So, for a laugh, I just put an angular contact bearing in the right side plate of my little Metaloid 5Ns
Bearing is a VXB 706C, packed with grease.
Got almost 28lb of drag at full with good freespool. The handle doesn't bind but it also doesn't turn completely freely. Which I guess I can kinda excuse seeing as it's a small reel and it's probably freaking out with that much tension on everything. Drag still smooth at 28lb. That setting gives me about 17.5lb at Strike and the handle still feels good.
I use this reel for mechanical jigging with 50lb braid so 28lb drag is complete overkill, just nice to know it could do it I guess.
Gotta be a KIWI eh rozboon? ;D
Hi boon,
Is there any chance of you showing what you did, with pics please.
I,ve just bought a pair of Metaloids, 5IILX and 12IILX, and I,m interested in seeing pics of their insides and tuning tricks for them.
Strathy
I'm trying to post my tutorial/guide and the forum keeps throwing an error :( Will persist though.
Hi boon,
I followed your lead and fitted an angular contact bearing to my 5NS over the weekend.
- http://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/reelguts-okuma-metaloid-5ns-a-c-bearing-mod_topic117194.html (http://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/reelguts-okuma-metaloid-5ns-a-c-bearing-mod_topic117194.html)
I've set 'full' with a 10kg/22lb weight (rather than a drag scale) and it's spot on.
As you point out, it does become
slightly harder to wind at these higher settings, but it's still perfectly smooth.
I haven't tested strike, but figure it's ~7kg/15lb and could pull that all day long...
I'm really happy with the outcome and now just waiting till I can put it to the test.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Cheers mate, Justin
Good stuff Justin :)
As an FYI, running drag pressure as high as I was eventually flogged out the left side spool bearing.
But I caught some decent fish with it in the interim. I now have the reel on a Jigstar Ninja Ultralight and it is a lovely little combo.
Thanks boon - good to know.
So you reckon 15lb/22lb should be sustainable?
Also, out of interest, what's your 'step-up' reel for horse kings?
Cheers
Yep, I think 15lb at strike is fine, especially if you're seldom going "over the button" up to full.
My new "tiger country" jigging reel is a Makaira Spin 20000. I changed over to spin because even with narrow reels I was having trouble with line management when mechanical jigging. Dedicated livebait setup is a Talica 25 spooled with 80lb hollowcore on a Status Bent Butt.
Although it might sound a bit criminal, the Metaloid/Ninja combo is actually my go-to bait fishing setup for Tarakihi and Cod in >50m or so - although I'm confident that it would knock over a fairly decent fish if it had to. I've got 300m of braid on it so I could probably even fish it for 'puka if we were on one of the shallower reefs without too much current.
Nice one boon.
I have a similar quandary and a big spinner might be the only solution.
I'm all set in the 50lb category (and have 80lb and 130lb kit for livie/bait/troll), but have a hole in the quiver re: 80lb top-water and mech jig set-ups.
I only run overheads these days, but it's looking like the best solution will be a Daiwa Dogfight or your Mak 20000 doing double duty.
I try to do a 'tiger country' (great phrase btw ;)) trip twice a year, so I'll have to make a decision before the water warms up again.
Thanks again for the insight.
Cheers, Justin
I played with a AG bearing (actaltually 2 of them) in an Andros 5 (original) - Was not over impressed - cost v performance.
Back the drag off to 10lb strike 20lb full and no binding - standard bearings are fine. Is it worth it for an an extra couple pounds of drag :-\
Quote from: redsetta on July 23, 2018, 08:59:59 PM
Nice one boon.
I have a similar quandary and a big spinner might be the only solution.
I'm all set in the 50lb category (and have 80lb and 130lb kit for livie/bait/troll), but have a hole in the quiver re: 80lb top-water and mech jig set-ups.
I only run overheads these days, but it's looking like the best solution will be a Daiwa Dogfight or your Mak 20000 doing double duty.
I try to do a 'tiger country' (great phrase btw ;)) trip twice a year, so I'll have to make a decision before the water warms up again.
Thanks again for the insight.
Cheers, Justin
Honestly I wouldn't fish top-water with a Mak20k unless it was for really big GTs up in the islands and I needed to be able to lock off on 100lb and tow them out of the reef with the boat. It's an absolute brick of a reel; I'm not lightly built either and an hour of jigging with it makes my arms feel like they're going to fall off.
The 10k however is a different kettle of fish-catching-equipment.
Quote from: Tiddlerbasher on July 23, 2018, 10:58:03 PM
I played with a AC bearing (actually 2 of them) in an Andros 5 (original) - Was not over impressed - cost v performance.
Back the drag off to 10lb strike 20lb full and no binding - standard bearings are fine. Is it worth it for an an extra couple pounds of drag :-\
I reckon you're right TB.
On the plus side, it was only $30 and I'm liking getting closer to the quoted max drag without the grind 'n' bind that was happening with the standard bearing.
Will start looking some at 80lb options - beginning with the 10K Mak it appears!
Cheers lads
Remember to fit an AC bearing in the left side spool as well - the whole setup will last longer (and cost more ;D)
Hi all,
Having already done the AC mod, and following boon's Solterra rundown (https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=18535.0 (https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=18535.0)), I decided to try his other 5N mod and switch out the handle.
The Solterra handle is significantly larger and offset, and the blade's slightly longer, which make it a much better candidate for mechanical jigging.
It also feels a lot more like my Jigging Master PE6 set-up, so it's more 'familiar' all round...
Side by side, the differences are apparent. The Solterra blade is 1mm thinner, however, so it'll need a shim.
(https://alantani.com/gallery/27/3590_16_03_19_3_44_51_273131054.jpeg)
I had an eared drag washer that was nearly fit for purpose - 21mm OD and 1mm thick, just had to auger out the ID to 11mm.
(https://alantani.com/gallery/27/3590_16_03_19_3_44_51_273131135.jpeg)
Here it is in situ...
(https://alantani.com/gallery/27/3590_16_03_19_3_44_52_273161562.jpeg)
And reassembled. By the way, the 14mm handle nut is reverse thread and the handle blade is conventionally threaded onto the drive shaft.
(https://alantani.com/gallery/27/3590_16_03_19_3_44_53_27317554.jpeg)
I wasn't really that happy with adding another corrosion point into the handle assembly, so I decided to cut another shim from some 1mm CF sheet Wallace sent me years ago.
(https://alantani.com/gallery/27/3590_16_03_19_3_44_54_273181411.jpeg)
In place:
(https://alantani.com/gallery/27/3590_16_03_19_3_44_54_27319874.jpeg)
And reassembled:
(https://alantani.com/gallery/27/3590_16_03_19_3_44_55_27320543.jpeg)
It's all really snug and looks good too I reckon ;)
Thanks for the inspiration boon.
PS I've been hunting the world for 6mm x 15mm x 5mm angular contact bearing for the left side of the spool, but no success yet.
I've tried Germany, Japan, the US, Australia, China etc.
I actually found one on a site called something like Alibaba but, despite being magnificently packaged, it literally fell apart in my hand as I went to grease it - caveat emptor!
Anyway, if anyone has a source, I'd be keen to hear as that AC mod would be the last step in the 5N upgrades.
Righto, all the best.
Cheers, Justin
That's awesome, great idea on the spacer. What a beasty little reel it is with that handle on it! I'd be sending pics to Okuma NZ and asking why they don't offer it as a factory option ;D
where can one source the Solterra handles?
I am in love with the little Metaloids, ;D, nice and small and 2 speed, perfect for grandma and my feminine small fingers
Hi Shibs, I just ordered it through Okuma NZ via the local fishing shop.
Wasn't cheap @ NZ$79, but my reels are pretty sorted these days, so there aren't a lot of other mods left to do...
Hey boon, might just do that - your idea though, so you'll be credited accordingly ;) ;D
Cheers mate
I'm looking hard at this reel. In all honesty, I think the way to go with the handle for price and comfort is one of the Boss' smaller grips on the factory blade.
Ron Jones
So, after nearly six months scouring the globe, I finally located an upgrade left-side spool bearing for the 5N.
The part number is KP-696ZZ - Deep-groove roller bearing and it came from a Dutch/German specialist called Kramp (though was manufactured in Japan by FAG).
I went with high-quality, stainless steel 'deep-groove' in the end, rather than 'angular contact', as it has all the lateral-load benefits I was after, with none of the performance short-comings of the A/C option.
Here it is alongside the original bearing - you can clearly see the depth of the groove which supports the lateral load.
(https://alantani.com/gallery/27/3590_29_03_19_4_58_32.jpeg)
With an A/C bearing in the right side plate and a deep-groove in the left-side of the spool, the 5N now easily accommodates the 24lb claimed (and beyond), with perfect smoothness.
I have PE8 gear for 'tiger country' as boon puts it, so I'm not really looking to push this reel beyond the desired drag range for PE5.
But it's nice to have confidence in pushing this little brute a bit harder - it even still manages a minute of freespool too.
I'm actually really happy with this reel now.
Thanks again boon for starting it all.
Righto - all the best, Justin
PS If you're in NZ and looking for one, try Blair at TRS (Tractor Repairs and Spares) in Hastings - they're really helpful and highly recommended...
Bumping this up for more silly Metaloid upgrades...
Okuma (full credit to them in this area!) seemingly use the exact same handle attachment method for just about everything lever drag, from the 5N models up to about a Makaira 80W.
They are now offering t-bar handles from the factory for several smaller models. I put their shiny new billet "power cranking handle" on a Makaira 15T so had a spare handle assembly from that which bolted straight up to my Metaloid.
Hunting through a few schematics, it looks like the ideal upgrade for smaller reels is the Alijos handle assembly. It's swept and slightly less heavy-duty than the Makaira arm. Part number is 15000603, or if you're like me and already have a non-riveted handle assembly you can go for just the arm on part number 15000601.
If you want a silver handle arm there should be some options from the Cavalla "T-Bar Specials" but I cannot find a schematic or part number for them.