Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Hello,

I just acquired a Mitchell 351 with the handle on the left side of the reel. Has anyone seen one of these before? I thought the 351 was for lefties with the handle on the right side of the reel.

Thanks,

Steve

HA! What was the noise problem?

Before you tilt a no-oil drain plug unit over, be sure n' turn off the fuel line gas flow. I've actually seen some gas end-up in the dirty oil by not doing it.
 Gotta drive 20 miles to a station for no ethanol gas, worth it? I own't know, that's 2 gallons @ $5.25/gallon.
So, how prevalent are fuel tanks made of plastic? Do automobiles have 'em now? All the portable gas cans are plastic.

More specifically, if a fish is pulling  10 pounds of force where the line meets a full spool, it will have greater leverage than pulling at 10 lbs on a half full spool - in other words, generating more torque. Spool slippage  is a battle lost between the static friction of the line to the arbor and the torque being applied.  We care about the spool slipping before the line breaks, so another reason why a  full spool is the best test.

The most interesting tests in my opinion would be a loose first two layers, and then tight the rest of the fill, and then vice versa.  Try with a non slipping arbor not, and an arbor knot that is a the slippy side.  It would require some controlled experiments with steady tension, which would mean a mechanical spooler modified with a strain gauge.    If you did a set of runs with consistent results, you would probably have your answer.  I think I know what will happen.

Faking it out by filling by hand and guestimating tension, and with a small sample size is an option. It might get you in the ballpark,  but could also be mislead you.

Having said this, there is no downside to getting the arbor knot to lock in as much as possible. I think it is the important first step, just that it is not going to save you if you screw up the fill.


In terms of bad how-to videos on fishing topics from wannabe "web influencers" and even so-called reputable magazines, I am not inclined to call out the wrong ones.  Wrong is ubiquitous, and doing it the wrong way is not horribly instructive.  The best sources are folks that are subject matter experts who would hear it from customers/clients if the method did not work.  They may not be doing it the best way, and they often misunderstand why their method works, but the odds are they have found a suitable method.

Even though I disagree sometimes with our Mr Tani,  I think his videos and tutorials are a good example on how to do it right.  He will show how he does it, and why, point out the problems with methods he avoids, and doesn't claim that this is the only or best method, just what works best for him.  If you want to worry a bit less about slippage and go the flex wrap route, his instructions here are all you need.


If you are like me, and stubbornly refuse to flex-wrap, I think that the video I referenced above looks pretty good to me.  I don't think the reverse San Diego is the only knot that will work.  The key is wrapping over a long tag, and getting that first layer (or two) down evenly and as tight as you can go.    If you don't flex wrap, I would tend to avoid using a grease pretreatment to protect the spool from saltwater corrosion as Mr Tani does.  In the video, the guy is using Boeshield (similar products would probably do about the same).  I use a couple coats of Carnuba wax, but that will probably take to long for shop fills.

Here a link to the video again:


-J

The line spools up evenly 'cause tight coils under good winding pressure force the new coil under linear pressure down, but off to the side. Stupid sounding explaination, but that's all I got.
If that was you, you godda make more grunting-groaning noise to help yourself along there😀.

Hmmm, it sounds like when you depress the free spool button that the pinion is not fully disengaged from the spool.  If you pop the sideplate off with the two knurled thumbscrews and cycle the reel through the sequence several times, can you see the pinion fully pulling back into the plate?  Also if the handle is spinning backwards at any time, that is a sign of something amiss with the AR clutch bearing (and those can be finicky with too little lube/too much lube/contamination with corrosion/it's the wrong moon phase...   
You're right, it's a bomber of casting reel especially considering when it was produced.  Love mine.  With the condition you describe it being in when you got it; that can make things tough.  Don't give up on it yet! - john

Quote from: Crab Pot on May 05, 2024, 05:12:00 PMAfraid to ask, but do you have a 16/0 Randy?

Steve

I have a Few Steve,
I'm heading out on a two week Vacation. We can Talk when I return,
Daron

Not really a big deal to me. That's exactly how I cast sardines when flylining for tuna.

Quote from: Cor on Today at 06:26:21 AMHope you don't ever intend to take it on a Panga

why? 

nothing wrong with the Pangas to get to the fish