I have a jigmaster and squidder that I've been working on and can't seem to figure out why they're still spinning in freespool. It's clearly something I've done as they were fine before i reassembled them. I'm guessing it's something simple, the eccentric jack and yoke being out of alignment, most likely? Just wanted to see if anyone had advice on what I could possibly be doing wrong before I open both of them up again.
you mean that you can still crank the reel in free?
You're in free but the spool turns when you crank? Make sure the inside of the pinion doesn't have any grease on it as well as the spool shaft.
Quote from: MarkT on April 16, 2026, 06:58:05 PMYou're in free but the spool turns when you crank? Make sure the inside of the pinion doesn't have any grease on it as well as the spool shaft.
Or burrs.
Is the pinion gear facing the right direction? I know, but I've never tried to assemble it backwards to see if it would go together...
Quote from: alantani on April 16, 2026, 06:52:05 PMyou mean that you can still crank the reel in free?
yes, it's still cranking in free. it's very light, as if the pinion gear is barely making any contact with it.
i'll check for grease.
yes, the pinion gears are facing the right direction.
Probably pinion rub. Assemble the reel with just the frame sideplates and spool, no gears etc. see what kind of freespool you get there. That's how long you'll get when all rubs are addressed. So start polishing and oiling
Jighead - Firstly, you are in the right place, and there are some top-notch gurus commenting here. I am cnfident this will be found out and corrected. But you do need to share what the solution was. So....If I understand correctly, you serviced these two reels, and when in freespool, the eccentric and jack are pulling the pinion out of engagement correctly. But when you engage, it's cranking but you are barely turning the spool/bringing in line? If so, wiser minds already discussed if the pinion was engaging the spool, and if it is in the correct orientation, etc, so I am going to go forward assuming it IS. Since it sounds like when you engage and turn the handle, the spool does turn with minimal engagement, I really have to think were both of the drag stacks assembled correctly? Getting the washers out of order ( for example dropping in a CF, followed by an eared) will render the whole drag stack compromised. Barring the other things discussed with the pinion gear specifically, even if your pinion and main are operating with full engagement but an issue with the drag stack/sleeves is preventing compression of the drag surfaces, this could cause what you are describing. Ask me how I know! - john
Slight turning of the spool is not a big deal. You certainly cant reel in anything over an ounce or 2 with the reel in freespool. I'm saying just go fishing. The fish dont care
BTW, the pinion never disengages with the main gear, it just disengages from the spool
Quote from: Brewcrafter on April 16, 2026, 10:39:40 PMJighead - Firstly, you are in the right place, and there are some top-notch gurus commenting here. I am cnfident this will be found out and corrected. But you do need to share what the solution was. So....If I understand correctly, you serviced these two reels, and when in freespool, the eccentric and jack are pulling the pinion out of engagement correctly. But when you engage, it's cranking but you are barely turning the spool/bringing in line? If so, wiser minds already discussed if the pinion was engaging the spool, and if it is in the correct orientation, etc, so I am going to go forward assuming it IS. Since it sounds like when you engage and turn the handle, the spool does turn with minimal engagement, I really have to think were both of the drag stacks assembled correctly? Getting the washers out of order ( for example dropping in a CF, followed by an eared) will render the whole drag stack compromised. Barring the other things discussed with the pinion gear specifically, even if your pinion and main are operating with full engagement but an issue with the drag stack/sleeves is preventing compression of the drag surfaces, this could cause what you are describing. Ask me how I know! - john
i'll check the drag stack, i did replace the drag on both of them.
Jighead - Reading Maxed Out Ted's response made me stop and think a little, and I am probably not fully understanding your challenge. So when the reel is in freespool, does the spool turn when you crank? Or is it an issue where when the reel is NOT in freespool, it barely want's to crank? Your one post makes it sound as if the reel is in freespool, but if you turn the handle you get minimal spool engagement? if that is the case I A: Read waaay too fast and did not and did not pay attention to detail and B: Gave you bad advice. Apologies on that, but trust me the issue will be solved! - john
Likely the drag stack is the culprit.
Best, Fred
Quote from: foakes on April 16, 2026, 11:02:57 PMLikely the drag stack is the culprit.
Best, Fred
now that i think about it, i was having issues keeping the drag stack from sliding up and down the sleeve when i put the bridge assembly into the side plate, so they could have slipped around. the jigmaster has a grinding and misaligned spool that im trying to solve, too, so i'd guess theres a decent chance that the drag stack is responsible for that as well.
my apologies for the poor description of the issue, very new to all of this as these are the first reels ive ever opened up. i appreciate the help from everyone.
Quote from: Jighead on April 17, 2026, 12:54:20 AMmy apologies for the poor description of the issue, very new to all of this as these are the first reels ive ever opened up. i appreciate the help from everyone.
No need to apologize, we will seek clarification in our effort to help.
The squarish cutout on the pinion gear is not disengaging from the little squarish protrusion at the base of the spool shaft.
You say the spool is misaligned. Is it shifted too far toward the head plate (right side, handle side plate) with too much gap on the tail plate side? Turn the screwed-in bushing in the center of the side plates to center the spool. There should be a tiny bit of side-to-side play in the spool; barely enough to feel it when the spool is pushed side-to-side. If you cannot get the spool to move far enough to the left to center it, then you might need a shim in the right side bushing.
Quote from: oc1 on April 17, 2026, 06:05:13 AMThe squarish cutout on the pinion gear is not disengaging from the little squarish protrusion at the base of the spool shaft.
You say the spool is misaligned. Is it shifted too far toward the head plate (right side, handle side plate) with too much gap on the tail plate side? Turn the screwed-in bushing in the center of the side plates to center the spool. There should be a tiny bit of side-to-side play in the spool; barely enough to feel it when the spool is pushed side-to-side. If you cannot get the spool to move far enough to the left to center it, then you might need a shim in the right side bushing.
for the jigmaster, the spool is too far to the left. while trying to center the spool i asked AI the best way how to set the bearings and it said the head plate should be screwed in to its max so you only need to adjust with the left side plate. is there any truth to this? i dont have the head plate bearing screwed in all the way but it is tighter. im going to disassemble both reels over the weekend and check everything.
Short answer: AI is wrong again.
Don't trust AI for anything reel related. What you're gonna get is at best a bastardization of something it mined from here, worded in a convincing way.
And the knobs on a Jigmaster's plates do not behave like a modern reel. That's not a cast control. Those knobs are for spool position.
Procedure: Loosen both bearing cups almost all the way. Turn the reel sideways so handle side is down. Tighten the handle side cup until it just barely makes contact, that sets the position (edit: anything past that lessens the contact at the spool/pinion interface WHILE IN GEAR, which increases the risk of a different, much worse failure). Then tighten the clicker side cup down until it makes tight contact, and then back up a quarter turn. The spool should be almost perfectly centered after that.
Jason nailed the procedure —-
Best, Fred
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on April 17, 2026, 01:22:25 PMShort answer: AI is wrong again.
Don't trust AI for anything reel related. What you're gonna get is at best a bastardization of something it mined from here, worded in a convincing way.
And the knobs on a Jigmaster's plates do not behave like a modern reel. That's not a cast control. Those knobs are for spool position.
Procedure: Loosen both bearing cups almost all the way. Turn the reel sideways so handle side is down. Tighten the handle side cup until it just barely makes contact, that sets the position (edit: anything past that lessens the contact at the spool/pinion interface WHILE IN GEAR, which increases the risk of a different, much worse failure). Then tighten the clicker side cup down until it makes tight contact, and then back up a quarter turn. The spool should be almost perfectly centered after that.
awesome, ill give this a shot