Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Only last month I stumbled onto this site while researching 704 updates...

All of a sudden I have a bench full of DAM Quicks-- Finessa, some N series, and a couple Champion series awaiting service, and a few more specimens on the way from auction land. As one could say, that was pretty DAM Quick!

Very satisfying pieces of machinery to work on and to use. I had a 330, I think it was, years ago in Texas. Learning a lot from the knowledge shared on this forum.

Pic is on the Delaware River waterfront a few blocks from my house. Urban angling to be sure. Coast Guard ship and Philly Fire Department pumper in the background. That was the site of the first Navy ship yard in The USA c.1800 and the site of a commercial ship yard before that.

I was somewhat overgunned for the dink smallies I caught with that 440N and 8.5' steelhead rod, but I was mainly looking to try out the freshly cleaned up reel. The combo felt nicely balanced otherwise.

My question to the DQ aficionados is about the knurled sleeve that screws up to hold the handle in place. This one keeps unscrewing itself. Any hints on how to cure that? I'm thinking some beeswax on the threads maybe.

Last trip I played with a 385 that generally seemed more solid and no loose handle issues. I do like the N series package though and I'm hoping to figure out how to get these the way I want them.

The other oddity I noticed is that every x cranks of the handle, the bail would slightly tap the handle when the handle and bail came around to that certain alignment. I figure I might have to slightly bend the bail wire to eliminate that issue.

I have a pile of modern reels--Stradic, Spheros, BG, etc--and an arsenal of trusty hometown favorite Penn spinners, but I love fishing vintage reels and I'm really appreciating DAM Quicks these days. I guess I'm ever more vintage myself. 

What gear will everyone be using? Rod and reels?

QuoteThere is another seller making 3-D printed replacements but I question the shear strength of printed parts based on past experiences. They also do not have the integral metal sleeve of the originals.  (edit--Seller is Mike's Reel Repair and material listed as "engineered resin" so maybe I'm underestimating the part. Also looks milled rather than printed to my unexpert eye.)

Looks 3D printed to me.

"Engineered resin" probably means resin based 3D printing, where the part is made by zapping UV curing resins with a pinpoint light source.  These can be quite accurate, but generally not very strong parts, as the UV resin requirement limits the material used to flavors of epoxies and acrylics. A good quality FDM based 3D printer (the type that melts plastic filament) is capable of making stronger parts out of many types of plastic, including nylon.

The shearing force would be on the same plane as the the layers in a properly printed part.  This looks like a part that could successfully be FDM 3D printed in nylon, but the quality depends on who is doing the printing.  I would be reluctant to use a resin printed part. 

When Penn 720/722 crosswind blocks were unavailable for awhile, I 3D printed some and passed a few around to members. I asked for feedback on how they held up, got a little positive feedback, and nothing negative.

But now that Tom at Cortez is machining a 720/722 block(using  Ultem?), if anybody asked, I would probably just point them at Tom if they wanted a safe bet on a  durable part.

Worth taking Fred up on that offer.


-J

Thanks Gary! that was it!

Thank you.

Steve

I agree, Fred.

Fortunately, at least for me, my main focus is on open face spinning reels used only in freshwater, and those are not very demanding lubrication wise. Once I found the best combination of grease & oils that satisfies all the demands I've thrown at them without fail I've found no reason to chase the unknown. If I had to deal with reels subjected to saltwater I might have different thoughts & objectives. I've never been an experimentation type guy. I'm satisfied with consistent great results.

Howdy to everyone,
I just picked up a 30 visx reel new and have a couple of questions.
When  I spin in in high gear it has a lot of resistance compared to low, when I mean a lot it is heavy. My 50 vw is easy to turn, I know the 50 is single speed, but the difference is surprising.
So are 2 speeds normally this heavy in high gear.
I intend to use it for LBG, beach,rock and jetty's.
Braid and nylon topshot so any ideas much appreciated.
Thanks in advance 

Good one Joe.  The part that struck me was....

"If the first layer, or layers, are only used from time to time, they will loose their tension on the drum and start to flatten out due to the high pressures of the loaded layers. Repeat this pre-tensioning procedure regularly."

Man, it took you long enough  .  I remember way back when you first went to that Orvis meeting.

Those are some pretty incredible trout you guys are in to.

I'm in the van staal club now,,,, got a nice deal on a old stock 7wt and got 3 trout on it the first day,,,, but dewayne hooked a 9to10lb rainbow the fight was a min or so before he kicked the hook I hope I can post the video,,,,,