Hey guys,
How would you go about adressing this issue with a Daiwa 7150 reel foot? Is in good shape otherwise. Is there a link to thread about this problem I'm missing? Anyway, your ideas about solutions are welcome.
Thanks, Russ
Cut off the ragged part and grind it down to fit your reel seat. Hopefully it will not be too short for your reel seat. There's not much you can do with a broken cast alloy frame. It cannot be welded, brazed, soldered or glued.
:) Well here is one I did , https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,39887.0.html
Just keep in mind it has to fit the reel seat and hoods .
Quote from: oc1 on May 07, 2026, 05:34:54 AMCut off the ragged part and grind it down to fit your reel seat. Hopefully it will not be too short for your reel seat. There's not much you can do with a broken cast alloy frame. It cannot be welded, brazed, soldered or glued.
Thanks-I was worried about it being too short afterwards too. I'll go ahead and try it. Do I have to worry about getting the metal too hot? And how do you protect surrounding paint?
Quote from: oldmanjoe on May 07, 2026, 12:49:21 PM:) Well here is one I did , https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,39887.0.html
Just keep in mind it has to fit the reel seat and hoods .
Wow-that turned out great! Way beyond my skill level though-I will try cutting and rounding off first-but that kind of restoration is impressive.
Quote from: rcmsangab on May 07, 2026, 04:34:33 PMThanks-I was worried about it being too short afterwards too. I'll go ahead and try it. Do I have to worry about getting the metal too hot? And how do you protect surrounding paint?
I would suggest go "old skool" with a hand file, sandpaper, etc. Yes it will be slow, but you will mre control and have no worries about burning paint, etc. - john
Quote from: Brewcrafter on May 07, 2026, 04:44:45 PMQuote from: rcmsangab on May 07, 2026, 04:34:33 PMThanks-I was worried about it being too short afterwards too. I'll go ahead and try it. Do I have to worry about getting the metal too hot? And how do you protect surrounding paint?
I would suggest go "old skool" with a hand file, sandpaper, etc. Yes it will be slow, but you will mre control and have no worries about burning paint, etc. - john
I'll go the hacksaw then file/sandpaper route then--safer for my eyes and fingers too!
Finally got back around to this project. FYI- finished product of filing below. Seems to fit okay into the old Eagle Claw reel seat. Thanks again for the advice.
isn't there an aluminum solder?
Quote from: alantani on May 28, 2026, 12:42:44 AMisn't there an aluminum solder?
I have tried The torch type with no luck . If I could find a tig welder ,I would try that .
Another process for frame repair I have used is laser welding. I had an old ABU6000 that someone tried to move while it was still secured in the seat and cracked one of the cross tube's brazing off the foot. I took it to an eyeglass frame repair shop here and the guy did a fantastic job rewelding it on. The fillet in the weld was indiscernable from the other factory weld.
Repairing aluminum is one thing. Repairing it so that it regains it's original structural integrity is another thing entirely. I think what you have now is the best DIY solution short of replacing the reel frame. It looks good, who but you will ever know. Of course you may some day encounter a reel seat that it won't fit. But that's what tape is for.
If you feel you must have more metal there you might find a welder who specializes in aluminum repair at a local municipal airport. I have a couple of friends who went that route in getting motorcycle parts repaired. In those cases the end result justified the cost.
Hey all,
I was suprised how soft and easy to file the alloy was given that is obviously brittle as well. Happy with it as a first attempt and the reel sits fine on this rod. Foot too deep/high on another. Nice to know there are alternative methods to explore if a reel's monetary or sentimental value warrant more heroic measures. Given that I was missing the the other piece --would you have to know the metal makeup to weld a replacement on? Then paint to match or repaint whole thing? Beyond my pay grade techinally.
The metal might be an alloy named duraluminum. You might do some research to find out if Daiwa was using that in the 70s. I don't know if the Japanese invented it but I learned recently they used it in aircraft.
That reel frame was cast by pouring molten metal into a mold. It would be possible to cast it with molten Duralumin but it's not very likely. Casting Duralumina is tricky and expensive. Duralumin's advantage is that it can be wrought into strong rolls or sheets from which parts can be cut or stamped. Hence, it's use in aircraft.
There's no telling what the reel frame is made of but it is certainly an alloy of several to many metals. Typically, there would be a lot of zinc mixed with tin and copper, maybe with some lead or magnesium added too. We used to call all such stuff "pot metal" which is sort of a derogatory term as it implies that the casting may be brittle and not very strong (as demonstrated here). It's advantage is that it's inexpensive and light weight.
A little something on duralumin . https://material-properties.org/duralumin-density-strength-hardness-melting-point/
Quote from: oc1 on May 31, 2026, 05:55:50 AMThat reel frame was cast by pouring molten metal into a mold.
There's no telling what the reel frame is made of but it is certainly an alloy of several to many metals. Typically, there would be a lot of zinc mixed with tin and copper, maybe with some lead or magnesium added too. We used to call all such stuff "pot metal" which is sort of a derogatory term as it implies that the casting may be brittle and not very strong (as demonstrated here). It's advantage is that it's inexpensive and light weight.
Some of us still call that sort of stuff "pot metal", and in the derogatory sense, too. At least there have been a few upgrades to the quality since the early days.