Hi from Houston

[KenShu]

Been trolling this board for a few days, decided to jump in--impressive content and number of active users/guests. 

I am about to retire, and want to amp up my once-in-awhile personal reel cleaning/repair at least to a full hobby, and be able to help friends with their reel repair/prepare needs.

I want to start at beginner level and advance to tougher challenges--what's a good order for doing that?  I need a sequence, something like: 1) Daiwa, 2) Shimano, 3) Abu, 4) Penn, 5) Avet, single-speed, two-speed, etc.

I plan to learn by doing, and build up my tool/cleaner/lube bench kit as I go.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Ken

[Irish Jigger]

Welcome aboard KenShu. Enjoy your retirement.

[UK Ron]

Welcome aboard Ken.

[Bryan Young]

Ken, you are at the right place. Your answers are within. If not, just ask. To start, I'd suggest Abu and penn. for lever drag reels, avet is a good place. It gets easier as you recognize each commonality between reels good luck and have fun. Oh, and welcome.

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

welcome from the land of carnaval(carnival)...bem vindo!!!!

[alantani]

ken, welcome.   i'd start with a 4/0 penn senator 113h.  next would be a shimano tld 15.  master these two reels and the rest still drive you nuts, but at least you will off to a good start. 

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

hey Tani! do you ever sleep?

[alantani]

not much these days..... 

[kamuwela]

aloha ken welvome aboard

[Nessie Hunter]

Ken, Welcome aboard...   

[coastalobsession]

You will be getting a lot of small bait casters. I recomend starting with the old curados (cu200s, 100bs) and go from there. As for off shore start with penn gti.

[KenShu]

Thanks for the pointers and for the welcomes!

Ken

[Makule]

Aloha.  E komo mai.

Penn Senators are very easy/simple and not high precision.  Consequently, they are easy to start with.  Newells are very similar, but parts are harder to get.  If you're a "tinkerer" those should be duck soup.  After a while, you should be able to disassemble and reassemble with your eyes closed.  Some of the Diawa and Okuma are also similar.  When you get into Abu Ambassadeur and some of the modern Shimano, Avet, Penns, etc., they become a bit more difficult because of the increased number of parts (that seem to get smaller and smaller), especially the springs that go "boingggg", never to be seen again.

The concept of the conventional ("multiplier") reel hasn't changed.  All manufacturers apparently follow the same basic design, and generally the same construction as well.  Star drags have very little variation, mostly related to where and how many disks there are.  Lever drag reels are a bit more complicated but, again, are all basically the same design and mechanism.  Once you get the basic concepts, it's the details of where each part goes, in what sequence, that becomes the key.  Sometime disassembly and assembly is tricky, but with careful observation, they often become fairly clear.  When that fails, there are schematics available online, and AT's Forum where the world of experience and knowledge is freely available.

The only thing the Forum does not offer are cures for reel collectitis, reel fixitis, and the related reel modifyitis.  These conditions appear to be a form of inflammation, thought to be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder, but some argue that the conditions are not actually disorders but, rather, symptoms of something else (unknown).   They are generally chronic and progressive over time, but are not seen frequently in undeveloped countries (leading some to suggest that the western diet has causal links).  On the other hand, arguments are made that very similar "disorders" have been noted even in ancient times when individuals have been found buried with many artifacts of a like nature.  There are no known cures, but there are cases of spontaneous remission.  But I digress.....

[Alto Mare]

Welcome aboard Ken, you will like it here.
Sal

[Dominick]

The only thing the Forum does not offer are cures for reel collectitis, reel fixitis, and the related reel modifyitis.  These conditions appear to be a form of inflammation, thought to be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder, but some argue that the conditions are not actually disorders but, rather, symptoms of something else (unknown).   They are generally chronic and progressive over time, but are not seen frequently in undeveloped countries (leading some to suggest that the western diet has causal links).  On the other hand, arguments are made that very similar "disorders" have been noted even in ancient times when individuals have been found buried with many artifacts of a like nature.  There are no known cures, but there are cases of spontaneous remission.  But I digress.....

Sounds like you are talking about Sal.  100 years from now they will dig him up and there will be his "tank" just like new, preserved by the application of Yamaha grease.  Broadway Dom will be buried with Big Red (search for it on this site).  I on the other hand will instruct my heirs to take what they want and give the rest away like Jlnel is doing in his Karma threads.  By the way in the event of my untimely demise and no one is offering reels in my name it means I never got around to it.  Dominick