I just picked up a ABU 3500C at a sale for $5.00 and it has 1 small drag washer, is there a gear that will take a multi washer drag that fits this reel?
56** and 65** ABU reels are common here but I have never seen a 3500 until today, it will be a back up kokanee/trout reel.
Quote from: Keta on April 13, 2018, 09:43:09 PM
I just picked up a ABU 3500C at a sale for $5.00 and it has 1 small drag washer, is there a gear that will take a multi washer drag that fits this reel?
56** and 65** ABU reels are common here but I have never seen a 3500 until today, it will be a back up kokanee/trout reel.
Wow an abu 3500
I would like to are some pics
Quote from: Keta on April 13, 2018, 09:43:09 PM
I just picked up a ABU 3500C at a sale for $5.00 and it has 1 small drag washer, is there a gear that will take a multi washer drag that fits this reel?
56** and 65** ABU reels are common here but I have never seen a 3500 until today, it will be a back up kokanee/trout reel.
Nice pick up for $5 Lee, I'm pretty sure I read the 3500C was only manufactured for 1 year - 1984 I think. Not sure about a main that will take a three washer drag though.
I had a quick look at one I've got, the main is smaller than the 4500C - 6500C mains that take three drag washers, 3500 on the left & 6500 on the right;
(http://alantani.com/gallery/24/7995_14_04_18_1_14_02_242021555.jpeg)
The 1000 main is smaller again (and only takes one washer without grooves for eared washers anyway), 1000 main on top;
(http://alantani.com/gallery/24/7995_14_04_18_1_15_17_242041991.jpeg)
The Morrum M3600C main is pretty close to right size but has a different tooth cut and the pinion has a different connection to the spool so you couldn't swap both.
3500 main on top, 3500C pinion on the left, morrum on the right:
(http://alantani.com/gallery/24/7995_14_04_18_1_16_34_242051856.jpeg)
Thought about trying a custom set of thin washers until I looked at the gear sleeve and the flat sections stop at the same height as the top of the main - keyed washers won't fit unless the sleeve flats are extended. the gear doesn't have grooves for eared washers either.
(http://alantani.com/gallery/24/7995_14_04_18_1_14_37_242031401.jpeg)
Mike
Thanks for the info Mike, if it was only made 1 year I will keep this little reel stock. The serial # starts with 84.
I "priced" this reel on fle-Bay and was shocked, over $140 starting price for one that is rougher than my new kokanee reel. I will take care of it but it WILL be fished.
Ollie Damon,s in Portland, Oregon had parts for this reel in stock.
I've had one of these reels bought new back in the day. There is a lot of interchangeability with 2500c parts. Great reel!
somewhat rare bird. I buy a $5 Abu just to have a spare handle....
How have you been liking the 3500C? I just picked one up for $20 in decent shape but have yet to use it. Is it a good caster?
Kokanee is a late spring/early summer fishery here, I will use it in a few months.
Quote from: Keta on February 17, 2019, 01:45:36 PM
Kokanee is a late spring/early summer fishery here, I will use it in a few months.
Which rod are you pairing it with? I have a 7'6" light power moderate action that should be a good match. Thinking about using it for brook trout when I backpack the UP of Michigan.
Quote from: tincanary on February 17, 2019, 05:07:18 PM
Which rod are you pairing it with? I have a 7'6" light power moderate action that should be a good match. Thinking about using it for brook trout when I backpack the UP of Michigan.
Not sure yet, I have several to chose from and I'm considering building another 7' 6-10 pound rod. For this reel I'll most likely use one of my "heavy" kokanee rods (8-12) and use it for mackinaw too.
Lee,
Let me know a good weekend for kokanee fishing, I've never done that. I'll come down.
The Man
Quote from: Ron Jones on February 18, 2019, 11:58:40 PM
Lee,
Let me know a good weekend for kokanee fishing, I've never done that. I'll come down.
The Man
Will do Ron.
I should have parts for my 3500C this weekend. Hopefully I ordered the correct drag washers. From what I read around the web, some of the 2500C parts are interchangeable so I went ahead and ordered the 3902 and 10271 Carbontex drag washers along with some stainless 5x11x4 spool bearings. I also have a double bearing 5152 cog wheel sitting in my parts bin I may use, but I'll try it with the factory cog first.
is a 3500 a hi-speed 2500?
No, they both have the 4.7:1 gears. The 3500C has a palming side plate with no tension knob like the 2500C. Another key difference is where the brake blocks are located. On the 2500C, they are on the same side as the handle. On the 3500C, they are behind the left side plate. The 3500C was only made for the US market for a year or two. As far as I'm aware, there are three foot numbers for USDM 3500Cs; 83-0, 83-1, and 84-0. Elsewhere, the reel had a few variants, from an instant ant-reverse model 3500CIAR, a 3500CS Rocket, and a 3500CA. The IAR model was made in the early 90s, while the CS Rocket and CA are from the late 90s to early 2000s. From what I've read, it was discontinued for the USDM due to poor casting performance, but I only read that on one US site. Other sites out of Japan tend to praise the reel's performance.
ok, so the 3500 is an ultra-cast. Is it wider than a 2500?
Quote from: fishhawk on February 20, 2019, 09:26:18 PM
ok, so the 3500 is an ultra-cast. Is it wider than a 2500?
It's not an Ultracast. The spool does not spin free of the shaft. As far as I know, it's very close in size to the 2500C.
Lee the 3500C main gear is no longer available but the 2500 gear is the replacement for it.
Mike
Quote from: mikeysm on February 21, 2019, 06:51:29 PM
Lee the 3500C main gear is no longer available but the 2500 gear is the replacement for it.
Mike
eReplacement Parts has the 3500C main gear in stock. Speaking of gear comparability, does the 2500C pinion work too?
You were looking at the replacement gear. The original you have to wait and pray to get one. You need to look again you will see.
Mike
So what's the verdict on fishing with these? Anyone use a 3500c? I like the size but from the above post sounds like the drag is a week point?
Quote from: Swami805 on December 04, 2020, 02:17:41 PM
So what's the verdict on fishing with these? Anyone use a 3500c? I like the size but from the above post sounds like the drag is a week point?
It does use the old single drag washer inside the gear...as long as you don't need much drag power it would be fine.
Thanks Moe ,maybe try to find a cf washer that will fit
Interesting design with bearings in the brake plates and nylon bushings in the side plates
Quote from: Swami805 on December 04, 2020, 02:17:41 PM
So what's the verdict on fishing with these? Anyone use a 3500c?
I use the 3500's twin, the 2500C's. Use them about 4 or 5 times a week. Yeah the drag is weak compared to today's hyped plastic. I put Smoothie Extreme carbon washers in them but its not some huge improvement. I saltwater fish with them but it's light tackle fishing most would never consider doing. It's a 10 mono and under reel for sure. If you ever watch youtube, check out "Enjoy Fishing" channel and you will see where the 15\25\3500's excel.
Quote from: Swami805 on December 07, 2020, 02:41:42 PM
Thanks Moe ,maybe try to find a cf washer that will fit
Interesting design with bearings in the brake plates and nylon bushings in the side plates
compadre, you might not "find" a CF that fits, so you better off modifying one.
on a small shimano Bantam magnunlite reel that I found really well built to just spend its rest of the days on the shelf I serviced and tryed to find CF washers that fit, I ended up usen some 113h and Baja special CF washers and cut and file them to ajust them as needed, the reel feels now like a modern reel and 3x more sturdy than lots of expensive Bass reels for SW
(http://alantani.com/gallery/26/3592_26_11_18_4_55_54_2635666.jpeg)
https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=27063.0
PS: I was really surprised that I had to use the Baja Special CF washer size on that small Baitcaster reel.
If I'm not mistaken, bushing and bearings are sized the same and are interchangeable. I bought one on ebay that had brass bushings and I replaced them with bearings out of my Abu parts bin.
I've also purchased carbon fiber drag washers for these but don't remember where from. I may have picked them up at my local tackle shop. I'll have a look around to see if I saved the originals in the CF package. I know they are out there but you need to hunt for them a little.
-Mike
Quote from: 0119 on December 07, 2020, 09:14:12 PM
I use the 3500's twin, the 2500C's. Use them about 4 or 5 times a week. Yeah the drag is weak compared to today's hyped plastic. I put Smoothie Extreme carbon washers in them but its not some huge improvement. I saltwater fish with them but it's light tackle fishing most would never consider doing. It's a 10 mono and under reel for sure. If you ever watch youtube, check out "Enjoy Fishing" channel and you will see where the 15\25\3500's excel.
Angler Saito is a one man show. It's like a mix of fishing and ballet the way he is, always a lot of fun to watch.
late update, just for completeness.. fish mine for trout, stock drag works great and can provide surprisingly heavy drag..
new Avail light spool, new bearings, one single small brake shoe and the reel casts flawlessly, maybe one small overwind in a day's fishing. it will cast 1g as far as my spinning outfits..
Very nice job. Now you have me wanting a 3500C. I actually had one some years back, but I was still green with tuning reels at the time and couldn't get it to work how I wanted. I ended up selling it, unfortunately. eReplacement Parts still sells a lot of components for this such as complete gear sets and new old stock side plates.
I have been using mine for kokanee and yellow perch.
Old thread, but thought I'd throw in my .02.
I bought one of these back in the 1980's via mail order from Bass Pro for $29.95. Loved the 2500c and fished those at the time, and this one seemed like a deal, not to mention a nice upgrade (palming sideplates, etc.).
Well it was a dog right out of the box. Wouldn't cast, gears were grindy like a well used Penn 60. And it just languished unused. Then about 20 years ago I had the bright idea to replace the (brand new!) bearings, and that didn't work either. Then a year or two after that I replaced the (brand new!) bearings yet again, and the reel came to life! Nice and light and cast like a dream.
Then I went looking for new gears for the thing, but no luck. And because of the limited production of this model, figured this reel was only good until it broke down and I was ....well...SOL.
Despite the slow and noisy gears, have been using it lately in the bassy waters of Florida, and duh, thought came to mind: 'wonder if the 2500c gears will fit?", secure in the knowledge that when the next generation of Abus went from knobby to palming sideplates, the internals changed and the new gears wouldn't fit the old.
Well, yesterday did an innernet search and I found this post, and shazzam, looks like all my preconceived notions were wrong. So I have ordered some high speed gears for the thing.
If they fit, of which I have little doubt, this reel will be 'sliced bread". It will have taken over 40 years to get there, but..... LOL
And knowing what I know now, I should have bought a pallet load of them!
My 2500c is one of my favorite reels, the 3500c is just a wider spool. After a bit of aggressive TLC they're truly excellent.
What gear set did you order?
Jason:
Before I answer that, let me get the gears and put them in and make sure everything works. Otherwise it's just happy talk on the innernet, which lasts forever and I don't want to mess up future generations with a good...but wrong...guess! ;D
I might be interested too.
Well: The gears I ordered for the 3500c came in. They were the "number 2" Avail Gears from Japan labeled for the 2500c.
They did NOT fit the 2500c.
The problem is the pinion gear. It comes with a short, pointed, metal spike imbedded through the pinion gear which -- on the 2500c at least -- the pointed end rides on the face of the right sideplate spool bushing (or bearing, if you have the aftermarket upgrade).
Unlike the 2500c. though, the spool shaft on the 3500c goes through the hollow pinion before it rides at the right side bushing.
So this pinion doesn't fit. Oh well, worth a try.
I'm open to ideas on where to get a new 3500c main gear and pinion, especially a high speed one. It would sure be nice to get this 3500c into tip top shape.
I wonder if the fact that these Avail gears are labeled "number 2" has anything to do with a solution?
Another clue? Running the trapline to get to this point I also noticed that eReplacement parts showed that the drive shaft for this model is interchangeable with several reels in the 5500-6500 class, which raises a question as to whether gears for these models will also fit the 3500c.
This is interesting. If they do fit, I see an opportunity/option to make a magnum 2500.
I'm sorry that you had to order something that doesn't fit to open up this idea-door in my brain. That's truly unfair to you. But, consider me even more intrigued than I was before.