what's coming off the bench......

Started by alantani, May 21, 2018, 07:41:53 PM

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alantani

#615
definitely old school.  been working on a bunch of internationals this last week.  this is an old international II 50SW.  it cleaned up beautifully.  



there are only a couple of things that are not bone stock.  the carbon fiber drags were greased, the spool bearings were cleaned out and lubed with TSI 321, the non-spool bearings were packed with yamaha marine grease and the bellevilles were changed from a "()()" configuration to "(())".  that means the drag will ramp up (and down) faster.  then i added a stainless steel clamp from the penn V/VI series and my signature handle grip.  





the reel was loaded with 1000 yards of 130 pound jerry brown hollow core braid.  from the bottom up, there were 100 yard sections of decade, yellow, green, white, blue, white, blue, white, blue and then finally white.  i fortunately did not have to mess with the cam on this one.  the drag profile is really nice, with 40 at strike, 60 at full, and a nice even progression.  this will be used on a kite rod for southern california bluefiin.  



mike, your reel is ready!!!!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Darin Crofton

God, Family and Fishing, what else is there?

alantani

had a chance to go through four brand new shimano tld 20 single speed reels and was reminded how much i really appreciate these reels.  like all things, there is good and bad. 

well, the bad first - the design of these reels is ancient.  you could almost argue that they would be better off in a museum than out on the water.  these graphite frames will crack under too much pressure, the anodized and painted parts corrode, drag range is necessarily low straight out of the box, the handle grip is so small that it borders on criminal, and the stupidest thing is that they still have a canvas drag washer in this reel when the rest of the world uses greased carbon fiber!!! ugghhhh!!!!

the good things - the frame and right side plate are graphite so they won't corrode.  fade?  yes, but not corrode and you can fix the fading with a greasy toothbrush.  the important parts like the reel seat and gears are stainless steel.  the power to weight ratio is fine for straight 30, 40 or 50 pound mono.  not everyone in the world can fish with braid or even wants to.  the price point is great, even with upgrades.  and they are among the easiest reels in the world to work on.  how many times have people asked me about "the best reel," and how many times has my answer been that the best reel is the one that you can service yourself? 

in more modern "4/0" sized reels like the makaira 20 and international vsx/visx 20, we would be looking at 500 yards of 80-100 pound braid, 25 yards of 80 pound fluoro, 25 pounds of drag at strike and 40 pounds of drag at full.  these reels will likely be used for northern california albacore trolling, so schoolie fish that might average 15-25 pounds.  these reels were loaded with 270 yards of straight 50 pound mono. 







because of the graphite frame, we are limited to 20 pounds of drag at full.  with straight 50 pound mono, that means 15 pounds of drag at strike.  keeping the bellevilles in their original configuration of "(())" and just shimming the drag pressure plate, we get just that!







essential upgrades for this reel are a greased carbon fiber drag washer (Carbontex from smoothdrag.com) and a signature handle.  depending on how heavy you want to fish this reel, you are looking at straight 30, 40 or 50 pound mono.  keep the drag pressure under 20 pounds and you will have zero risk of catastrophic frame failure.  do an initial service and you will have a reel that should serve you for years with minimal maintenance.  even if you do have problems down the line, you should be looking at bearings only, and those are easy to replace.  just fish them within specs and you should have years of reliable service. 

john, your reels are ready!!!!



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

Rancanfish

Nice work.  Wasn't the 20 two speed one of your favorites at one time?
I woke today and suddenly nothing happened.

alantani

i've always liked the 20 two speed and still have six for albacore trolling.  it's just that we don't have anymore albacore!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

thorhammer

Sweet work, boss! i didn't know those 50's could hit those drag numbers, though I've always felt they were way overbuilt for the drag systems available in them at the time- the little 12T's I have pull around six at strike per claim, I believe, and i know they were made for line class IGFA fishing, but those reels would be fishing 65 braid with modern drag engineering.


I have a gen 1 50 I use for a planer reel- I need to measure it up. Set with 130 braid and a short topper of 100 mono.

Ron Jones

Alan,
Don't you have aluminium frames for these? If so, what does that do to the drag range? Also, does the two speed with frame make financial sense compared to a mid range Okuma or Penn?

Thanks
The Man
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

alantani

#622
i do, somewhere.....  yeah, dunno where....  gotta be here somewhere......   ;D

even so, the next weak link is the single lone anti-reverse dog that is screwed into the soft graphite right side plate. i've heard that the dog has ripped out under too much load. you've just gotta keep these under 20 pounds of drag.  anything more and you really do need a reel with a full aluminum chassis.  just can't dance around this one.  
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Ron Jones

There in a 5 gallon bucket, second shelf from the bottom next to the garage door on the side with the winding station. I'd be Gobsmacked if someone has moved then since then:)
The Man
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

alantani

Ha!!!!!! you mean these???
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

alantani

i was wondering where they were!!!!   ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Hardy Boy

There is a ton of faded, braided loaded TLD 20's around here catching boat loads of halibut. They do well with a little maintenance, tho only real issue is the pinion bearing rusting. Most folks don't know much about drags so I bet most guys using them for butts aren't fishing much more than 10 lbs which is why they last so long. Funny you hardly ever see the TLD 2 speeds here.


Cheers:

Todd
Todd

Ron Jones

My thoughts exactly Todd. One of the small 2 speeds with Alans frame and other listed goodies would be about perfect for straight 60# braid tied to a cod jig.

I would charge Alan a finder's fee, but we all owe the Boss to much already!
The Man
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

Rancanfish

Amazing.  Ron, bring your photographic memory and go thru my inventory too!
I woke today and suddenly nothing happened.

alantani

wow....  i mean, just wow......  :o
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!