Hi everyone. I never overhauled a reel and I have a few new-in-the-box reels that I want to work on. I plan on cleaning out the factory lube and replace it with TSI oil and marine grease. I also want to upgrade the drag washers to carbon fiber and polish the drag plates. I'm doing this as a preventative measure to reassure my confidence in knowing that I have well protected, functional, quality components. How long does it usually take to work on a reel? This is what I have:
Okuma Cavalla 20II
Okuma Trio-30S
Okuma Trio-20
Okuma Citrix Ci-273VLX
Tica Fishmaster S107 flyreel
I'll let the reel pros chime in how fast they can do one but I would say that the main determinant is "familiarity" with the reel for me as well as having the tool(s) for the job.
Every reel has it's own little quirks that slow you down as you figure out the basic steps and as Alan has said it's never as easy as it looks in a post. One of the main reasons I enjoy doing a tutorial is that I am often stumped by a part of the reel and it takes several tries to identify not just how to get it apart, but you find the best way to do it and how to put it back together in a "fool proof" way. Then when you can share that with others to make their lives easier it's very rewarding. :D
Take bearings. If they have pressed in shields they are very easy and you destroy the shield to remove them. If they are removable shields with tiny clips and you want to preserve the shields then it make take some doing to get a hook small enough and sharp enough to get them out. Suddenly you are set back an hour of fiddling....If you have one of Alan's "miracle bearing packers" or want to leave the bearings open then it's fast as can be etc.
Strip a screw...well, there are the heads that may require some new tool to get them out, then there is the body that may have to be retapped...hours spent learning a new skill! ;)
Take your time, proceed with caution and don't force anything (especially on a new reel, it's impossible that anything is frozen) because if it seems too hard to take apart you may be missing that tiny e-clip that is holding it together that you have overlooked or the threads are reverse or that thing that obviously is a hexagonal "nut" holding things together isn't one at all and you should leave it alone etc.
A common pitfall is wanting to get at something to service it but not realizing that several other things that seem totally unrelated have to come off first because the last screw is hidden beneath something else etc.
TL;DR probably 30 minutes if its a simple design and you know the reel and you don't have to pull the bearing shields. If you don't know it well, every reel guy I know still gets reels in plastic bags that guys have given up on trying to get back together :D.
best regards
"familiarity" A big factor, then variables. Then throw in how difficult you are to be satisfied with the results. IE how many times you perform the service until you are satisfied. I could never make a living but like the results.
Tight lines, Brendan.
If I need parts at least a week.
I'm slow and precise. I usually take 1 hour for star drag reels and 2 hours for lever drag reels. And sometime a whole night on one reel because it just doesn't feel right and have to do it again and again until I like the feel of the reel. Yeah, I'm definitely not going to get rich fixing reels but to helps clear my mind...my meditation.
Large trolling reels generally take me 4 to 6 hours to completly disassemble, clean, etc... but sometimes they can and do take me much longer, ESP if problems are only noticed upon reassembly, or just fine tuning due to excessive wear, etc. I can usually service a smaller star drag reel in an hour but may end up taking 3-5 if I do a complete refurb and corrosion is present. I've gotten lucky in a few lever drag reels and was able to do a complete disassemble, clean, service in under 2 hours...but more often then not it goes the other way. Turnaround time for reels w/parts that are locally available is usually less then 3 days, a week if I need a standard order, 10 days if I need sum hard to find part. However, a 10 day turnaround can and has turned into a month long process when incorrect parts were shipped (labeled correctly), then additional problems were discovered after final assembly...there are no gurantees, and 9 times outta 10 it will take longer then you think. That being said, despite only having been at this stuff for 10 months, I have noticed that my times are decreasing and my ability to correctly diagnose problems the first time is getting better (particularily on the most common models I service). It is a continual learning process though.
Thank you everyone. I know more responses are coming so a preemptive Thank You to you. I think I should emphasize that these reels are new or barely used but I've read in a lot of posts that factories get lazy and sometimes send out "dry" reels yet the internal components are in pristine shape.
Chris I know what you mean by finding out on reassembly. A Customer brought me 2 113's to service the other day. One was completely broke down the and one was together. The one that was together had som major slippage when cranking. They both needede extreme cleaning because uf major corrossion. so broke them both bown cleaned them all up and upon reassambly I found my slippage issue. The reel foot was bent outwards by about 10-15 degrees....
As a newbie to servicing my own reels (abu's), even though I've used multipliers since about 12 years old, I can do a post fishing trip service in about an hour and a half. Its not a full service with complete strip, clean, oil/grease and re-assemble, but a rinse, a clean with cotton buds, re grease, bearings oiled etc.
I reckon I could probably do it complete in maybe 4 hours. (An ultrasonic bath would be nice though)
For Senators of any size, complete tear down and replace what needs to be replaced 15 minutes. If in the evening hours the power goes out, 30 minutes ;D.
Shim the Sleeve, Double Dog, Cut some new Drags from sheet, and spool with line, 35 minutes, Tops! ;)
Show offs.
I've done hundreds of reels and I still take a long time...want to make sure its as close to perfect that I can get based what was given to me.
I forgot to add the drag test when I tie it to the dog too. :D
40 minutes, Max! ::)
I can't speak for Sal, but sometimes it takes me all afternoon. Depends what I run into, and if I have to take it back apart.
How many Beers might come into play once in a while. ;D
Its not uncommon for me to stay up all night working on reels. Especially this time of year. Luckily my Driver isn't that Loud.
I try not to wake the wife like Sal does. ;)
For me it just varies. If it is one I have never worked on before I take it slow making sure to take everything in. For ones I am Familiar with, I would say 30 minutes for basic touch ups and for a full service 1-2 hours. But Like Brian I dont stop until I feel it is as good as it can be.
I don't know why the rush. I take them apart working slowly because I am not in a rush. I like to get everything clean and buffed up before I start to put it together. I worked more on reels when I smoked. Now it's just a trigger. I want to sit at my workbench work on reels and smoke my brains out. I won't do it of course but the desire is as strong as if I had had a cigarette a hour ago. I quit 11/11/11 at 11:00 a.m. That way I could remember the date and time. It is 2 years 10 months 11 days 10.5 hours as I write this. Don't you think that is long enough? I need a cigarette. :-\ :'( Dominick
De-assembly, cleaning, de salting, de rusting, de seizing, scraping, buffing, tapping, SOAKING etc.. that all can take hours if not days for most of the reels I see here... the reassembly afterwards and tuning is the quick & easy part....
If only more of my services were on reels NIB..... OR re-servicing of my prior jobs ;) ;) It'd be a cake walk !
I wish people just took better care of their gear ???
oh yeah.. I forgot to mention the turnaround time for ordering parts here ... ;D ;D ;D
For me it takes months. I currently have at least six reels torn down and waiting for parts or the time to mod sie plates or..... Seems like I would put them together and someone would come up with a "must have" update or mod. I just got tired of cleaning up the work I just did in order to install these mods. So I'm going with I'll reassemble the reel as close to the time I'm going to use it so I have the latest and greatest upgrades.
If I were to just clean and service a reel without crazy upgrades like cutting side plates to accommodate another dog or having to cut new drag washers I would say depends on the condition of the reel first. Probably around two hours with using an ultrasonic cleaner. They really help out a bunch.
Bob
For me it takes about 25 minutes to overhaul each reel (spinners and multipliers alike). If there are upgrades/modifications it can take about 2 hours or more.
old thread but I was searching for the same question so, I found what I was looking for and will post my own experience.
Im with John and Bryan, I take my time when servicing a reel, I have never "done" a reel in less than 2 hours or 3 normally, the thing is that I do the same treatment to every reel like I do to mines so, I inspect to detail every reel and take every moving piece or anything that has a screw is taken apart to clean separatelly, all bearings have to be taken out from its place to be properly cleaned, then the reel is serviced and fixed with new parts or upgrades I always do some tests on it, drag, freespool times, etc. like I say just the way I would want my own reels to be treated and that took me few hours until I can call it DONE !!
so, not on my plans to make a living on fixing reels like this ::)
I am still amazed on how this works inside of every reel, there is times when I find myself moving parts on the reels for hours and looking how the conect to others to make it everything work until I see the clock marking the 3am and I need to close the reel and go the sleep, for me this is how I play to be an Engineer like I wanted to be when I was a child, toys are the same, just more expensive.
Quote from: Dominick on February 22, 2014, 05:36:53 AM
I don't know why the rush. I take them apart working slowly because I am not in a rush. I like to get everything clean and buffed up before I start to put it together. I worked more on reels when I smoked. Now it's just a trigger. I want to sit at my workbench work on reels and smoke my brains out. I won't do it of course but the desire is as strong as if I had had a cigarette a hour ago. I quit 11/11/11 at 11:00 a.m. That way I could remember the date and time. It is 2 years 10 months 11 days 10.5 hours as I write this. Don't you think that is long enough? I need a cigarette. :-\ :'( Dominick
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Hey Dominick have you still quit?
At first I was in a hurry to tear down and rebuild enjoying the thrill, and my first Senator took me 2 1/2 hrs, got better at them and could do star drags in 45 mins, but now it's a labor of love (probably because Im not making a business out of it) so polishing, checking parts, replacing the common parts, etc, 1 1/2 hrs. Im back to enjoying the process and spending time at the work bench. An unfamiliar reel such as an Abu, Shimano, or anything I have not serviced before back to 2 hours, I like to take a lot of photos during tear down for reference....kinda like my own digital schematic. But my last reel, a Coffee Can Baja Special took over 3 weeks once I got started, needing lots of parts from multiple sources, removing stuck/broken screws, and trouble shooting, but it was still fun and I would do Baja again. Bill
I'm not the best to ask, I definitely take too long.
On a Penn International, I can usually do those in a couple of hours so long as it's just a maintenance and not corrosion abatement or repair while using parts I have or no parts required.
Okuma SEa's are a little more difficult, maybe 3-4 hours.
Trinidads are an hour or so, depending if I remove and service the anti reverse bearing or not. I usually do.
Newells about an hour or so.
When I spend a lot of time on any of my reels, it's generally because I screwed something up.
I've learned a little trick about working on a reel that I've never serviced. I take it apart part way, put it back together, take it apart a little farther, put it back together, and so forth. Recently did a 2-speed Talica with a frozen pinion bearing on the RRIII June Heat trip for another passenger, the first time I'd worked on one of those. No one had a bearing of the proper size but I was able to free up the bearing and completely service the reel, which it really needed. Reel was a little noisy but it worked very well for the whole trip. I was pleased.
josa1
Quote from: Bryan Young on February 22, 2014, 02:55:16 AM
Show offs.
I've done hundreds of reels and I still take a long time...want to make sure its as close to perfect that I can get based what was given to me.
X2
My workload mostly consists of Shimano and Daiwa baitcasters along with light to medium overhead and spinning reels.
I do lots of ABU classics which typically take around two hours and Calcuttas which take around three.
My approach though could more be described as a reel restoration. You get your reel back in ex-facatory condition: perfectly clean throughout with no corrosion, worn parts replaced and superior lubrication.
Like Bryan said, I am never gonna be rich doing this, but on the other hand creating a work of perfection keeps me sane; its like therapy for my mind :)
~
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I time mine by the calendar, lol.
I always have something in pieces waiting for a part, or for me to order a part.
Right now I'm putting together a 4/0 out of spare parts. I found a Newell spool, a set of Ted's bars, my old set of Cortez sideplates, a really nice 113h seat, a ProGear main & pinion, and a handle. I just cant find a darn eccentric arm and spring. It's going to fish.
I'm most proud of the 309 repair I did over the counter at a sporting store. All I had was a keychain type screw driver. 15 minutes and I was done. The customer never knew the store didn't fix it.
Let me know if you need an eccentric lever and spring, Randy --
Got you covered on the original factory parts.
Best,
Fred
Keith the fastest ,,,, how muck does he bench :)
Fred, I thought I replied but fell into the TWILIGHT ZONE.
Anyway, I have your address, do you want me to send some green for postage and the spring? (I found an old e-arm).
I even found another steel Penn gear that had a five stack drag already in it. I'm not going to use it because the slots only go half way down in the gear. But I have the drag discs I needed.
Quote from: Rancanfish on September 01, 2017, 06:53:22 PM
do you want me to send some green for postage and the spring?
You know better than that, Randy --
It's on the way...
As to the subject of this thread -- Average Time to Overhaul a Reel...
To me it depends on the definition of overhaul -- complete restoration of all parts, basic quick clean grease and oil, just gears & bearings plus a wipe down, preparing a new reel for the salt, or just a squirt and wipe?
Depends on the reel, at what point the condition is, and also where it needs to end up at.
There are lots of shortcuts (nothing wrong with that) -- as well as many procedures that are unessesary or redundant -- not one size fits all.
Personally, I might take 20 minutes on some reels -- particularly if it is an established client, and I am just doing a two year inspection and service after a couple of seasons -- or it may take 3 or 4 hours when a complete restore is involved, and issues arise.
Best,
Fred
Qualifiers:
1. Depends on the condition of the reel. A Newell can be 30 minutes if everything is as it should be. The same reel with locked screws, frozen pinion and corroded bearings... days...
2. Depends on Similarity. Seems like I get a more Shimano Tekota's than anything else. So working on 10 Tekota's is pretty quick. Working on 10 different reels from 4 manufactures takes longer.
3. Depends on replacement part availability
4. Depends on vendor response filling parts orders...MysticParts.com rocks as does smooth drag!
5. Depends on the time of day. For me, my productive time is 5:00 a.m. to about 9:00 a.m. Seems like I can concentrate better in the mornings. I can pick up a reel that I worked on and gave up on the night before and have it done in minutes in the morning.
Andy
My earlier posts in thread were just for Humor. Things are different now.
I'm getting to the point, where I can't do more than one reel a day.
Usually a Big Senator for Sharkin'.
Once I get a reel just how I want it. I stop for the day. Mission Accomplished. Time for a beer. ;D
That is usually several hours.
If it is getting the full Monte. Two days minimum. Usually three for fitting double dogs, shimming, sanding, polishing, greasing, oiling, making sure everything is perfect.
After doing that 16/0 for Mike that caught a 14' Tiger Shark last week.
I took all afternoon on that reel with no mods other than cleaning and fitting, and it stood the test.
It wasn't mine and it was bone stock except for the drag upgrade.
I only had one full day off that week to make sure it was right.
I knew there was a chance, the Cosmo's would line up and a Giant Beast would be on the end of it.
It happened, and the fruits of my labor came to fruition.
I don't want to toot my own horn, but I am very proud of that. That fish had to weigh in close to 600 lbs.
Slow and steady wins the race. ;)
Daron I'm with you on that. I don't do it professionally but when I do reels or rods for fishing buddies, it gets extra attention. No way I want my build to fail on a fish in any way for someone else. Has to be perfect.
Yeah, you guys are right --
For me, the true question is:
Since hopefully, the owner of this reel will hook the reel of their lifetime -- what is it going to take to make that reel capable of handling that task?
Plus, would I fish this reel for the fish of a lifetime?
The answer to the questions are easy -- and most of us just do whatever it takes to make that happen.
Best,
Fred
It takes me around 1 hour for most spinning reels. It's the same for most conventional reels too. This is for common reels only. Some spinning reels like the Stella take a lot longer.
The Shimano spinners are easy and quick. 30 minutes on many of them. It's because of the way they are built.
An untouched Penn Senator will surely take an hour getting everything greased correctly. The bigger they get add a little more time.
Small lever drag reels again one hour. The offshore trolling reels 2 to 3 hours. The Shimano Tiagra is much easier to service than the Penn International. I can do the Tiagra in just over one hour sometimes two hours depending on condition.
All reels depend upon condition in how long it takes as you all know.
This is how I base my pricing.
Quote from: handi2 on September 02, 2017, 05:19:32 PM
It takes me around 1 hour for most spinning reels. It's the same for most conventional reels too. This is for common reels only. Some spinning reels like the Stella take a lot longer.
The Shimano spinners are easy and quick. 30 minutes on many of them. It's because of the way they are built.
An untouched Penn Senator will surely take an hour getting everything greased correctly. The bigger they get add a little more time.
Small lever drag reels again one hour. The offshore trolling reels 2 to 3 hours. The Shimano Tiagra is much easier to service than the Penn International. I can do the Tiagra in just over one hour sometimes two hours depending on condition.
All reels depend upon condition in how long it takes as you all know.
This is how I base my pricing.
your sand bagging,,,,,,how much do you bench :D
I used top bench 300lbs. Now maybe 200..!!
Quote from: handi2 on September 03, 2017, 09:04:24 PM
I used top bench 300lbs. Now maybe 200..!!
:D that's a lot better than I can do,,,,,keep up the good work