Penn 720 Spinfisher Bearing Question

[Prefessa]

Greetings Everyone!

I have a question that back in the day only Mike Quinn at Penn could have answered. Being that in the old days Penn "Made it Simple, Made it Work" they tended to recyle parts/tooling into several models and From having rebuilt both the 722 and plain bearing 720 spinfishers...I had an Idea....

Could we possibly replace the 720 plain bearing with a Ball Bearing??? So long as the diameter of the chamber that houses the bearing is the correct Diameter I am thinking that by changing the spacers may put the ball bearing in a position such that it can be held into place by the same set screw used to afix the current sleeve bearing.

Anyone here ever attempt that?? If you go to flea markets...the 720s are twice as common as the 722s because they were the economy model with a lower gear ratio. For me I dont mind the gearing,but the ball bearing makes a huge difference.

The parts needed would be 19A, 19B and 20 and possibly if the lip is present the retaining clip which I think is like part 18.

If anyone who have attempted this it would be someone here......Tricked out Penn Reels are Cool!

[alantani]

here is a list of all the common bearing sizes used in fishing reels.  http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=1190.0  if you can find a match, it should work.  you just have to measure the bushing you want to replace.