China made Penn jigmaster

franky · May 11, 2012, 02:20:27 AM

I'm working on a nice China made penn jigmaster reel that is new and used only two times. Everything is cleaned and I reassembled everything. Now, when I crank the handle and release the casting lever to check the free spool, the spool seems to be binding somewhere. I loosened the left side bushing cap to make sure there is a little side-to-side play. Still, the spool rotating at High RPMs are making a soft low thumping sound and the reel is vibrating and the spool gets only 7 seconds of free spool. I tried turning the pinion yoke around and still its binding. When I keep the casting lever in the freespool position and I crank the handle, the spool seems to turn, making me wonder if the pinion is not in alignment.

Also, when I crank the handle in freespool, it sounds like a newell gear making a loud coffee grinder sound, unlike the rest of the jigmaster reels I've worked on. Help!

alantani · May 11, 2012, 02:59:11 AM

hard to say, franky.... it's gotta be binding up somewhere. if you have another jigmaster, switch out the side plate and the spool to try to isolate the problem. $:-\$

franky · May 11, 2012, 08:45:41 PM

Thanks Alan.

Okay, I did the switching of the sideplates and it was confusing...Switch the right sideplate everything if fine on both reels. Switch the spool and everything was fine on both reels. Return everything back to the original reels...problem came back again. Hmm...

Then I thought...maybe try putting some grease in the bushing cap....Got it! The vibrations and thumping gone. Then it occurred to me, when people talk about older car engines with high milage....over the years, the pistons wear down and it causes some play in the engine housing. To remedy this, they recommend an oil with a higher viscosity to help mimimize the play.

Ordinarily, I use the TSI light oil in the bushings and bearings for casting purposes. In this case, there was so much play in the bushing cap that it was vibrating and thumping big time. The grease really help to minimize the play and now the vibrating and noise really toned down.

Good heavens, I keep jotting down notes on all the different problems that I encountered and the possible solutions....I thought by now that I have experienced most of the problems, and that there could not be another new situation... boy was I wrong.

The best part is when I discover the solution after a day or two...oh what a feeling.

Then its time to write things down. Then the whole cycle starts over again....

Irish Jigger · May 11, 2012, 11:57:31 PM

Poor engineering and QC if there's that much clearance in a reel that was only used twice.

Alto Mare · May 12, 2012, 12:10:22 AM

Franky,sounds like that reel has some issues. It might feel good to you now that you've greased it all up, but I don't believe that it's going to last long. Grease is not used as shims. Sorry, but I believe that the reel is going back to where you started.

alantani · May 12, 2012, 12:20:51 AM

i have found that dimensions of the post on the bare bridge plate were changed to make the post stronger. that meant that some of my old gear sleeves did not fit the chinese bridges.

try to solve one problem and create another?

franky · May 12, 2012, 02:19:06 AM

Quote from: Alto Mare on May 12, 2012, 12:10:22 AM
Franky,sounds like that reel has some issues. It might feel good to you now that you've greased it all up, but I don't believe that it's going to last long. Grease is not used as shims. Sorry, but I believe that the reel is going back to where you started.

Yeah, I kinda had that feeling. I think the bushings need to be changed, but yes, to have that issue 2nd time out....kinda makes you wonder q/c. $:-\$