Reel Repair by Alan Tani

 What glue are you using for glueing carbon fiber to aluminum plate in lever drag reels .

i've used West Marine GFlex 2 part epoxy to glue an Avet drag washer back to the spool.   No issues.

  Thanks for the reply!   Funny thing is I just tried J B weld 2 hours ago , I will know in 22 hours if it works .

please report back with your findings

the best stuff is loctite depend 330.  it's expensive and difficult to use.  the last time, i used a simple 2-part epoxy. it worked, but i told the guy to get back to me if it fails. 

Quote from: alantani on Today at 03:39:03 PMthe best stuff is loctite depend 330.  it's expensive and difficult to use.  the last time, i used a simple 2-part epoxy. it worked, but i told the guy to get back to me if it fails. 

I have done this repair on exactly zero reels, but as someone who plays with adhesives, i have some questions:

Curious as to what makes Loctite 3030 the best.  It is an acrylic with a maximum operating temperature of 212F according to Loctite.  It is also a flexible bond, which doesn't seem particularly desirable where shear strength will be the greatest challenge.  Loctite positions this as a good multi-material adhesive which is  a plus.

Expoxies are going to do very well in terms of bonding stainless steel or aluminum to bare carbon fiber (drag washer surface).   Typical epoxies will have a max operating temp around 250F, which would include the West Systems G Flex, which is also a flexible adhesive.

Just going with the materials and usage requirements,  I would have looked for a high temp epoxy (some readily available products include high temp flavors of JBWeld and Permatex) that support temps over 400F, had high shear strength ratings (rigid not flex), and strong resistance to lubricants and water.  Also want something that is not too thick of a paste that  it makes it difficult to get a flush fit for a flat final surface.

i am probably overthinking it, and any adhesive that gives you a flush fit and a reasonable amount of shear strength is going to be good enough.   Although the drag surfaces are going to risk getting up over 200F, it is going to be for a matter of minutes and not continuous operating temperature.

[Edit: maybe a bit of flex is not too bad.  Drags go  back and for between lower and higher compressive loads.   Since there is probably some spring/compressabilty in the drag washer itself, the adhesive might stay  bonded a bit better in the long run if it is not too rigid.   Dunno]

-J