Reel Repair by Alan Tani

                  - Designed to take a 300yard spool of 832 50lb braid. -


 - more pics and build info coming -

             The Start -
The standard reel out the box

Features:
•Full Metal Body and Sideplates keep precise gear alignment under heavy loads
•Forged and machined aluminum spool
•Stainless steel main and pinion gears
•Dura-Drag™ washers virtually eliminate hesitaion, even under extreme drag settings
•5 shielded stainless steel ball bearings
•Double-dog ratchet anti-reverse system
•Line Capacity rings
Max Drag 40(lb) 23 @ Strike, 28 @ Full
Gear Ratio 7.1:1
Line Retrieve 60(in)  
Weight (oz) 24.7







This is the Original work done on the reel before the platform spool was built for it-






Basically positioned Holes have been drilled to lighten the spool for better casting.




Plenty of metal has been left on the spool so the lever drag can operate at full spec. Casting was improved, but only slightly. 3 ounces starts the spool up but the inertia is definitely noticeable.

A new spool from Pure fishing South Africa. _ Thanks a bunch

Well Made - nicely finished - tolerances are good. Bearings fit snug .


the process begins -

Good to see you back and still thinking 'outside the box', we all learn from other people's experiments and pick up ideas we can use or adapt for our own modification projects - I'm looking forward to seeing how you made your one of a kind fathom.

Mike

Thank You Mike,

  - hopefully when I am done, more anglers will be able to try it out !

     




   

Hmm. I don't understand why you did this. Can you help me with this?

Great looking reel, do you have any more pictures of the build process?
I love the window into the gear box!

akfish -

Predominantly to lighten the spool in order to lessen the start up inertia when casting,  this allows lighter lures to be thrown/cast more comfortably.

The reel is used purely for spinning  and sight casting.

Quote from: xjchad on February 19, 2018, 04:18:45 PM
Great looking reel, do you have any more pictures of the build process?
I love the window into the gear box!

Hi xjchad.

Thanks for the comp. Yes , More pics will be posted slowly. All the build steps to get the final product .

Great to see you back, just recently got asked to do a similar mod for a Abu 5600. Will be watching this with interest.

Whats the benefit of doing this to a larger reel that will have extremely compromised line capacity vs using a a Torque 12 or 15 or 25N star drag with same weight line & milled out spool ?  Only thing I can come up with is if your still needing the faster retrieve of the larger diameter spool ?  ... Jeff

Quote from: Rivverrat on February 19, 2018, 09:42:55 PM
Whats the benefit of doing this to a larger reel that will have extremely compromised line capacity vs using a a Torque 12 or 15 or 25N star drag with same weight line & milled out spool ?  Only thing I can come up with is if your still needing the faster retrieve of the larger diameter spool ?  ... Jeff

Hello Rivverat,

Yes, the line capacity is diminished but the massive Line capacity Is not essential all the time for the type of fishing I do.
If I need a lot of line then I will use a backup reel. Of-course there will always be un-for-seens that occur (big fish running away with all your line) but they are so few and far between that having some fun whilst waiting for them is more important to me.
I do still have a standard spool (although modified with some holes to be lighter for casting) with 600m of line on it.
The faster retrieve is part of the why I did it  , this reel has great specs out the box.
Making it lighter in weight and more casting friendly allows me to have it on a rod and in hand for a lot longer than the standard heavier out the box reel.
It is great fun due to the super fast retrieve @ 60 inches of line per turn but overall the specs of the reel and size of it prompted me to modify it properly.

Here is a 25N - probably the easiest and quickest starting spool in it's size class I have made so Far. This spool allows me cast 1oz successfully due to its low inertia and low weight, again great fun. but Vastly different in function to the FTH40LDNHS.
All/most reels manufactured are different in design and specification  .



This squall out the box had a severe vibration coming from the spool bearings when casting.
It was then exaggerated by making the spool even lighter by the modifications.
I took a chance and secured the bearings to the spool shaft and to the spool and this solved the vibration issue.
The inner races and outer races of the bearings seemed to have an excessive amount of movement.
Securing them with an adhesive stops them doing this.
I do plan on covering this in another topic though as it seems to be a problem that occurs with the fathoms and squalls.

If you try the adhesive method on the vibrating bearings  . Use an adhesive that can be removed with a little heat applied to it.
A small amount of silicone applied evenly works well to.
Securing the bearings in permanently is not a good idea -

Your explanation makes perfect sense. Even if it didnt what matters most is that you are happy with the end result. I dont need all the line on most the reels I use either. I think what your doing is great. I've often wanted to  do this to the spool on one of my Baja / US113...Jeff

Yay !!
Its always nice to see reels modified to make them better .. not for everyone