Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Update: did what I do best. Figured it out. And I'm actually kinda glad because ive been scared of that reel, now less so.

What happened: The oscillating pawl had been pulled off the track. Didn't fix the vertical play but maybe its always been like that? Maybe I'm only now realizing it. It moves up and down by about 1mm which seems like a lot.

sorry, I believe the correct technical term is "YUCK!!!" 
horrible design retains/magnifies all the hassles of a real worm, while losing the one big advantage: PRECISION
older worms/blocks sat/rode in a "cage" of 3 SS...  freakin' pillars, compared to 1 dinky post in new faux-worm
conversely, 1 thicker helical gear connected worm to pinion, compared a chain of 3 transfers: dinkier helical-plain-plain, all plastic

Quote from: JasonGotaPenn on December 13, 2020, 05:57:00 AM
Update: did what I do best. Figured it out. And I'm actually kinda glad because ive been scared of that reel, now less so.

What happened: The oscillating pawl had been pulled off the track. Didn't fix the vertical play but maybe its always been like that? Maybe I'm only now realizing it. It moves up and down by about 1mm which seems like a lot.

pawl is not perfectly rigid & much skinnier than groves it rides in -- easily accounts for 1+ mm

I gotta say though, i liked this a lot more before I learned it has plastic internals.

actually, good nylon is fine for me THERE -- no stress / no wear
I see no functional difference between identical/interchangeable Stradic nylon & Sustain alloy
but that's ONE bigger gear keyed to worm & helically mated to pinion & WELL-SUPPORTED/ALLIGNED!

this new stuff is steel conservation via mechanism downgrade

I apologize for misleading you concerning the gearing system. I get reels mixed up. Don't worry about the plastic gear they last last a very long time. I used to do 1,000 reels a year but have retired by only doing a few a week. I have never seen the plastic gear broken. Only on the newer Stradic K series Ive seen the plastic gears broken.

The little pawl is not supposed to be rigid. It moves on a plastic bushing so it stays in contact with the worm gear. The Stella reels use a tiny bearing for the pawl to ride on.

Quote from: handi2 on December 13, 2020, 05:07:30 PM
I apologize for misleading you concerning the gearing system. I get reels mixed up. Don't worry about the plastic gear they last last a very long time. I used to do 1,000 reels a year but have retired by only doing a few a week. I have never seen the plastic gear broken. Only on the newer Stradic K series Ive seen the plastic gears broken.

The little pawl is not supposed to be rigid. It moves on a plastic bushing so it stays in contact with the worm gear. The Stella reels use a tiny bearing for the pawl to ride on.

No harm no foul. I looked at the diagram before going in and knew it was a worm. I just did it anyway for the learning experience. Just had a bit of a scare there for about an hour and a half. Fished it today, all is well. Added a (random metal) washer between the 2 stock ones and line seems to be spooling correctly I just need to take it all off and spin it back on again.