Reel Repair by Alan Tani

... and speaking of growling gears, this one is loud.  You may not be able to hear it in the video though.



Homemade using some old Boston spur gears and metal bits from the hardware store.

The pinion comes as a rod that is cut and bored to size.  A brass stem was brazed to the main.  Aluminum plates. Aluminum tube, 4-40 stainless all-thread and stainless hex nuts for the posts.  Stainless bridge and gear shaft.

A two-piece spool turned from PEEK plastic.  The handle knob is also PEEK.  Stainless spool shaft.  Brass bushing.

Inspired by the likes of Robert Janssen and Mike MHC I have been trying to make a reel from scratch off-and-on for about five years.  This is the first one that will go round and round. Below is the boneyard of past failures.

I still need to make a stand for it but may just lash the thing to a rod for test casting first.  There is a stainless disc attached to the side of the spool so magnetic cast control can be added if needed.  The free spool is not very good and it may have so much inherent friction that the magnets are not needed.

The acid test will be to catch something with it.

-steve

Very cool!

You're amazing, Steve !

I agree, that is amazing.

    Steve with all those home made parts and the holding fixtures for brazing , that little bit of noise will go away after the break in period ...
   I like the outboard bearing design , no jam nut to hold the settings ?
      Are you doing this with that  Taig  lathe ?

Thank you gentlemen.

Quote from: oldmanjoe on August 09, 2020, 03:06:03 PM
Steve with all those home made parts and the holding fixtures for brazing , that little bit of noise will go away after the break in period ...
I like the outboard bearing design , no jam nut to hold the settings ? Are you doing this with that  Taig  lathe ?

Yes, Taig Micro Lathe and Proxxon Micro Mill.  The bushings will vibrate loose and could benefit from a jam nut.  They also need a screwdriver slot cut into them.  Truthfully, all those hex nuts will vibrate loose.  After a few test casts I will know if it is worth proceeding.  The last step will be to take it all apart for the umteenth time and reassemble with blue Loctite.
-s

You for sure have a lot of patience, Steve! 

It looks like a fun project Steve, you've put a lot of thought into it.
There looks to be a couple of 'high speed' set ups in the boneyard?

Mike

Nice!

Good choice on the PEEK.  How easy is it to work with?

-J

Quote from: mhc on August 09, 2020, 10:17:02 PM
There looks to be a couple of 'high speed' set ups in the boneyard?

Yeah, that's one thing I learned; the higher the gear ratio the more precise everything has to be.  Getting the gears moving initially is the hard part and high gear ratios are more difficult to start up.  I wish I knew how to fly fish.

Quote from: jurelometer on August 09, 2020, 10:18:49 PM
Good choice on the PEEK.  How easy is it to work with?

It's good and bad.  It cuts beautifully with a sharp tool.  But, it's almost impossible to sand or polish.  I don't know what's going on, but the sensation is that it work hardens if it is scraped or rubbed.  It's like stainless in that respect, but much worse.  The tensile strength is it's best asset.  I made some small 4-40 machine screws and threaded blocks.  They could be screwed together and taken apart (chucked in a reversing drill motor) hundreds of times but the threads did not wear out at all.  I don't know of another plastic that can do that.

-steve

Update:  This was a complete bust.  Casting a 3/4 oz. jig, I expect 40 to 45 yards.  I was willing to accept 35 yards from this reel.  In the test, I could only get 20 yards and it sounded like shaking rocks in a tin can.

I suspect the problem is more about rigidity than alignment, per se.  There is not enough rigidity to hold the alignment as the spool turns.

So, my precious new creation goes into the boneyard collection of failed attempts.  But, I won't give up.
-steve