Hey all,
Thanks to this board I fully disassembled and reassembled a reel for the first time today. Thought I would start on a real I had that I don't care that much about before I tackle the Dams and Mitchell from my father's stuff. Anyway, it is a Shakespeare Medalist 4625 UL that I must have bought more than 20 years ago before a camping trip with the kids. I also knew it had a problem with the drag going from nonexistent to locked up when adjusting the knob and then being slow to release when you back off the knob-if that makes sense?
Anyway- successfully took apart, oiled and lubed and put it back together with no parts left over and in the process learned a few things.
1. Takes me a lot lot longer to put things back together than take them apart!
2. Important to take note of which direction things go and what gores where when you are a newbie
3. I think the reel has a bent main shaft (sorry in advance for bad pics) could that be causing the issue?
Thanks for advice and patience,
Russ
A bent main would cause issues on retrieve, but the drag mechanism is within the spool and therefore above the bend. Sorry, back to the drawing board. But I imagine something to do with the drag cap and/or the spring inside it.
Thanks for the info- I was just happy I didn't make anything worse as far as I can tell, lol.
Good work Russ, keep notes take pics step by step, refer back to them as you place it back together, cheers Don.
So I was thinking about this one more. Your reel has felt washers. Odds are someone left it stored with the drag locked down and squished the washers. That means they don't really compress. They're either not in contact or in tight contact.
If so replacing the stock drag washers will be a goood upgrade. Hopefuly you can find a useable shaft or parts reel.
I also knew it had a problem with the drag going from nonexistent to locked up when adjusting the knob and then being slow to release when you back off the knob-if that makes sense?
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on November 21, 2025, 01:48:51 AMA bent main would cause issues on retrieve, but the drag mechanism is within the spool and therefore above the bend. Sorry, back to the drawing board. But I imagine something to do with the drag cap and/or the spring inside it.
I would change out the drags ,I believe the problem will go away !!
Thanks everybody for the help!
I've poked around the board some more and learned that the shaft binding some as you push it through the pinion gear is classic sign of it being bent and it definitely did that. I'd like to think that contributed to how fiddly it was to connect it to the block and the winding gear - but more likely my stiff fingers!
1) So I need to measure the entire diameter, the hole diameter, and aprox. thickness of the felt washers (accounting for the flattening over the years). And keep the drags loose on reels when not in use!
2) Outside of finding donor main shaft (which I realize in this case is overkill on cheap reel) is there any practical way to straighten it outside of machine shop?
Anyway, it was a very good learning experience. And like any project it makes me think of tools to buy to make it easier. In this case maybe a metric nut driver and phillips screw starter, lol.
Get a micrometer caliper. Measure the exact diameter of the shaft. Drill a hole as close as you can get to that diameter in a piece of wood. Roll the shaft alone a piece of glass or plexi or something else that's perfectly straight and flat to find where the bend is and mark with a sharpie. Stick it in the hole you drilled up to just below the bend, and then use your fingers to straighten a bit and check again on the plexiglass until you're happy with it. The point of drilling the hole in a piece of wood is so you can hold it supportively without using a vise or a pair of pliers or something that would scratch it, or worse bend it on the wrong direction in a different spot.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on November 21, 2025, 07:18:53 PMGet a micrometer caliper. Measure the exact diameter of the shaft. Drill a hole as close as you can get to that diameter in a piece of wood. Roll the shaft alone a piece of glass or plexi or something else that's perfectly straight and flat to find where the bend is and mark with a sharpie. Stick it in the hole you drilled up to just below the bend, and then use your fingers to straighten a bit and check again on the plexiglass until you're happy with it. The point of drilling the hole in a piece of wood is so you can hold it supportively without using a vise or a pair of pliers or something that would scratch it, or worse bend it on the wrong direction in a different spot.
Bending it in a different spot or making it worse was exactly what I was worrying about. Thanks for the tips!
I've had a couple of slightly bent shafts over the years. I've just rolled them on a known flat surface, identified where the bend was, laid a block of wood over the high spot and gently tapped them straight with a hammer. Then I buffed the shaft with ultra fine sand paper and polished the inside of pinion tube with a wire brush. The process worked just fine and eliminated the binding/rubbing issue.
You say you think the axle is bent but do you know for certain. Easy enough to find out. Slowly push the axle fully into the pinion to see if it binds anywhere. Rotate the pinion on the axle as you move the axle in and out.
If the axle is bent below the clicker gear check to see if the spool is rubbing on the rotor.
If the axle is bent abobe the clicker gear be careful not to stress the threaded portion of the axle it could snap where the threads end on the shaft.
Quote from: OhReely on November 21, 2025, 08:50:23 PMYou say you think the axle is bent but do you know for certain. Easy enough to find out. Slowly push the axle fully into the pinion to see if it binds anywhere. Rotate the pinion on the axle as you move the axle in and out.
If the axle is bent below the clicker gear check to see if the spool is rubbing on the rotor.
If the axle is bent abobe the clicker gear be careful not to stress the threaded portion of the axle it could snap where the threads end on the shaft.
It was definitely binding when inserted and being removed from the pinion gear so I think (could be wrong) that means the bend is below the clicker gear since that is above pinion. Or am I misunderstanding something?
Nope you did not misunderstand.
One other thing to check is the pinion itself. A few months back someone had a Shakespeare 2080 with a bent pinion.
Quote from: OhReely on November 22, 2025, 03:30:00 PMNope you did not misunderstand.
One other thing to check is the pinion itself. A few months back someone had a Shakespeare 2080 with a bent pinion.
Oh that is an interesting thought! I'll check both shaft and pinion when I take it apart again. Thanks