Reel Repair by Alan Tani

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,,,,,

  Congrats on you finding the right parts! Mind sharing your working Penn 2/0?

I only service my own reels, conventional and baitcasters. I'm not using motor oil and Lucas grease! I go with TSI-321 for the spool bearings and a marine rated grease for other bearings and Cals's drag grease for the, duh, drags!