DAM Quick 330

[Conor1000]

So, after a bit of a wait, my snap spring pliers arrived in the post. So I finally got round to doing a complete strip and clean of my 330. It was nice to remove all the old grease from the worm gear, hope I called it by its correct name. Wasn't as intimidating as I thought it would be.

Next up will be the Quick 3000. And if that goes according to plan, the ABU Cardinal 66 will get some attention later. However, not a fan of these E Clips.

[JasonGotaProblem]

Best piece of advice I can give you, whatever method of removing those E-clips you choose, do it inside a gallon Ziploc bag. That way if it goes flying it won't go far. Same approach for any retainer springs in general.

[oldmanjoe]

  Those clip are easy .  Wait till you do the microscopic size retainer clips . 

[Midway Tommy]

Keep those clips contained. They have a tendency to try to run/fly away. I've been fortunate not to have any escapees, but I use a small magnetized screwdriver with my hand over it to pry/twist them off. They don't move much that way. I've popped them off in a white bucket a couple of times when they were tough to get to and I was afraid one might grow wings. 

[Conor1000]

Thank you for all the tips and advice. I am using magnetic tools and I have a transparent plastic cover over the reel to catch the clips in the event of one deciding to make a break for it. I also managed to get the shredded screw out of my Mitchell 300 Pro, by using an old rubber band. Transfering a screw from another Mitchell; not the exact same, but does the job! However, as my journey continues with vintage reels, have to say, that the DAMS are quickly becoming my favourite to work on. Everything about them spells quality. Mitchells, once my dream reels are now being pushed to the side, as I find out more about DAM reels where the German engineering is far superior in my humble opinion; cant believe that Mitchell would use such a soft alloy for the screws.....

[Midway Tommy]

Your next revelations will come when you start playing with, and/or using, the ABU or Zebco fulcrum drag Cardinal reels. They're my absolute favorite to use, extremely high quality and quite  simple to work on. 

[Conor1000]

I have a few ABUs. 2 x Cardinal, Cardinal 57 and a 66. I don`t have a 14mm Socket wrench yet, but will tackle them when it arrives, The Drag stack looks complicated but will take plenty of photos to aid reassembley. I have bought 29 reels over the last couple of months.........more than enough for me, and most may never see water.

[Midway Tommy]

No fears, there are detailed detailed tutorials in the appropriate sections. 

[Gfish]

Whoa, 29 reels. You ain't messing around. You should be a pro after they get the works.

The worst for me are those tiny spool axel C-clips like on a Mitchell 302 or on a Shimano Baitrunner.

[jgp12000]

When I service my Cardinals,I loosely zip tie the drag stack to hold it together in place as one assembly.Sometimes I just put a drop of Lucas reel oil across the top let it seep in & call it done.

The Cardinal Drag Knob screw  has left hand threads.Hence- Righty loosey, lefty tighty

On my Dam Quicks 220 & 285 all have Fast Eddy Ceramic bearings 8*22*7 mm,they spin for days...
This size fits the 330 as well.

[Lunker Larry]

Best piece of advice I can give you, whatever method of removing those E-clips you choose, do it inside a gallon Ziploc bag. That way if it goes flying it won't go far. Same approach for any retainer springs in general.

That's a great idea but I usually leave a blob of grease on them as I pry them off. It keeps them from going anywhere.

[Conor1000]

Whoa, 29 reels. You ain't messing around. You should be a pro after they get the works.

The worst for me are those tiny spool axel C-clips like on a Mitchell 302 or on a Shimano Baitrunner.

I only wanted a couple of Mitchell 300s and 330s Ottomatics, but it spiralled out of control when I made light work of them. My experince of DAM Reels is not great; the reels from the 80s are Taiwan made, etc and poor quality compared to the tanks of the previous decades(however i have DAM Quick 330 SEL which looks very robust) I used a Shakespeare STandard either the 2006 or the 2015 when I was a child, teenager. Bought both models and will give them some TLC as well. Finding vintage spinning rods is very difficult, especially buying from the web.

[Bilch]

Best piece of advice I can give you, whatever method of removing those E-clips you choose, do it inside a gallon Ziploc bag. That way if it goes flying it won't go far. Same approach for any retainer springs in general.

Good idea, I've often spent a lot of time crawling on my knees looking for those E-clips 

[Bilch]

Whoa, 29 reels. You ain't messing around. You should be a pro after they get the works.

The worst for me are those tiny spool axel C-clips like on a Mitchell 302 or on a Shimano Baitrunner.

I only wanted a couple of Mitchell 300s and 330s Ottomatics, but it spiralled out of control when I made light work of them. My experince of DAM Reels is not great; the reels from the 80s are Taiwan made, etc and poor quality compared to the tanks of the previous decades(however i have DAM Quick 330 SEL which looks very robust) I used a Shakespeare STandard either the 2006 or the 2015 when I was a child, teenager. Bought both models and will give them some TLC as well. Finding vintage spinning rods is very difficult, especially buying from the web.

That's exactly how it starts ... 

You buy one reel "just to try it out", you enjoy the teardown, nothing explodes, everything goes back together, and suddenly you're eyeing the next one. Reading your post really made me smile, because I've gone down a very similar path. I only wanted "a couple" of reels as well. That plan didn't last long, and today I have a reel collection that literally fills an entire wall 

Your description of the 330 teardown really resonated with me - especially the part about it being far less intimidating than expected. Once you get past that mental barrier, there's no turning back. And yes, E-clips ... nobody really likes them.

A short story from my side, which nicely illustrates why I keep coming back to the old DAM Quicks:

Someone near me was selling a box of reels through local classifieds. Almost everything in it was cheap plastic junk from East Asia, but among them was a DAM Quick 330N. I went to see him and it turned out he was a young angler. The Quick had been found in the cellar - after his grandfather passed away years ago, everything had been packed into boxes and forgotten. He only rediscovered it recently while going through his grandfather's things.

Out of the whole box, I obviously took only that one reel 

You could turn the handle, but absolutely nothing else worked: bail, anti-reverse, spool clicker, drag - all dead. I completely stripped the reel and, as expected, the inside was a mess: rust, corrosion, dirt, and dried-out old grease everywhere. After a full cleaning and polishing session, everything slowly came back to life.

For a moment I even considered stripping and repainting it - the paint is quite damaged on the reel foot, leg, front housing, and inside the rotor. But I decided against it for three reasons:
- first, it's actually nice to see that this is an old reel that was really fished and has some history;
- second, stripping and repainting properly would be a huge amount of work;
- and third, I've learned that spray-can paint is far more fragile than the original factory paint - especially DAM's.

Only a few parts had to be replaced:
- the crank arm pin (clearly bent),
- the screw for the handle knob (also slightly bent);
- the bail spring - there was a homemade one inside, now replaced with the correct original;
- the drag washers - the friction material on the old asbestos washers was badly damaged, so I made new ones from a carbon sheet;
- if I had one, I'd also replace the pin that secures the main shaft to the slide - it's slightly bent as well, though not enough to cause real issues.

Now the reel is back together and runs like a clock. The retrieve is buttery smooth, and the drag works well with the new washers - not perfectly silky, but vastly better than with the originals.

Once again, it reminded me why I love the old DAM reels so much. The quality, machining, and materials are simply outstanding. Despite all the corrosion, there was virtually no wear on the critical parts, and internally I was able to bring the reel very close to its original condition.

Lately I've been working more on Mitchell reels, and yes, they do have some advantages over the Quicks - a better drag and nicer line lay, for example. But in terms of sheer build quality and robustness, DAM is on a completely different level.

Honestly, the only thing that truly annoys me on the old Quicks (I can forgive the worm-gear/slide line lay and the slightly jerky drag) is that cursed handle-to-shaft pin. Why, DAM ... why didn't you just make the handle screw straight into/onto the drive shaft like everyone else?