Mentioned this in another thread, but thought I should start a new one specific for the left hand conversion.
Took a little trial and error, but I got it working!
First, I took a sleeve, gear set, handle, and drag star from a left handed 209 I already had on hand. Added new HT100 drag washers and delrin under gear washer, sourced from Mystic.
Next, the biggest hurdle was to modify the side plate to allow a dog to face the opposite direction. I wanted to make sure that I didn't change how the original dog/spring worked so that if it didn't work, I could just put it back to normal.
I first tried to use the 209 dog and spring by removing a little material from the opposite side and placing the dog on "top" of the gear. It looked good until I realized that the dog interfered with the bridge and/or yoke. I considered removing a little material from those pieces, but thought better rof that idea.
I looked at Sal's double dog 180 post again, and saw that he added the second dog "below" the main gear. So, I tried that approach, removed just a smidge of material, and bent the dog spring just a little bit more to get the fit and action just right. Test fit showed everything fit and worked perfectly!
Greased and installed with new parts, and did final assembly.
One strange note - the reel was missing the eccentric spring, so I ordered a new one and installed. After a few tests with the reel assembled, I noticed it came out again. Oh well, works well enough without.
Top photo is final side plate and dog design. Other three are process photos.
Will post pic of whole reel soon - on the rod with line.
Shots of assembled reel, spooled with 40lb braid, on an 8' medium light Ugly Stik. This is gonna be my live bait rod for inshore kayak fishing - CA halibut, ling cod, striper, rockfish, etc.
I'm pretty stoked I got everything all sorted out - this is gonna be just about perfect for what I am looking for!
I was gonna say "taking the name literally huh?" Then I remember I surf fish with my surfmaster. So yeah, it'll work!
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on August 25, 2024, 09:13:56 PMI was gonna say "taking the name literally huh?" Then I remember I surf fish with my surfmaster. So yeah, it'll work!
Ha, yep, fishing in the Bay with the Baymaster, and jigging with the Jigmaster!
That's impressive. But, the clutch lever was put on upside-down. It is probably moving farther than it should.
Quote from: oc1 on August 26, 2024, 06:50:16 AMThat's impressive. But, the clutch lever was put on upside-down. It is probably moving farther than it should.
There is some weirdness there for sure. When I got the reel, it didn't have the spring for the clutch. I installed a new one, and within minutes of reassembly, while playing with the reel, the spring fell out of place. I'm gonna have to play with it to get everything as it should be there. It does work as intended now, but the lever does travel pretty far forward.
Quote from: speedystein on August 26, 2024, 01:56:23 PMQuote from: oc1 on August 26, 2024, 06:50:16 AMThat's impressive. But, the clutch lever was put on upside-down. It is probably moving farther than it should.
There is some weirdness there for sure. When I got the reel, it didn't have the spring for the clutch. I installed a new one, and within minutes of reassembly, while playing with the reel, the spring fell out of place. I'm gonna have to play with it to get everything as it should be there. It does work as intended now, but the lever does travel pretty far forward.
Yes, once you flip it over so that the "knob" portion at the top of the handle is outside of the circumference of the sideplate, the sideplate itself will limit the travel of the clutch lever as intended. If this is the way the lever was installed originally, it may have very well been the contributing factor to the eccentric spring popping out due to the eccentric "overtravelling". Nice looking reel! - john
Quote from: Brewcrafter on August 26, 2024, 03:15:17 PMQuote from: speedystein on August 26, 2024, 01:56:23 PMQuote from: oc1 on August 26, 2024, 06:50:16 AMThat's impressive. But, the clutch lever was put on upside-down. It is probably moving farther than it should.
There is some weirdness there for sure. When I got the reel, it didn't have the spring for the clutch. I installed a new one, and within minutes of reassembly, while playing with the reel, the spring fell out of place. I'm gonna have to play with it to get everything as it should be there. It does work as intended now, but the lever does travel pretty far forward.
Yes, once you flip it over so that the "knob" portion at the top of the handle is outside of the circumference of the sideplate, the sideplate itself will limit the travel of the clutch lever as intended. If this is the way the lever was installed originally, it may have very well been the contributing factor to the eccentric spring popping out due to the eccentric "overtravelling". Nice looking reel! - john
That's what I thought too. When I did reassemble with the spring, the lever would still travel further than intended, so I think maybe the stop might have broken off. When I get a minute, I will take it down again and compare to another side plate. If it is broken, any suggestions to get it working as intended? The lever currently travels pretty far, but doesn't seem to be impacting how the reel operates. Taking it out Tuesday for trial run - will report back after.
Eccentric Lever.jpg
Open up side plate, and reinstally the eccentric spring. Then reinstall the eccentric lever but flip in the direction indicated by my dismal artwork. The knob on the end of the freespool lever will be pointing in toward the center of the reel, and the arc that the lever moves through will be much less than the way it is positioned now. It is designed to ride or stop on the edge of the sideplate. What I suspect may be happening is with the lever as it appears in your photo it is moving through a greater arc than designed, and that is what is allowing the eccentric spring to pop out. - john
Oh, funny, I thought you meant the eccentric itself, inside the side plate, hahaha.
Yeah, that one came to me with the stud on the outside, so I didn't think about it when reassembling, just put it back on the same way. Looking at all the other Penn reels now.... I'm a goof sometimes. Good catch, thanks!
Let's hear a hearty "D'oh". Welcome to the D'oh club.
Quote from: Keta on August 28, 2024, 04:05:16 AMLet's hear a hearty "D'oh". Welcome to the D'oh club.
Yep, been a member of that club for a while now, haha.
Most of us are.
Good job!
Doing everything perfect the first time would be boring and I wouldn't learn as much.
Done and done! The inside of the plate did have a little missing material, not sure if that was the result of the release lever being on backwards, or the travel, or what. But, seems to work well, so not too worried about it.
Nicely done. The Baymaster has the clutch lever right in the middle of the side plate so it's perfect for your project.
Thanks! It worked very well - I think it's gonna fish great!
Put my little Penn 180 project to work today, and it performed admirably! Was on the kayak and a little short on time, but caught a 27" ling cod and a couple rockfish. Very happy with this little reel!
Shot of it in action - forgot I took this!
Great pictures. I dream of calm seas like that. I get 'em maybe twice/year.
Quote from: Gfish on September 09, 2024, 02:50:15 PMGreat pictures. I dream of calm seas like that. I get 'em maybe twice/year.
Today has the lightest winds in six months...
at least over here.
Quote from: Gfish on September 09, 2024, 02:50:15 PMGreat pictures. I dream of calm seas like that. I get 'em maybe twice/year.
Thanks!
Those conditions are hard to come by around here too, at least at that specific spot. Was a pretty good day!
Really looking forward to getting a few trips in with setup - I really liked it!
This is an AT Forum win! Great to see you fishing and having great results!!!! Nice Ling! Thanks for sharing! - john
Quote from: Brewcrafter on September 10, 2024, 05:32:10 AMThis is an AT Forum win! Great to see you fishing and having great results!!!! Nice Ling! Thanks for sharing! - john
Thanks! Always nice for a project to pay off on the maiden voyage! Looking forward to future trips with this little reel - it fishes like a champ!
Definitely an AT win! Lots of good info here and helpful folks. Definitely would not have attempted without finding the knowledge here.