A little over a week ago, Tommy was looking for a nice sideplate for a Penn 720. I had one —- and offered it to him.
However, he very graciously said to keep it for someone else —- because he had a box for a 720, and wanted a near or new example reel for the box.
So I just set the plate aside.
In between working on reels this week —- I saw the plate and decided to put together a pair of reels out of new parts from the bins.
I have always liked the 720 & it's high speed cousin —- the 722.
The 720 is a light blue metallic —- the 722 is a light green teal metallic.
The correct exterior parts for these older models prior to the newer black ones are silver spools, silver cranks, and white crank knobs with white drag knobs,
While these are attractive reels —- a better color scheme, IMO, is to use gold spools and cranks —- with black drag & crank knobs.
I have done a few of these —- and they are a knockout combination. They tie in well with the gold sideplate emblem and the metallic paint.
I will put these two together —- then see who might want a pair of these for $200.
Will work on them in between parts being cleaned in the US cleaner.
Best, Fred
Hello Fred
There is another version of the 720 with a multi-colored side plate. Is this an earlier or later version?
Did you take any pictures of the completed reels? Are they sold?A4B5D4F7-0BD8-47CC-A687-E26CC100BC55.jpeg
That is the earliest version, Steve —-
Haven't had a chance to finish up the other two yet.
Been busy finishing up other folks reels, camping before fire season, and about three dozen other life priorities.
104 in Fresno today, 93 up here, slight wind at 6 mph predicted to go up to 15 later today. Everything is dry.
Even our neighbors are coming around to get 💦 water!
We put out troughs for them. Most are welcome, a few are not.
Best,
Fred
Striking! I never thought to try that; I have a 722 and 722Z (the 722 needs a crosswind block).
[goes to garage to try it]
Ooooooh! That is nice. Was planning to sell these after some crosswind block troubles and few available replacements. But maybe...
That looks great, WP —-
While not original, I think with that gold and black contrasting with the metallic teal and metallic light blue —- it is much more unique and attractive.
Best, Fred
HI FRED nice reel jobs as usual, your the man, the crosswind blocks are a problem, expensive and hard to come by. hope you enjoyed sharing the chips, you and sue have a wonderful safe and healthy NEW YEAR. HARRYK
Yes, that has always been an issue on the 720/722, Harry —-
X-Wind blocks.
The weak links in any quality spinning reel —- is ALWAYS the plastic parts.
At some point (soon) The aftermarket X-Wind blocks will be all that I will have. And I think they are $20, or more. But they are very good items.
I think Tom at Cortez and Mystic carry these.
Happy New Year, Harry!
Best Always,
Fred
That's too bad, a nice spindle-hub(?terminology?) on the axel for the spool, and then they godda put a plastic part in the gear-box, for a high stress function.
The way I see it every reel needs to have at least one weak point otherwise there would be major damage or an explosion to the critical drive train portion when they're pushed beyond their intended design capacities. It seems like there's a growing number of fishers out there that enjoy pushing their equipment past its intended design capacity.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with pushing fishing equipment past its limit but I don't understand complaining when it happens to fail.
Quote from: Gfish on December 30, 2022, 06:05:36 PMThat's too bad, a nice spindle-hub(?terminology?) on the axel for the spool, and then they put a plastic part in the gear-box, for a high stress function.
Tommy and Fred have seen the insides of many more spinning reel models than I have, but this is how I see it:
The 720/722 crosswind block rubs against the post on the main gear, so using a hard material could wear out the post. Also, all spinning reels take a bit of effort to start the rotor spinning and spool oscillating, and then rely on momentum to make winding comfortable. So low friction is important in the drive related mechanisms.
I think that plastic is not necessarily a bad cost/performance tradeoff. Just have to replace the crosswind block every decade or so. I do think that the manufacturing quality of these plastic parts was not of the highest grade. With modern manufacturing techniques, a Delrin block would probably be even better.
I still like this reel design better than something like that Mitchell 300 we were discussing recently. Penn gets it all done with two gears instead of eight.
The narrow/deep spool (also unskirted) makes the reel a bit less than ideal for distance casting, especially with modern braid, but it also means that it doesn't need a bunch of extra parts to enable a different oscillation rate and travel distance. Hence the simple crosswind block design. A pretty reasonable tradeoff considering how a reel of this size is most frequently used.
The crosswind block is a pretty easy part to replicate. Tom at Cortez offers one machined from a high tech plastic. There used to be aluminum aftermarket crosswind blocks that was popular, but I would be concerned about main gear post wear.
I was also 3D printing plastic crosswind blocks for the 720/722 and offering them up to members. Just wanted feedback in return. Only Mo provided feedback, which was positive. The other plastic parts (drag and handle knobs) were also pretty easy to design and 3D print.
-J
I remember you 3d printing those parts J. Awesome idea and they turned out great! If I ever get my hands on one of these reels, I'll be doing the same thing.
Ok. But I want the failsafe for me to be the drag, not a gear-box part. Then if the drag fails on a full rotor cup spinner, I can finger the underneath as it spins backwards.
Never noticed any start-up pressure or excess friction on a quality spinner with a metal oscillation system. Then again, how would I be able to tell that-that was the issue?
Have had loose oscillation arms in worm drive reels(maybe a bit of start-up there) but that was easily corrected with shims.
Can see the point about excess wear when you have metal to metal oscillation parts though. A good design might mitigate some of that. How about the Planamatic gears in some Mitchell reels(e.g., the 302).
Don't the plananatic reels still have something that worked essentially the same as crosswind block (they call it an oscillation slide)? Those old planamatic Mitchels were popular, so I guess they worked well enough, but still more parts to go bad.
Planetary gear systems can allow you to pack very large (or even several different, including reverse) gear ratios into a small area, but it is more complicated to keep the gears aligned properly under load. Simple gear pairs with centered shafts are more functionally limited, but are easier and cheaper to pull off. It seems that in many cases, the smaller the mechanism, the less likely planetary gearing is going to be the smartest choice.
Getting back on topic, if memory serves me correctly (not great odds :) ), the post is cast right into the pot metal 72x main gear. Cheap and effective, but now the post is not very durable. If the post is some nice hard stainless, then the crosswind could be metal.
Agree about the drag being the preferred failsafe, but that presumes the drag can't be locked down too far- which is almost true on these reels, because you will break the plastic drag cap ;D No shortage of failsafes here. I can defend the crosswind design choices a little, but Penn is on their own when it comes to the drag cap.
Chad: If you ever decide to print some 72x crosswinds, let me know. I can send you the CAD files and/or an STL for printing. May save you some work.
-J
Quote from: jurelometer on December 30, 2022, 10:29:54 PMGetting back on topic, if memory serves me correctly (not great odds :) ), the post is cast right into the pot metal 72x main gear. Cheap and effective, but now the post is not very durable. If the post is some nice hard stainlesss, then the crosswind could be metal.
I think you're right, the post is cast into the main gear. This makes me wonder.... Could that post be machined off and a stainless pin pressed in to replace it?
Quote from: jurelometer on December 30, 2022, 10:29:54 PMChad: If you ever decide to print some 72x crosswinds, let me know. I can send you the CAD files and/or an STL for printing. May save you some work.
Thank you! I will definitely take you up on that if I get my hands on one!
The blocks made by Tom at Cortez are excellent.
They are available at Cortez & also Mystic.
$20.
This may seem high —- but frankly, I do not think $20 is too much to put a high quality reel back in service for another 20 years.
These upgrades are made out of a Polymer material —- which is so much better than the original plastic blocks from Penn.
Best, Fred
I only have two left but I have 722 reels too!
Quote from: xjchad on December 30, 2022, 10:38:49 PMQuote from: jurelometer on December 30, 2022, 10:29:54 PMGetting back on topic, if memory serves me correctly (not great odds :) ), the post is cast right into the pot metal 72x main gear. Cheap and effective, but now the post is not very durable. If the post is some nice hard stainlesss, then the crosswind could be metal.
I think you're right, the post is cast into the main gear. This makes me wonder.... Could that post be machined off and a stainless pin pressed in to replace it?
Quote from: jurelometer on December 30, 2022, 10:29:54 PMChad: If you ever decide to print some 72x crosswinds, let me know. I can send you the CAD files and/or an STL for printing. May save you some work.
Thank you! I will definitely take you up on that if I get my hands on one!
"Could that post be machined off and a stainless pin be pressed in to replace it?"
Chad are you back to fabricating parts(or at least thinking about it?)? Your mag. stuff was awesome!
Quote from: Gfish on December 30, 2022, 10:54:13 PM"Could that post be machined off and a stainless pin be pressed in to replace it?"
Chad are you back to fabricating parts(or at least thinking about it?)? Your mag. stuff was awesome!
Thanks G! I still like to play around with stuff, mostly just my own gear now. The kids keep us so busy that I don't have time to any extra work now. Maybe someday...
QuoteThese upgrades are made out of a Polymer material —- which is so much better than the original plastic blocks from Penn.
Can't help but to nitpick a little here.
I think the original Penn part is a polymer too (probably ABS). Hemp and sheep wool are polymers :) Most of the common plastics are also polymers. Lots of polymers out there. Combine two or more substances that result in a repeating chain macro-molecule and you have a polymer. Or something like that.
Tom at Cortez uses Ultem (PEI) which is a fancy high tech plastic that is very strong and is frequently used for fancy mechanical parts around electrical stuff and also medical devices. He definitely wasn't going the cheapest materials rout. His crosswind block is probably stronger than the main gear.
-J
Yeah, J —-
All I know is that after 30 or 40 years —- the Penn factory X-Wind block will break in half. Very few exceptions.
Just by comparing Tom's to the original factory block —- I also cannot ever imagine Tom's breaking.
Best, Fred
Cool. Keep nitpickin' J!
The risk with drilling out the main gear and pressing in a pin is that the pin won't wear out, but the hole could get loose. Depends on how thick the cast metal is at the spot.
The teal & gold reel I assembled above lacks a XWB. I cleaned it and relubed it, reassembled with a salvaged part out of a parts reel, and a week later the block was broken in the reel. So I have a Cortez part inbound from Mystic. I'm eager to see how it does. The only question... will I keep the reel? ???
Quote from: jurelometer on December 31, 2022, 06:43:04 PMThe risk with drilling out the main gear and pressing in a pin is that the pin won't wear out, but the hole could get loose. Depends on how thick the cast metal is at the spot.
Good point J! I cannot speak to that since I don't have one. But it's sure fun thinking of all the different ways to modify and upgrade things. I love brainstorming, trouble shooting, failure analysis, and problem solving! Even more, I love learning more about this kind of stuff from you guys with so much skill and experience in all these different areas!
The Cortex XW block arrived today from Mystic. I did need to drill out the connector staple holes, but otherwise it popped right in and has restored function to my old 722. This reel was in the worn out/ broken box when I was a kid; while I fished many other 720/722 reels, I've never used this one. I'm very pleased to have been able to restore it, and am quite confident in the quality of the part. I had planned to fix and sell this reel, but now... I think it needs to go on an old Rick Berry Fenwick custom that I fished with a popping cork for mangrove snapper 8)
Thanks Cortez and Mystic!
GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS ON THIS VERY COO SITE ...
INSTEAD OF SAYING I DON'T MEAN TO RUFFLE ANY FEATHERS, I'LL BE HONEST..
THERE'S A FEW THINGS THAT REALLY BOTHER ME ABOUT SOME OF "U" MOSTLY MEN OUT THERE THAT LOOK ONLINE AND EVERYWHERE ELSE THEY CAN,SNATCHING UP AND BUYING LET'S SAY MOSTLY- FISHING REELS.
THEY COLLECT AND IN MY OPINION "HOARD" WAY TOO MANY❗❗❗❗👎🤬.
...SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, NOT WORKING WELL, AND EVEN BROKEN REELS,ESPECIALLY OF ONE SERIES❗❗❗
ALL THE REELS OUT THERE ARE NOT FOR YOU.. PLEASE UNDERSTAND
THIS ❗❗❗
LEAVE SOME FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT COLLECTORS, I'M JUST A VETERAN WITH A VETERANS FISHING CLUB WHO JUST WANTS TO USE SOME NICE STURDY REELS TO FISH WITH... NONE OF US IN MY GROUP OR WHO I PERSONALLY KNOW ARE WEALTHY COLLECTORS OR INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN AFFORD TO HAVE A 6 FIGURE WORTH OF REELS LAYING AROUND IN EXPENSIVE CABINETS GATHERING DUST 👎🤬... I'M GRATEFUL THERE ARE MANY INDIVIDUALS ON THIS SITE WHO ARE WILLING TO GIVE AWAY GREAT INFO AND ADVICE..THEY GIVE AWAY AND SELL A LOT OF THEIR FISHING REELS, PARTS, AND TACKLE.."BRAVO" TO YOU 👏.
SOOOO...
THERE I SAID IT, AND DAMN IT FEELS GOOD ❗❗❗
SO TO ALL YOU UNSELFISH ALTRUISTIC SELFLESS AND CHARITABLE GENTS, SALTY DOGS, AND WORM DROWNERS...
TRY TO ENJOY YOUR TIME LEFT,AND THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS 🍻🥂
I BID YOU
"FARE THEE WELL"
I do own lots of reels and join this site to learn how to maintain these reels in working order ,also buy some more reels as some other good fisherman recommended . I see nothing wrong with it
If you need a specific reel that you looking for you can post it here ,there are no 2 fisherman fish exactly same it may end up someone don't want to use it
Uh..... welcome?
Well I mean I'm glad you got that off your chest. Bitter opinions like that are like farts. It's healthier to let it out, even if they do stink up a space.
But I also wish the good stuff wasn't as valuable to others so I could collect it myself for cheap.
Appears to be a great to be "BANNED PERMANENTLY" candidate! :o :d
Jealous people love you, they just express it in hate.
They comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. People who are jealous want to be like you, but they don't know how to ask you for help. They love what you do, and they want to do it too, but they just haven't learned how to be themselves. Jealousy is a fear that people have when they think they cannot get what they want.
Then comes lashing out in bitterness, hate, and expressing envy. Not healthy for the individual doing this...
I feel sorry for folks like these — but it is a sign of the times in our society where many individuals feel they are entitled to something they feel is their right — but they haven't put in the years and decades of experience necessary to get comfortable with themselves and their various hobbies and interests.
When I first read this 1st post, the first thought that came up — well, they have managed to flagrantly insult one of the finest fishing tackle forums on the planet, along with their members.
But then, I also realized that the members we have are solid, strong, honest, and really are not affected by the rantings and criticism of an obviously troubled person.
The truth of the matter, in my opinion, is that this person is missing the major advantages of the organization that Alan has so carefully crafted over his decades of experience in our craft, as well as his willingness to share.
The main thing omitted, that has no price tag — is the knowledge gained, and the friends made over the years.
My grandmother once told me — "there are no statues of critics".
Knowledge is key — and it is something honed over effort and dedication to one's craft.
I picked up a DAM Quick 2000 Champion spinning reel in excellent condition for less than $50 this week. Seller described it as a parts reel (it was missing the wire bail, but it had been converted to a PUM, manual pick up retrieve).
Also picked up (4) DAM Quick 1000/1001 Microlites, a disassembled excellent 1401, (3) owners manuals, and (5) extra spools — for $78. All needing some work, but all fully capable of being turned into nearly new reels. Only because I have the parts that have taken 40+ years of effort, expense, organization, and specialized knowledge to make this possible.
Our members will just laugh at this individual, and let the criticisms roll off their back.
I do feel sorry for folks like this, and hope that someday, they might see how good they really could be — if they joined with good motives, instead of spewing unfounded accusations.
Best, Fred
I lost an auction this week on a DQ 110 for under $20 because I got distracted and didn't up my bid.
Good deals on good tackle are everywhere. But you have to look for it. Just like literally anything worth owning.
Yeah maybe that 110 could have been $5 if people like us didn't desire them. And gold bars could be the same. Shame on us I guess.
"There's a vintage thing that I want to hoard myself but I can't because others also like them"
What a pathetic little _____.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on November 23, 2025, 04:52:03 PMI lost an auction this week on a DQ 110 for under $20 because I got distracted and didn't up my bid.
Good deals on good tackle are everywhere. But you have to look for it. Just like literally anything worth owning.
Yeah maybe that 110 could have been $5 if people like us didn't desire them. And gold bars could be the same. Shame on us I guess.
"There's a vintage thing that I want to hoard myself but I can't because others also like them"
What a pathetic little _____.
I think different ,if more people like Damquick so they don't go out of business and that's why we have to find them on Ebay . Compare the price of $25 40 years ago it equal $300.00 now and I bet the final price not over $120 ,people still not interest enough on these quality product .Manufacture these quality reel for today will cost much more than the selling price unless a lots more peoples buy it then price will come down
Funny, Im certain nobody on this forum qualifies as a guy with a "6 figure" collection of reels, so I took his comments with a grain of salt, and if any of you gents feel like you have too many penn reels, I'll take them off your hands...wink wink
...and as for my reels, I'll borrow a quote from Charlton Heston....you can pry my reels from my cold dead hands
Quote from: Maxed Out on November 23, 2025, 06:04:16 PMFunny, Im certain nobody on this forum qualifies as a guy with a "6 figure" collection of reels, so I took his comments with a grain of salt, and if any of you gents feel like you have too many penn reels, I'll take them off your hands...wink wink
...and as for my reels, I'll borrow a quote from Charlton Heston....you can pry my reels from my cold dead hands
Hey, I have
at least 6 reels. Most from my own childhood that the info on this site has helped resuscitate.
I keep coming back to this. It bugs me. A whole section just got created because many of us are seeking a good home for our vintage reels that we have too many of.
Literally any other approach in the world could have led to this likely worthy group of veterans being inundated with donations of quality vintage tackle. But this was likely not his first time leading with insult and accusations. Maybe it works sometimes.
Also, why this thread?
Oh man, I feel a bit irritated if "El Dorado" is a guy and straightened-out if it's a woman. Sometimes I just godda listen to the ladies more the my own gender...
(https://alantani.com/gallery/38/17471-081023145558-38342649.gif)
(https://alantani.com/gallery/39/17471-280325022238-39548842.gif)
Reverse Psychology !!!
I'm 57. I have a picture my grandmother took of me in a stroller with a cane pole, and another at mebbe 4 yo with three little rods laid out in front of me fishing for bream. Sometime around 6 or 7, I got a Daiwa 212 and Johnson Sabre when I had gone through the 202's and 404's. I still have those two reels. I have been tinkering, trading, scouring yard sales, pawn shops and flea markets for 50 years to build what I have, and learning from this site how to bring old soldiers back. I support the military and for sure Veterans and would've gladly donated something to his cause had he couched it in ANY OTHER WAY POSSIBLE. We pooled together to build a soldier a 12/0 on Okinawa, I think it was, that the Sharkhunter himself spearheaded. And thank you for service, Darron. And Nick. And the Chief.
Hmmm... the weird thing to me was that it was the first post. And as Jason indicated; right at the end of this 2 yr. old thread...? That is not a collector/hoarder thread?
Got the point, though. Just don't think we make that big of a dent in the overall picture. Maybe a social media critic's hang-over?
"wait, you mean I can't find 12 matching NIB Penn 722's in one place at nearly free prices?"
Clearly the blame goes to the other people who like these reels, for driving up the demand. It's definitely not a matter of unreasonable expectations.
The Dude accomplished his, or maybe her, mission. Got y'all yappin' about what the ulterior motive of the post might have actually been. To me, since it was a first post and in all "CAPS", I found it extremely rude and quite annoying. IMO true colors were clearly shown there. I've since noticed a couple of additional posts have been added by the individual, and I can guarantee that those and/or future comments or queries will be completely ignored by this person. ;)
Quote from: Midway Tommy on November 25, 2025, 07:34:09 PMThe Dude accomplished his, or maybe her, mission. Got y'all yappin' about what the ulterior motive of the post might have actually been. To me, since it was a first post and in all "CAPS", I found it extremely rude and quite annoying. IMO true colors were clearly shown there. I've since noticed a couple of additional posts have been added by the individual, and I can guarantee that those and/or future comments or queries will be completely ignored by this person. ;)
Good philosophy to follow. They excommunicated themselves.
WELCOME EL DORADO :d
If you are going to post in all caps I think you just have to sign off with "Thank you for your attention to this matter" and then you are ok WITH SOME OF THESE GUYS.
Hey guys- some folks don't have same neurofunctions as you, some gave up some of theirs serving their country. Some folks born different, some got old, some just had rough deal in life like me...all deserve our empathy and respect. Doesn't take a Dr to read our new friends posts and see some struggles. I doubt you'd see a Veteran in public who spoke really loudly in an odd fashion and disrespect them as was done here. I have a TBI myself, epilepsy and a list of other disorders that make life hard. I couldn't even post here or anywhere for years and Bryan was only person I kept in contact with here. I write so much here now because there was a time when I WROTE JUST LIKE OUR NEW FRIEND HERE AND I AND I WAS ANGRY AND CONFUED, still am. I used to frequent forums with other folks who suffered common afflictions as me and seeing folks post in all caps was not uncommon nor was the style of writing we see from our new friend. Lots of veterans in those forums for some reason. I can only imagine why.
Some folks are just elderly and late to the internet thing actually still new enough to forums and such that they just don't have a firm grasp of decorum. Seeing prices of stuff from years ago that they need now can be shocking if you haven't been keeping up. Posting in all caps is easiest for them, easy to read their own words etc.
El Dorado sir please pm me if you haven't run off.
He did get some reactions,caught me...I feel like there is a bream in every pond. :fish
I knew a guy once that his mindset was "if I can't have it no one else can" He would vandalize other peoples property for kicks. Funny though, he felt different with his material possessions, he was anal.I didn't hang out with this guy,he was not a happy person.
Joel, you must be wearing Rose Colored Glasses. 😂 Mine were permanently broken many years ago, so 🤔, I see things a lot more clearly nowadays. 😉
Quote from: Midway Tommy on November 26, 2025, 05:46:07 PMJoel, you must be wearing Rose Colored Glasses. 😂 Mine were permanently broken many years ago, so 🤔, I see things a lot more clearly nowadays. 😉
Tommy - I hope your mental faculties stay with you and should they ever faulter I hope other folks show you all the grace and dignity that every single one of us deserve.
Respecting and caring for Veterans should be an everyday thing and not just a token saying . We can see who walks the walk when it comes down to it. Good to know.
Thanks, Joel —-
Best, Fred
Sorry Tommy I think I'm with Joel on this one. I think I was the most prolific responder, but I'm certainly not above admitting I'm wrong.
Quote from: quang tran on November 23, 2025, 02:48:00 AMI do own lots of reels and join this site to learn how to maintain these reels in working order ,also buy some more reels as some other good fisherman recommended . I see nothing wrong with it
If you need a specific reel that you looking for you can post it here ,there are no 2 fisherman fish exactly same it may end up someone don't want to use it
Yeah El Dorado, you have any reel needs lemme know. I have a few I may donate, but better to give to a member.
Not jumping to conclusions, but sometimes people can fib to make people have sympathy towards them. Is he really a veteran ? Maybe, maybe not. His first post certainly has me scratching my head
At least Ted is operating with a clear vision of what might possibly be reality.
I doubt that many people have much more admiration or respect for legitimate genuine veterans than I do. To insinuate or speculate otherwise is a far reach and crock of crap.
When a man in a Veteran hat has a limp people thank him for his service, maybe hold the door, wish him well. He may get a few beers here and there at the bar.
You get another guy in same hat not acting right, talking weird, LOUD, heaven forbid he ask for help. People walk other side of the street and want to ban him from the bar, want to see some service records before they can even show some basic humanity. Its ok to hurt your ankle, just dont hurt your brain. Thats like the VA, NFL motto rolled into one.
Some guys only pretend to care about veterans which is worse than pretending to be one.
End of the day the guy made some posts and they all point to somebody asking for help. What more qualifications do we need?
Do those look like the posts of somebody at their best? Are they really in here trying to swindle some sympathy by yelling in all caps? Do they look like they even understand how a forum works?
A little critical thought goes a long ways and is always prudent. I hope this isnt a place where we question veteran status of members who act or think different?