Finished up the 614 for now.
The Kingfisher handle is a direct replacement exact fit down to retention screw. I did do HT drags (Penn 60 ID enlarged to 15/32). i can also confirm the Daiwa 30H / 175H drags and washer work, but the metal washers are to thick and need ground down. I also polished and ground any metal mating surfaces just to see how much difference it may or may not make. The 614 and 615 use the same main gear and pinion which are both steel. No brass. Still plan on making a half frame when I find a chunk of aluminum at a reasonable price. At roughly 2.6:1 its maybe a tad slow on retrieve. Soooo ... I am slightly hoping a 175H or 47H main gear and pinion might work to bring that speed up. Went ahead and rebuilt the 615 as well. Same process. I have a some 625s and a slew of 621s ..... so iffin anybody needs any help......
This is awesome. I look forward to seeing what kind of drag numbers you get out of the new configuration. And what you catch with it.
I did use the under gear carbontex drag washer on the 614. Due to the way the sleeve is made, and my itty bitty grinding cleanup of main gear bottom, it provided a bit better mating surface. I aslo need ro consider I used the larger star off the 615 on the 614. I usually do not use full drag, and the added leverage of the larger star enters the possibility I gorilla lock it down. My assumption on drag is in the mid teens, but I am fairly confident I could over do it. I have fairly sized paws, so many times I use my hand or thumb as an extra brake .... Unless of course it is peeling line like a SOB. Then I ramp up drag steadily.
As ol Joostin use to say
Don't Dat Purty!
Beginning to lean toward 47H gear and pinion. From pics, and I can try and run calculations, the main gear is similar in size to the existing gear, my hope is the pinion is not too smallish. At 3.8:1 it would be just dandy speed. 175H gettin kind quick me thinks.
Found a decent deal on a gear/pinion for a 47H ..... we shall see. My calculations are within .040 from pictures .... So there is hope definitely.