Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Welcome from San Diego, California!

Welcome from the plains, Chrysler! There are a few of us here, but not many, from fly over country, too.   

Not spliced much PE braid but done a lot of dacron splices. Sometimes you get a spool that is a true bu@@er to splice because the 'tube' of the braid is full of fine strands that act like a cobweb to stop the mono sliding inside. Nothing you can do but give it up as a bad job and choose another spool, even of the same brand.

Those flaws shown as tight bits are another source of frustration and I've also come across fluffs that are a weak spot and even individual strands that had broken abd been tied together witha simple knot.

It is why a load all my reels slowly by hand - to spot and cut out any dodgy bits.

Some brands are worse than others - never had trouble with Cortland, Gladding and several others that have disappeared from the shelves.

welcome!!!!

Welcome aboard!

Best, Fred

WOW! That is one gorgeous red reel. Hope to see the finished product soon. Any luck finding a reinforced eccentric jack?

Welcome, from Pasco county FL. It may look like it's mostly cali folks here, but we Floridians sure make a lot of noise too!

Me problem. The sub shaft bearing was on the floor instead of in the reel haha. Well it does fish without the tiny bearing as I caught a 21" gray snapper. Should be much smoother now.

My Baja with 6 bearings is not smooth when retrieving 12oz and bait. Free spool is fine, and handle turns smoothly without a load. I replaced bearing 55b under the handle as it was rough. I checked the other 5 bearings and they feel smooth. However, retrieving under a load is still not smooth. Question 1: Is bearing 55a, on the schematic, the tiny bearing that fits on the sub shaft? Question 2: which bearing, or bearings, would most likely cause this issue? Thanks in advance for helping me.

Greetings from Crystal River Florida,
Welcome to the clan! Great folks here with lots of knowledge!

Just getting back into salt water fishing, picked up a couple jigmasters, have several Penn spinning reels and looking to get a 2 speed/heavier reef fish setup. Found this sight looking into drag conversions/upgrades and well here I am!! Look forward to learning a lot and hopefully contributing along the way.