Average time to overhaul a reel

[erikpowell]

De-assembly, cleaning, de salting, de rusting, de seizing, scraping, buffing, tapping, SOAKING etc.. that all can take hours if not days for most of the reels I see here... the reassembly afterwards and tuning is the quick & easy part....

If only more of my services were on reels NIB..... OR re-servicing of my prior jobs    It'd be a cake walk  !

I wish people just took better care of their gear  


oh yeah.. I forgot to mention the turnaround time for ordering parts here ... 

[BMITCH]

For me it takes months. I currently have at least six reels torn down and waiting for parts or the time to mod sie plates or..... Seems like I would put them together and someone would come up with a "must have" update or mod. I just got tired of cleaning up the work I just did in order to install these mods. So I'm going with I'll reassemble the reel as close to the time I'm going to use it so I have the latest and greatest upgrades.
If I were to just clean and service a reel without crazy upgrades like cutting side plates to accommodate another dog or having to cut new drag washers I would say depends on the condition of the reel first. Probably around two hours with using an ultrasonic cleaner. They really help out a bunch.
Bob

[Tile]

For me it takes about 25 minutes to overhaul each reel (spinners and multipliers alike). If there are upgrades/modifications it can take about 2 hours or more.

[steelfish]

old thread but I was searching for the same question so, I found what I was  looking for and will post my own experience.

Im with John and Bryan, I take my time when servicing a reel, I have never "done" a reel in less than 2 hours or 3 normally, the thing is that I do the same treatment to every reel like I do to mines so, I inspect to detail every reel and take every moving piece or anything that has a screw is taken apart to clean separatelly, all bearings have to be taken out from its place to be properly cleaned, then the reel is serviced and fixed with new parts or upgrades I always do some tests on it, drag, freespool times, etc. like I say just the way I would want my own reels to be treated and that took me few hours until I can call it DONE !!
so, not on my plans to make a living on fixing reels like this 

I am still amazed on how this works inside of every reel, there is times when I find myself moving parts on the reels for hours and looking how the conect to others to make it everything work until I see the clock marking the 3am and I need to close the reel and go the sleep, for me this is how I play to be an Engineer like I wanted to be when I was a child, toys are the same, just more expensive.

[thorhammer]

I don't know why the rush.  I take them apart working slowly because I am not in a rush.  I like to get everything clean and buffed up before I start to put it together.  I worked more on reels when I smoked.  Now it's just a trigger.  I want to sit at my workbench work on reels and smoke my brains out.  I won't do it of course but the desire is as strong as if I had had a cigarette a hour ago.  I quit 11/11/11 at 11:00 a.m.  That way I could remember the date and time.  It is 2 years 10 months 11 days 10.5 hours as I write this.  Don't you think that is long enough?  I need a cigarette.        Dominick
[/quot

Hey Dominick have you still quit?

[Bill B]

At first I was in a hurry to tear down and rebuild enjoying the thrill, and my first Senator took me 2 1/2 hrs, got better at them and could do star drags in 45 mins, but now it's a labor of love (probably because Im not making a business out of it) so polishing, checking parts, replacing the common parts, etc, 1 1/2 hrs.   Im back to enjoying the process and spending time at the work bench.  An unfamiliar reel such as an Abu, Shimano, or anything I have not serviced before back to 2 hours, I like to take a lot of photos during tear down for reference....kinda like my own digital schematic. But my last reel, a Coffee Can Baja Special took over 3 weeks once I got started, needing lots of parts from multiple sources, removing stuck/broken screws, and trouble shooting,  but it was still fun and I would do Baja again.  Bill

[josa1]

I'm not the best to ask, I definitely take too long.

On a Penn International, I can usually do those in a couple of hours so long as it's just a maintenance and not corrosion abatement or repair while using parts I have or no parts required.

Okuma SEa's are a little more difficult, maybe 3-4 hours.

Trinidads are an hour or so, depending if I remove and service the anti reverse bearing or not.  I usually do.

Newells about an hour or so.

When I spend a lot of time on any of my reels, it's generally because I screwed something up.

I've learned a little trick about working on a reel that I've never serviced.  I take it apart part way, put it back together, take it apart a little farther, put it back together, and so forth.  Recently did a 2-speed Talica with a frozen pinion bearing on the RRIII June Heat trip for another passenger, the first time I'd worked on one of those.  No one had a bearing of the proper size but I was able to free up the bearing and completely service the reel, which it really needed.  Reel was a little noisy but it worked very well for the whole trip.  I was pleased.

josa1

[exp2000]

Show offs.

I've done hundreds of reels and I still take a long time...want to make sure its as close to perfect that I can get based what was given to me.

X2

My workload mostly consists of Shimano and Daiwa baitcasters along with light to medium overhead and spinning reels.

I do lots of ABU classics which typically take around two hours and Calcuttas which take around three.

My approach though could more be described as a reel restoration. You get your reel back in ex-facatory condition: perfectly clean throughout with no corrosion, worn parts replaced and superior lubrication.

Like Bryan said, I am never gonna be rich doing this, but on the other hand creating a work of perfection keeps me sane; its like therapy for my mind
~
~

[Rancanfish]

I time mine by the calendar, lol.

I always have something in pieces waiting for a part, or for me to order a part.

Right now I'm putting together a 4/0 out of spare parts. I found a Newell spool, a set of Ted's bars, my old set of Cortez sideplates, a really nice 113h seat, a ProGear main & pinion, and a handle.  I just cant find a darn eccentric arm and spring. It's going to fish.

I'm most proud of the 309 repair I did over the counter at a sporting store.  All I had was a keychain type screw driver. 15 minutes and I was done.  The customer never knew the store didn't fix it.

[foakes]

Let me know if you need an eccentric lever and spring, Randy --

Got you covered on the original factory parts.

Best,

Fred

[Benni3]

Keith the fastest ,,,, how muck does he bench 

[Rancanfish]

Fred, I thought I replied but fell into the TWILIGHT ZONE.

Anyway, I have your address, do you want me to send some green for postage and the spring?  (I found an old e-arm).

I even found another steel Penn gear that had a five stack drag already in it.  I'm not going to use it because the slots only go half way down in the gear.  But I have the drag discs I needed.

[foakes]

do you want me to send some green for postage and the spring? 

You know better than that, Randy --

It's on the way...

As to the subject of this thread -- Average Time to Overhaul a Reel...

To me it depends on the definition of overhaul -- complete restoration of all parts, basic quick clean grease and oil, just gears & bearings plus a wipe down, preparing a new reel for the salt, or just a squirt and wipe?

Depends on the reel, at what point the condition is, and also where it needs to end up at.

There are lots of shortcuts (nothing wrong with that) -- as well as many procedures that are unessesary or redundant -- not one size fits all.

Personally, I might take 20 minutes on some reels -- particularly if it is an established client, and I am just doing a two year inspection and service after a couple of seasons -- or it may take 3 or 4 hours when a complete restore is involved, and issues arise.

Best,

Fred

[steelhead_killer]

Qualifiers:

1.  Depends on the condition of the reel.  A Newell can be 30 minutes if everything is as it should be.  The same reel with locked screws, frozen pinion and corroded bearings... days...

2.  Depends on Similarity.  Seems like I get a more Shimano Tekota's than anything else.  So working on 10 Tekota's is pretty quick.  Working on 10 different reels from 4 manufactures takes longer.

3.  Depends on replacement part availability

4.  Depends on vendor response filling parts orders...MysticParts.com rocks as does smooth drag!  

5.  Depends on the time of day.  For me, my productive time is 5:00 a.m. to about 9:00 a.m.  Seems like I can concentrate better in the mornings.  I can pick up a reel that I worked on and gave up on the night before and have it done in minutes in the morning.  

Andy

[Shark Hunter]

My earlier posts in thread were just for Humor. Things are different now.
I'm getting to the point, where I can't do more than one reel a day.
Usually a Big Senator for Sharkin'.
Once I get a reel just how I want it. I stop for the day. Mission Accomplished. Time for a beer.
That is usually several hours.
If it is getting the full Monte. Two days minimum. Usually three for fitting double dogs, shimming, sanding, polishing, greasing, oiling, making sure everything is perfect.
After doing that 16/0 for Mike that caught a 14' Tiger Shark last week.
I took all afternoon on that reel with no mods other than cleaning and fitting, and it stood the test.
It wasn't mine and it was bone stock except for the drag upgrade.
I only had one full day off that week to make sure it was right.
I knew there was a chance, the Cosmo's would line up and a Giant Beast would be on the end of it.
It happened, and the fruits of my labor came to fruition.
I don't want to toot my own horn, but I am very proud of that. That fish had to weigh in close to 600 lbs.
Slow and steady wins the race.