Took apart my buddy's reel and found the spool shaft bent. So how does a spool shaft get bent?
Owner did service the reel for the first time and fabricated a Preset spring because he lost the original. I discovered two preset springs when I dismantled the reel; he said he scavenged a preset spring from another reel and may have inadvertently left the fabricated spring in addition to the swapped part. I also found the pinion bearing to be corroded and balky, barely turning.
How on earth does a spool shaft bend?
Seen one bend from accidentally dropping the spool during service, but not from use.
I think you already know the answer. Sounds like Owner did self service (nothing wrong with that) but started to modify/change things out without a clear understanding of how the reel works. The whole "fabrication of parts" is kind of a Red Flag. This tells me the owner was "in the reel" and who knows how careful for reassembly. At this point replacing a lot of part$ (spool shaft, bearings, and whatever the original tensions washers are from the schematic). Good luck, it should be pretty straightforward. - john
I've seen them bend from too much drag on reels that were being fished with an inappropriate line class, or from breaking off snags while locking the spool up with a thumb plus the drag.
Always small chinese-made lever drags; the drag design is capable of huge pressures but the spool shafts are not, the steel they used is too soft. Quite a lot harder to do to a well-made reel with a proper tough spool shaft, but I guess not impossible.
The shaft on my HXW two speed bent when I fought a cow tuna on 100#. Fortunately, I got the fish in. The spool rubbed on the frame, something I didn't notice until I opened it up. I had Rocky do a rebuild which included a stronger and stiffer shaft and a pinion bearing that could tolerate extra drag. I've caught several fish on that upgraded reel -- but nothing bigger than 120#.
Quote from: akfish on Today at 12:41:56 AMThe shaft on my HXW two speed bent when I fought a cow tuna on 100#. Fortunately, I got the fish in. The spool rubbed on the frame, something I didn't notice until I opened it up. I had Rocky do a rebuild which included a stronger and stiffer shaft and a pinion bearing that could tolerate extra drag. I've caught several fish on that upgraded reel -- but nothing bigger than 120#.
I have seen people land mid size fish on HXW reels but I personally think that over 80# one needs to step up to a heavier built a reel like the Avet EX30. I am also not a fan of wide reels for plus size fish.
A heavier spool shaft is a good idea when pushing these reels hard.