Bantam 100

johndtuttle · February 24, 2016, 07:29:22 PM

Quote from: oc1 on February 24, 2016, 07:46:16 AM
Thank you very much for that John, Andrew and Robert. When finished here I will check out all of those. I just bought a used reel with X-Ship and did not know what that or Infinii Spool meant until now.

Robert, I'm sort of embarrassed to know that you are reading this. I have admired your machine work. A freehand hack is the best I can do.

This reminds me that I also monkeyed around with the drag stack on a Bantam. To be honest, I have yet to try the stock Bantam 100 drag with a carbontex washer. It was only prejudice that made me think the stock drag was going to be inconsistent and jerky. Small groves were cut on the inside of a main gear even though there is almost no material to work with there. A little flux-core wire feed welder was used to tack small dog ears on a generic stainless washer like you would find at the corner hardware. That was not supposed to work because of dissimilar metals and improper shielding. It was ground down enough to catch the new groves in the main gear and lapped on a belt sander. 0.5 mm carbontex washers were cut with scissors. An extra Belleville was added and the plastic spacer was shortened to make it all fit.

It's all very sketchy with the compromised main gear, dissimilar metals on the dog ears and limited contact between the two, so a stress test was done. The reel (without a levelwind) was loaded with about 40 yards of 40 pound braid (less than half spool), the reel was tied to a tree, the drag locked down and a Ford pick-up used to simulate an unstoppable fish. The line parted several inches from the knot. The reel felt and sounded the same before and after. By the way, it's a feel and sound reminiscent of Sal or Richy's old pencil sharpener. The dog ears did not slip from their groves and the main gear did not crack open. Before the stress test it would pull about ten to twelve pounds of drag, but afterward it would only pull about eight to ten pounds. Either the Bellevilles were flattened or the carbontex was smoothed. Less than four pounds of drag would be needed for the intended use so my confidence was restored. The reel was loaded with a full spool of twenty pound braid for fishing.
-steve

One thing I have learned is that the old drags were very smooth at low settings and some makers of top reels still use felt, cork or delrin with excellent performance...in specific applications.

Oiled felt is very smooth on the low end allowing small adjustments in the 1-8lb range. Shimano still feels it is the best for such reels.

Cork is...well, I have no idea why anyone uses it

. But I bet someone here knows why.

. Studio Ocean Mark of Japan still uses it in very expensive reels.

Delrin and the like, are also good for modest drags and incredibly durable. But no sense in greasing them so you lose some corrosion protection.

Greased carbon fiber is just the best of all worlds for heavier drag loads and especially in SW reels, smooth and when greased protect the drag from corrosion. But in your Bantam 100 you may lose some range at the lowest end.

best

wallacewt · February 25, 2016, 07:03:47 AM

hi oc1
my bantam is the 500+spare(orginal)

i love it, why?ss frame &handle,wide spool with big line capacity,shoulders on the spool for your thumb when you cast,dont have to touch the line.this was my go to surf reel.just remove the worm and pawl gear.piece of electrical tape on the inside kept the water out.2 thumb screws,comes apart in 3 pieces.bushes,plenty of freespool,nothing to rust.easy maintenence.most of the inside is ss+12 tooth ratchet

upgrades,handle knob,i need another,drag-delrin under gear,c/f,keyed,c/f,thick metal keyed washer
there is room for 2 more c/f washers+2 thin metal keyed
above the main gear you can see plastic spacer+thin plastic spacer.this allows for extra washers
or extra bellevilles.i prefer single belleville and max 6lb drag ,there is only1 dog.

can you see the glued in stopper next to the dog post.
this was my 1st ever baitcaster,lotsa fish,its better now ,can still improve it,buy em for $25 bucks i just dont go over 5lb drag .40 yrs old,wonder if the you beauts will last.

oc1 · February 25, 2016, 08:33:36 AM

I'll try the stock drag John. Thank you. Have lots of pieces and parts to work with.

Your reel must a beast Wallace. It just looks wider than the 100 in our photos but they are much taller too. About 2.5 times as much line capacity I read. Made 1979 to 1982. Did you have trouble with the dog jumping off the gear or is the stopper for just-in-case?

I was amazed that I actually caught something with this reel in just a few outings. The law of averages indicated to was going to take much, MUCH longer. It was a bonefish (aka o'io) with 24 inch fork length, not very thick, probably male, probably less than six pounds. The Bantam is on a light rod rated for four to ten pound line, 3/16 to 3/8 ounce lure. His first run was fifty to sixty yards and the canoe was towed another ten to fifteen yards. The drag was very smooth; as good as any reel I own. The second run was about half that distance. By the fourth little run he was worn out but swam around a coral head and fouled the line. I spend some long and anxious minutes maneuvering and finagling but could not get the line loose. The fish was not moving around much but I could feel the coral sawing away at the braid. Was about to grab the line just give it a hard tug to see what happens when the fish caught his breath, took off and freed the line himself.

I like to think that the fish and I were both winners. The fish was released unharmed except for a sore lip, he did not end up in some creature's stomach, he did not have to drag around twenty yards of broken tackle for the foreseeable future, and he learned an important life lesson about the dangers of eating bucktail. I got my photo (you know, they're like notches on a gunstock) and I get to go back to using a comfortable modern reel with high speed gear ratio, fast cast button, contoured palming tailplate, and all the rest.
-steve

cbar45 · February 25, 2016, 09:06:41 AM

Nice catch Steve, cool colors on that oio..

oc1 · February 25, 2016, 09:17:16 AM

Thanks Chad. Weird how the camera made his eye shine gold.
-steve

wallacewt · February 25, 2016, 11:10:38 AM

hi steve
you in hawaii? 1400 k,s to a bonefish for me
never seen one.little speedsters
stopper is -just-in-case
cheers

nelz · February 25, 2016, 05:36:51 PM

wallacewt: so how does that "glued in stopper" work, I'm not getting it from the pics?

Bryan Young · February 25, 2016, 07:01:24 PM

Nice Oio Steve. I love fishing and eating them. My friends have been consistently catching 5-8# Oios lately...I'm so envious. So much fun, especially on their first run until they turn around...oh snap, many times I just cannot keep up with the fish and they come unbuttoned.

I have a bit of a problem with this drag stack. You would still only have one drag surface The eared washer will spin with the main gear, thereby rendering the Carbontex under the eared washer useless as a drag surface.

Likewise, in this photo, you will also only have one drag surface, between the main gear and the keyed washer. The Carbontex between the first metal keyed washer and the second metal keyed washer will be spinning together making the Carbontex between the two keyed washer useless as a drag surface.

oc1 · February 25, 2016, 08:19:34 PM

Oh, wow..... Of course you're correct Bryan. The eared washer needs to the one on top. Thank you very much.

Forget what I said before John, I think I already tried using one washer and found it to be sufficient.

-steve

wallacewt · February 26, 2016, 01:08:17 AM

hi oci
its a thin, flat piece of ss to
substitute for a spring.l shape(ell)
its to stop the dog retracting to far
i glue it in position just enough for the dog to disengage
there is no pressure on the stopper.
i was thinking of taking the dog post out of the spare reel
and double dogging.but my other reels are so much better
andros,exo,etc;and im no rothmar
but there is a 12 tooth ss ratchet
jts my fav reel but not my best, memories

cheers

wallacewt · February 26, 2016, 01:54:32 AM

hi bryan
not quite useless bryan
still better than spacers and washers to take up the slack
and cut out the back play.
drag is very smooth and passes alan,s drop test
with flying colours

cheers

Bryan Young · February 26, 2016, 01:59:12 AM

Useless as a drag surface. I think I said that. If not, I'm sorry. That is what I meant.

wallacewt · February 27, 2016, 09:18:45 AM

hi bryan
gotcha! bit hard to find metal eared washers
i cant make em
cheers

bit hard t

Robert Janssen · February 27, 2016, 09:46:40 AM

".. A little flux-core wire feed welder was used to tack small dog ears on a generic stainless washer..."
Clever! Manual 3D printing! (at work we call it reverse milling)
Actually, i like your way of getting things done. Not perfect, but done!

.

oc1 · February 27, 2016, 10:31:59 AM

Robert, I've never been able to justify a TIG welder for myself but one of our kids is mildly interested in them now. He graduates Cal Poly this year and I tried to convince him that a TIG would be a better graduation present than that trip he's planning. He doesn't agree. However, he made his own 3-D printer for plastics and is working on a CRC router for metals so maybe there is hope for the future.
-steve