I found these in a bag of parts I ordered from ABU in 2003 for a 1980's era red 7000.
The invoice labels them as a # 975156 Drag Mod. Kit. They have the woven pattern but seem much thinner than the Carbontex washers I am used to on my Penns, perhaps that's ABU's design? The ones with the large inner hole do not look woven at all, look like some kind of graphite.
thanks,
Rob
Fishermen (perhaps erroneously) refer to carbon fiber as graphite. Graphite tends to form thin sheets that easily slip past each other. Hence it's value as a lubricant, The two have different molecular structures. Graphite fiber is a particular type of carbon fiber.
The color of drag washers comes from the type of resin used to impregnate the black carbon fiber. I think Carbontex is a brand name for a particular laminated carbon fiber matrix. But, not all laminated carbon fiber is Carbontex.
I'd try the green ABU washers. They do not look as "grainy" as Carbontex and could be smoother. -steve
Steve, so then these are "carbon fiber" washers, not necessarily Carbontex.
When you say "green ABU" do you mean the ones I pictured? They're actually gray, bad lighting.
Yeah, the ones in you photos. Carbon fiber came into it's own in the 1980's. I've never seen anything like those but suspect carbon fiber. It could be laminated fiberglass though or even Kevlar. Interesting, but who knows?
-steve
Carbontex is sourced from the US company Avcarb (IIRC) amongst others - see attached pdf. When I tried to buy some from them thay referred me to Dawn (Smooothdrag) as a retail outlet.
Kevlar as a brake/friction material was first produced much later than cf (as far as I know) so I don't think your washers from the 80s would be Kevlar.
I have used kevlar as a drag material - it feels and looks like cardboard, and is not woven. It appears to be made of compressed fibres. I was given some samples by this company:
https://www.frictiontechnology.co.uk/industries.html
I have used it in some of my reels and spooling machine. It cuts/punches easily and doesn't produce nasty itchy dust. I came to the conclusion that for plain drag discs it would work well.
But for eared drag washers I wasn't convinced its lateral strength would hold up (but I didn't try it) :-\. It does however have a better coefficient of friction and good heat toerance. The disc drag system in my line spooler is made of kevlar and it's still good 5 years down the line :)
If I had more resouces I would certainly experiment more.
Those are not Carbontex washers, and I'm not sure what they are. Its really hard to tell. I know that reel manufacturers were experimenting with fiberglass, carbon fiber and kevlar fibers brake materials. New Abus use a carbon fiber that looks similar to Carbontex, but back then, I'm not sure.
Common 'gasket' material was always a cheap popular choice for drag wahers - I used some myself (back in the seventies, yeah I know ancient history ::)).
I've seen those washers in 70s-80s Ambassaduers. They're a resin impregnated fiberglass phenolic board material. They're actually not a bad performing drag washer. I like to use them for under gear washers, they resist damage from the gear sleeve ratchet very well. 8)
Quote from: mo65 on May 15, 2019, 05:06:16 PM
I like to use them for under gear washers, they resist damage from the gear sleeve ratchet very well. 8)
Would that be the 6950 you use under gear and the rest Carbontex?
(https://alantani.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=22618.0;attach=39113;image)