Squidder Accuplate frame corrosion issue

[jonathan.han]

I have worked on about 6 of these "Accuplated" aluminum framed narrow Squidders. Of those 6, only one of them had no corrosion whatsoever (it was used less than 3 times). However, the other 5 have severe to near severe corrosion near the AR dog spring retention post. I'd say that at least two of them were corroded beyond repair except resorting to JB Weld on one. For those who have seen many of these, are you just "skillfully" playing with JB Weld in this area on the right sideplate?

It is pissing me off whenever I get these since I feel bad for the guys who own them. There is not much surface area to adequately bond enough JB Weld to it. I feel it's just a temporary fix until the rest of the region corrodes away. I'm starting to tell people to cut their losses if the JB Weld fails to retain the spring and AR dog in place. Just feel sick to my stomach when I charge them the normal fee plus the extra time to perform the mod. It just doesn't seem worth the effort and I know it won't last

[Alto Mare]

Janathan, if you're talking about the post that holds the coil spring, JB Weld won't help you there.
I've fixed a few myself, sorry I don't have a picture to show you.
Grind down the post all the way and drill a hole at the same area, using a 2mm bit ( 5/64").
Make sure you mark the tip of the bit with  tape, you don't want to go through the plate. Get a retaining pin from a 4/0 sleeve and epoxy it in, after drying, grind it down to size.
Next, bend the first two coils on the spring using needle nose pliers and slide the spring on the post.
You should be set better than before.
Sal

[jonathan.han]

No worries about the picture. Seems like a simple fix with the pin method.

The JB Weld was one I fixed while on my buddy's commercial salmon boat with a dremel. I just didn't want to have to do that one again.It's still working, but what a mess to do on a rolling boat coming back in from a tuna trip. JB Weld is a redneck fix, but when used properly, it's pretty good. It was a pain to reshape it to accept the spring. A retaining pin is clever.

I've had a starter solenoid short itself out and melt a wire all the way through my wiring harness on my 240z last week, the power trim ram on my port motor leaked all the fluid out-bad seal prep by a boat mechanic from 3 years ago (should've done it myself), and I've got pinholes in my bait well supply hose. I was working on a few reels today to find some relaxation; I thought wrong. Thanks for doing the thinking for me today. Clearly, I was frustrated with mechanical solutions today.

[Alto Mare]

I was working on a few reels today to find some relaxation; I thought wrong. Thanks for doing the thinking for me today. Clearly, I was frustrated with mechanical solutions today.

It happens to all of us, Janathan. The key is to keep your cool and try not to smash the reel with a sledge
Depending on where you place that pin, you might need a longer spring, or you could stretch it a little...if it's not much.

[George4741]

How can this be prevented?  Perhaps a liberal coating of grease on the side plates and a complete teardown after each fishing trip? 

[Bryan Young]

Make sure a nice thin coat of grease.  I now use TSI in the nooks and cranies then brush it with my greasey toothbrush on the rest of the side plate to seal all of the pores.  Seems to be working well.

[saltydog]

Prevention, take it apart and clean after every trip is the only way. I have a few reels like this and it's the only way to keep them pristine.

[Alto Mare]

If you have the time that would be great, I believe at least once a month for the complete break down should be fine. From the looks of that reel above, it looks like it went all year, maybe more .

[jonathan.han]

Most guys have had these for over 5 years by the time you see it. The spring scratches and abrades through the anodizing and the corrosion starts from there. Add a bridgeplate screw and you create even more areas where you will get corrosion through dissimilar metals and galvanic action. I'd just check it every few dozen trips to be safe, but I only go through my reels every twice a year. If you have this reel, go through it every month to be safe. Any less and you may start to see corrosion set in and it may be too late to salvage and you'll have to install the spring retainer pin. Better yet, sell it and get a real reel 

[Bryan Young]

or switch back to stock sideplates.

[bajaandy]

I had a similar situation with my Accuplate Jigmaster. I think there are a couple of things going on here... one is the design of the plate itself, and the other (as mentioned above) is galvanic action from dissimilar metals. At least on the Jigmaster plate, the place where the AR dog and spring reside is in a small routed out area just big enough for the clearance of the dog and spring. It's situated so that the reel when on the rod and sitting in a rod rack allows water to pool under the spring. No place for it to drain out. By the time I took mine apart the very thin wall of that recess had eroded through. Not bad enough to affect the function of the spring and dog, but enough to allow water to drain out. A good thing, if you can look at it that way. If I were to see another one with a similar issue, I'd dremmel out the thin wall and provide a drain for that area. I cleaned mine as best I could, using a bath of lime-a-way and then washed with fresh water and allowed to dry. Then I greased the areas as best I could and re-assembled. Frequent service will be the order of the day with this reel from now on.

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

or switch back to stock sideplates.

This seems like the best option to me, the side plated on these smaller reels don't serve as much for force holding as you would think

[jonathan.han]

IMO, the Accuplates are an aesthetic modification. I love the classic Penns in classic trim (i.e. Jigmasters with Senator handles).