I have a couple of 6/0 wides with the factory full aluminum frames that are next to be modified. My university fishing team is taking a shark fishing trip coming up and i want to turn one of these reels into a tank! Im thinking stainless gears, a 7+1 drag stack and a stainless sleeve. Is there anything im missing? Should i do the double dog upgrade also? ill add pictures of the reels later :)
For the drags there is also the option of a drag insert from Cortez Conversions. A penn steel gear will also work. And don't forget a ss dog or two if double dogging. Rudy
or maybe go through it first, fish it stock, and see what you might need after running it through its paces.
As you wish; I have several dozen tanked out reels I'll prolly never get to fish. That said, as Alan indicates, the aluminum frame 6/0 is a beast bone stock. You didn't say if you will be fishing from boat or land, but you can load a bunch of 100 braid and 80 lb topshot and kill a whole lot of fish with that reel as-is (assuming greased carbon fiber drag). I have an aluminum half frame 114 HLW that I had loaded with 50 lb pink Ande and put every ounce I could muster on the rig to land a 250lb shark. I was in pretty good shape then; I put so much pressure on the rig that it permanently torqued a solid glass Magnaflex rod, making me an acid wrapped set of aftco's, lol. So ask yourself what is it you really need...make sure you rod is up to what that reel is. Braid changed everything.
JMO. But if you go with SS steel gears put in steel dogs.
John
I've done one of these. ;D I used a Penn steel main gear, Bryan's 7 stack(Delrin under the main gear), stainless gear sleeve, double stainless dogs and a Adam's titanium handle blank with Alan's 5/0 grip. A lot of these parts don't need to be upgraded unless you upgrade other parts. A stainless or titanium handle blank will round out a stock gear sleeve. A stainless gear sleeve will wear down stock dogs, and so on. I have double dogged a few 114H's with brass dogs and gear sleeve, so that might be a decent starting point. You are limited on side plates with the full frame HLW. Tom is going to have to make a "new style" 114H plate for us to ever have a chance at aluminum.
Thanks for the responses. I'm going to fish them as they are at first and see how they hold up, ill keep you updated.
An old saying around here is " pictures or it didn't happen" 😎. Looking forward to pictures of the team in action. Bill
So these reels have sat as other projects have come up, however now its their turn and im thinking about a set of aluminum side plates for these reels,not sure where to find them unfortunately :/
Stay tuned to Tom's Cortez Conversions on this site. He has just tested a couple of prototypes & they should be in production in the near future. Rudy
Update: these reels have preformed flawless in their stock condition, i havent had the time or money to upgrade them yet,too many other projects :/
good to hear. yeah, replace the drag under the main gear with carbon fiber, then grease all the drag washers, grease all the non-exposed metal surfaces and see how it works. THEN decide if you need more!
The 114H is a unsung hero. Very capable reel in stock form.
That and the 12/0 are my favorite reels to skull drag some sharks!
Does anyone know the size and thread of the screw that holds the handle nut (lock nut screw) ? Not the one that goes in the sleeve but the one that holds that one in?
the handle nut retaining screw should be a 5-40.
Thanks Alan! im thinking of making my own handle, just unsure of the part that goes on the sleeve. I measured a handle that I already had and the slot measured Approx. .400x.450 going to measure the sleeve when i get home. im thinking i might be able to mill that on my benchtop vertical mill, unless someone has a suggestion?
So I did a quick trial run.... And yes I turned the knob too far and overshot the length
1) I have an old manual machine without DRO or any fancy stuff
2) I quickly learned this thin aluminum behaves way different than plate steel
I think I got it close enough that with some more practice I can give it a shot this weekend with the proper set up and using stainless steel. I was using a roughing endmill tonight, might switch to a finishing end mill? I'm still a beginner.
My hasty setup