500/501 jigmaster

Started by alantani, December 07, 2008, 04:39:45 PM

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alantani

here's a link to the schematic....

http://www.mysticparts.com/Assets/images/pennparts/schematics/500.pdf

and here is your old friend. 



did you ever wonder that this little screw was for?  back out this take apart thumb screw (key #42), lift the screw up slightly, and twist the entire right side plate counterclockwise.  it comes right off!



you now have three pieces.



let's grease the left side plate screws (key #32 and 39).  back out each one, one at a time, grease the screw hole and zip the screw back in. 



apply grease to the click tongue (key #35) and click spring (key #62).  add corrosion x to the left side bushing (key #40).



back out each one of the right side plate screws (key #31 and 38), one at a time, grease the screw holes, and zip the screws back in. 



grease the inside of the left side ring and wipe off the excess.



re-install the spool and set the assembly aside.



now for the right side plate assembly.



remove the handle lock screw (key #23a), the handle screw (key #23), the handle (key #24) and the star drag wheel (key #10).



back out the four bridge screws (key #16 and 17) but leave them in place!!!!!!



the bridge assembly is now loose underneath.  imagine your hand is a small crane.  lift the right side plate (key #1) straight up, move it straight over to a safe place, and set it straight down without tipping it over.  resist the temtation to look underneath.  for now....



carefully line up all the components of the drag stack and bridge assembly. 



ok, now it's decision time.  on the right, you see a brand new stock brass gear sleeve ($6).  on the left is a brand new pete kolekar stainless steel gear sleeve ($15).  in the middle is the original stock brass gear sleeve and it's trashed!  i only recommend a stainless steel gear sleeve if you INTEND to exceed 8 pounds of drag.



here's how the trashed gear sleeve fits in the handle.  you can see how much play it has.



here's the new brass gear sleeve.  not to bad, but there's still a little play.



here's the stainless steel gear sleeve.



using a small punch, remove the brass retaining pin.



pull the old gear sleeve, clean up the the bridge and lube it up with corrosion x.



install the new gear sleeve and retaining pin.



done.



i like to replace the fiber washer (key #4) with the drag washer from the black side plate penn 4/0 senator 113.  this drag washer (part #6-113) has the same inner and outer dimensions as the long beach washer (part #6-60), but it's thicker.  i use this washer under the gears of many reels using the jigmaster gear sleeve (part #98-60). 



grease up the rest of the drag washers and install them with the metal washers.  make sure the metal washers are alternating "slotted - keyed - slotted."



because the #6-113 drag washer under the gear is thicker than the stock fiber washer (key #4), i usually discard the tension spring (key #8). 



now, your side plate is still sitting there, quiet and undisturbed. 



cover the bridge screws with your left index and middle fingers so the screws do not fall out.



ok, NOW you can look at the guts of the side plate.



remove the pinion gear (key #13), lube the right side bushing (key #26) with corrosion x, and put the pinion gear back.



the bridge/main gear assembly goes straight in.  no muss, no fuss.  pinch everything together, zip down the four bridge screws and you're done!!!!!!!!!!!



did you say something?

huh?  what was that?  what accident?  what do you mean, you had a little accident?  how many pieces?



ok, look, it's not that bad.  first, let's line everything up.  see, that looks better already!



first is the eccentric (key #19) and eccentric spring (key #20).



grease it up a little and stick it back in the hole.



stick the eccentric lever (key #21) back on....



and bolt it down with the eccentric screw (key #22).



stick a screwdriver blade under the spring to lift it up a little, then grab it with the needle nose pliers. 



crank the tip of the spring HARD and stick it into the slot of the side plate.  the lever should now snap back and forth sharply.



now for the bridge screws (key #16 and 17).  note that two are threaded all the way up and down, and two are threaded only at the end.  the clutch springs (key #18) ride up and down on the bridge screws with the short threads.



short threads on top, long threads on bottom.



two fingers over the bridge screws, flip over the side plate and install the clutch springs (key #18).  oh, and lube the right side plat bushing (key #26) if you haven't already.



install the pinion yoke (key #12) and the pinion gear (key #13) as a unit.



shimmy the eccentric jack into position.  you may need needle nose pliers to snap it into position.



make sure the dog (key #15) and dog spring (key #14) are in proper position. 



snap it together.



bolt it down.  take a moment now to make sure the free spool lever and anti-reverse mechanism work. 



install the spacing sleeve (key #9).



install the star drag wheel (key #10) and screw it down as far as it will go.  don't skip this step. 



install the handle (key #24) and handle screw (key #23).  turn the handle screw down until it seats, the crank it around HARD until the handle screw has rotated one or two slots and line up the slot with hole for the handle lock screw.  now install the handle lock screw (key #23a).



line up the side plate with the left side plate ring, push the side plate down, then turn it clockwise until the take apart thumb screw "clicks."  turn the screw down and you're done!  congratulations.!




"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

alantani

Quote from: Ghostboy
With all of the elite reels being offered on today market, is there a better deal that compares to the Penn 500 a $60 dollar outfit?   This reel has been a proven fish killer since the early 70's - Ghostboy!




there is a pretty large gap between the spool and the inner side plate rings.  anything less than 0.022 inches can get stuck or even sliced off.  that means 25 pound test berkeley big game can still get caught.  i generally recommend 30# mono.  that works out fine because the reel will hold 350 yards of 30# mono.  what it also means is that the reel is probabably not suitable for spectra.

any other reel with a spool this big might be loaded with up to 400 yards of 65 pound spectra and a 40 or 50 pound topshot.  a 30% drag setting would mean a 12 to 15 pound drag setting.  the 3-stack of jigmaster drag washers actually can deliver 15 pounds of drag, but that's pretty much the limit for any stack of three drag washers.  the brass drive shaft (gear sleeve) is also a big issue.  if the drags are set to more then 8 pounds, or if they are sticky at all, the handle will round off the top of the soft brass and start to loosen. i have a stainless steel drive shaft for this reel and it's a great upgrade if you're going to lean hard on this reel, but it cost $20. 

one GREAT advantage of the jigmaster 500 is that there are no bearings to rust out.  the reel that i recommend most for the kayak guys is a narrow spool penn 501 with a stainless steel drive shaft, greased carbon fiber drag washers, a penn jigmaster power handle and 200 yards of straight 30# mono.  personally, i think this is the best kayak reel around.  alan
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

alantani

#2
Quote from: socaljason;1376464Hi Guys,  Been watching these boards for years. Lots of good info in here.  Here's the deal; My old man has a penn 501 and 506HS sitting in his garage. I'm thinking about fixing them up with an accurate frame, handle upgrade, and new drags. I know there are better ways to spend my money but I'd like to give these old dogs another shot at glory.  I know the main differences; The 506HS has bearings, finer thread on the star drag, etc. but I havent opened the hood fully yet.  My question is -- are the drags the same on both reels? Or does one model have the potential for more drag than the other?  My old man doesnt think the drags are suitable for anything more than 20lb line. I'm hoping to put 25lb-30lb line on one if the drags can handle it.  I appreciate the input.  Cheers,

so here's what i would do with a stock 505HS. the narrow frame actually works pretty well. being narrow it is less prone to being torqued. let's fish it as is and then maybe decide later if you want to upgrade the frame or not. i think you will be pleasantly surprised.

casting distance is greatly improved if you can crack open the bearings and clean out the drag washers. i would leave them open so that they don't retain water. lube them with anything you want. if you haven't tried the xtreme reel +, check it out. pretty impressive stuff.

anything more then 7-8 pounds of drag can damage the top of the brass gear sleeve. for what you do, a stainless steel gear sleeve will be very helpful. i've got a bunch, and so does mysticparts.com.

the stock ht-100 #6-309 drag washers for the penns are fine. i also have a ground down #6-113 that i put underneath the main gear. i'm going to have to start adding that to all the gear sleeve that i send out. i know that smoothdrag.com has a carbontex drag set for the jigmaster, but i do not know what the dimensions are for the drag washer under the main gear. naturally, add cal's grease to either one.

the stock 5:1 penn 505 main gear is made of brass. the teeth are pretty fine and this gear will shred under high drag settings or sticky drag. newell has a 5:1 main gear make of stainless steel. stick with your stock penn gears for now and switch them out if you have problems later. if you are ok with a 4:1 gear ratio, you can use the main and pinion gear set for the jigmaster 500. fyi, you actually can fit the 505 high speed gears in a 500 but you have to do some drilling and grinding.

lastly, the handle. penn makes a jigmaster power handle that works fine. i also have a stainless steel arm that fits nicely. i also have several handle grips. the 4/0 kolekar may seem large, but you'll be glad you have it if you hook up on something big!


send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

alantani

Quote

Hi Alan, I need your opinion on why my newly acquired old Penn Jigmaster 500 won't go into freespool.  This reel was completely taken apart, cleaned and put back together following your directions and photos.  It seems to have a stainless steel bridge, eccentric jack and main gear.  The pinion moves as it should when the eccentric lever is switched on and off.  The pinion is essentially flush with the bridge when the lever is in "off".  I've attached the photos to show this.  There is NO the telltale click of the spool engaging when the lever is switched from off to on.  The only way I can get this reel to go into freespool is if I loosen the left side bearing almost all the way but then the spool is wobbly and the line will catch between the spool and frame.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks, Peter







i see the problem.  the eccentric jack is not properly "grabbing" the eccentric.  the "tab" that reaches around and grabs the post of the eccentric is bent "up."  what's happening is that the eccentric jack is not traveling far enough.  does this make sense?

Quote

Its all fixed with your help Alan.  Thanks.  It was the eccentric jack. the hook arm was slightly bent out.  the final result had the pinion retracted a few mm inside of the bridge when the lever is at off. 

Thanks again
Peter


send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

alantani

Quote

HI Alan, I live and fish in Ireland,mostly deep sea and have been a lifetime user of Penn reels (made in USA models only!) I have recently found your website having read many of your very informative articles on reel repair and was wondering if you could possibly help me. I wish to upgrade a Penn 112h from 4:1 to 5:1 gear ratio using Newell gears. I have tried everywhere,Charkbait, Internet, Newells etc without success and was hoping that you may be able to point me in the right direction where I may obtain a Newell Mod Kit for this reel.  Now that winter has set in here and the boat fishing has ended I am about to service quite a lot of my own and my friends reels and was looking forward to a little project on my 112h.  Kind regards, Tom


greetings, tom!  the newell 5:1 gear sets are still available.  newell is very difficult to deal with.  if you wish, i could try to get a gear set and ship it to you.  i might even be able to find a set locally.  please be aware that they are quite expensive. 

you also have another option, but it is not as reliable.  penn still has a 5:1 gear set available for the discontinued jigmaster 505/506 high speed.  you have to drill out the pinion gear to accomodate the larger 500 spool shaft, you also have to file the inside of the pinion gear where it engages the "shoulders" of the spool shaft.  once the pinion gear is modified, you're all set.  the main gear drops right in!  understand that the softer brass teeth of the penn main gear will shred if you place them under too great a load.  the softer penn main gear is quieter, but the teeth are not as strong.  the newell 5:1 gear set is stronger, but much nosier and more expensive.  alan
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

alantani

#5
Quote

Hi Alan, Thank you very much for such a quick reply to my query re Newell 5:1 gears and for your kind offer to source a set for me. I was not aware that the Jigmaster 505/506 gears could be modified to suit the 112h and shall contact my Penn service engineer in England to see if he has these in stock. I would be capable of modifying the pinion myself as per your instructions and as the reel shall not be under too much pressure the Jigmaster gears may be OK for what I need. Once again thank you so much and I shall keep you informed as to how this project progresses and may take up your offer re the Newell gears if I cannot source the Jigmaster gears over here. I thoroughly enjoy reading your very informative,detailed and beautifully illustrated  reel repair Tutorials and found the Shimano one most helpful last week when repairing a Trinidad TN16.  Kind regards, Tom.




Quote

Hi Alan, Just spoke to my Penn rep. in England. He was surprised to learn that the 505/506hs gears could be modified to fit the 112h,and when I explained what you advised me to do he was in total agreement. He has one new set in stock which he is mailing me today. (The Luck of the Irish!) Thanks for your assistance Alan and I shall let you know how the modification works.  Kind regards, Tom.



great!  a note of caution.  any amount of damage to the teeth of the pinion gear will echo throughout the entire reel.  even the slightest nick will be noticeable.  to hold the pinion gear securely, place the pinion gear between two pieces of very soft wood, then place everything in a vise.  use a drill press to drill a hole that is just slightly larger than the spool shaft.  you should then be able to slide the pinion gear over the spool shaft.  you will find that the pinion gear does not "seat" properly over the "shoulders" at the base of the spool shaft.  your next step is to remove the collar at the base of the pinion gear, then carefully file inside notch of the pinion gear so that it is wide enough to fit over the shoulders at the base of the spool shaft.  put the collar back on and you should be all set!   do not file down the shoulders of the spool shaft.  someday you may wish to go back to a 4:1 gear ratio.  

now, you do understand that the teeth of the 5:1 penn main gear are not as strong as the teeth of the 5:1 penn main gear, right?  the high speed penn 505/506 HS reels were in part discontinued because of this problem.  alan
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

alantani

Quote



Hi Alan ,
           Many thanks for your email and advice on modifying the 5:1 pinion gear to fit the 112h. The gears arrived today (before I recieved your email) and I set about dismantling the 112h to compare the two sets of gears. I noticed that the 5:1 pinion was very "light" looking compared with the 4;1 pinion. However it fitted the spool shaft ok as the bore was identical to the 112h pinion. The main differences being,A- a 1/8" deep counterbore was required in the new pinion gear to clear the left hand side plate bearing. This was achieved by counterboring a clearance hole in the pinion gear x 1/8"deep and checking that it was OK on the left hand sideplate with the bearing fitted. B- The only other problem I encountered was that the chrome plated brass collar at base of the pinion gear would not pass over the "shouldered" large diameter spindle where it protruded from the reel spool. I removed the collar and using a fine half round needle file made two diametrically opposite clearance "steps" on the bore of the collar to clear the spool shaft. I refitted the collar to the pinion gear and everything looks ok, at the moment!
You are quite right regarding the Penn 5:1 gears. I don't think they shall take too much abuse so I still have the old gears standing by in case it all goes wrong. It is an interesting little project which has occupied my mind for sometime now and I look forward to trying the reel out when I get a chance.

Like yourself Alan I enjoy working at reels particularly the Penns which are great work horses and having spares readily available is a real bonus. How much longer this situation shall prevail is anyones guess now that so many Penn reels are made in China.

I found your extensive workshop tool display most interesting and was wondering if you have come across a split end screwdriver which is invaluable for holding those small Penn handle "Lock Screws" part No 23a which secures the "Handle Screw" part No 23.
They are made in the USA ie "Quick-Wedge" original series part No 1253 item No 63002.

Well Alan, very many thanks for taking the time and offering me lots of valuable help and advice on solving my reel problems you are indeed a gentleman.

Kind regards,
                 Tom.



send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

callelk

#7


Allan,

Are the Newell gear sets still available?  I am looking for two (2) sets to finish my Jigmaster "System Pack".


Steve-O

The gears are available at Charkbait. $25.00

here's the link. about most of the way down.

http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csrn.htm

good luck,

Steve-O

callelk

#9
Quote from: Steve-O on December 04, 2010, 04:13:08 PM
The gears are available at Charkbait. $25.00

here's the link. about most of the way down.

http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csrn.htm

good luck,

Steve-O

This was the last response that I received from Charkbait back in May.

"Hi Larry

The Newell 5 to 1 gears are not available and have not been for months.  Would you like to switch to something else or cancel the order?  Please let me know and I will take care of it for you.  Thank you"

Don't think that this has changed but I did send them an email. :(

alantani

the 5:1 gear set for the penn 505 jigmaster is still available.  you have to drill out the pinion gear to fit the larger spool shaft of the plain 500 jigmaster.  the main gear works fine.  which reminds me, i need to order a few sets.  alan
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

callelk

Quote from: alantani on December 04, 2010, 08:27:15 PM
the 5:1 gear set for the penn 505 jigmaster is still available.  you have to drill out the pinion gear to fit the larger spool shaft of the plain 500 jigmaster.  the main gear works fine.  which reminds me, i need to order a few sets.  alan

Hi Alan,

Are they brass gear sets?

Reminds me, I need a couple of 2/0 handles if you think of it.

Irish Jigger

]

Hi Alan,

Are they brass gear sets?

Reminds me, I need a couple of 2/0 handles if you think of it.
[/quote]

S/steel Pinion,brass Main.

Gman_WC

Talk about an easy rebuild! Alan, my 13yo son got a kick out of your comments in your rebuild.
"did you say something? huh?  what was that?  what accident?  what do you mean, you had a little accident?  how many pieces?"
I thought I'd just go ahead and fully clean a newly aquired 501 after seeing the low number of parts and the simple process.
I've never pulled a reel apart on my own and rebuild it.
I'm glad I did after seeing worn drags and the insides soaked with what I'm guessing was WD40, fish scales, and a graphite lube.
It came out great. The guts got cleaned with carb cleaner and the side plates sprayed out with simple green.
With some reading here and a little care package from Dawn, I have four more to rebuild in the near future and
I'm just kicking myself for paying someone to work on my star drag reels for years. After opening a few of them up and seeing what was done to them, I think I wasted my money.
Thanks for all the great reading and reviews. -gary

Walnut Creek, CA

alantani

don't feel bad about paying someone else.  we've got to keep the economy going!  so jigmasters are now being made in china.  they are making many of the parts out of stainless steel.  it is probably not the highest quality stainless, but it's way better then chrome over brass!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!