out what do about the line capacity stickers recess. I tried sticking some holographic tape but it looked horrible. I might try some black or gold vinyl sheet in there.  Might polish up this reel again after that.

In hindsight, I'm kind of glad I didn't drill the rotor cup. I might do that sometime to a greenie rotor if I find one  cheap on the auction site.

[oldmanjoe]

Gold pin stripe tape .   Maybe hole punch the tape some , try the positive and the negative !

[foakes]

Some more bling to come when I figure out what do about the line capacity stickers recess. I tried sticking some holographic tape but it looked horrible. I might try some black or gold vinyl sheet in there.  Might polish up this reel again after that.

Reel looks great!

As for trim "bling" to replace line capacity label on sideplates or rotors —- automotive pin-striping tape is what I use.

Easy, inexpensive, dozens of colors, cut to fit, stays in place, does not fade.

Since it is good for vehicles in the rain, snow, sun, dust, and mud —- I figured it would work on reels.

Looks better than the original "factory line capacity adhesive stickers" —- that nobody ever looks at anyway.

Best, Fred