XN Cortez Classic Squidder

Started by mhc, March 19, 2019, 12:42:20 PM

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mhc

The Cortez Conversions 'Classic Squidder' in 146 size is one of my favorite reels - thanks Tom! When Randy Pauly organised a couple of XN spools from Tiburon for me, my first thought was an XN Classic Squidder would be great. Tom has the side plates to fit Tiburon's frame on his to do list but I really like the profile of the classics so I decided to have a shot at making an XN classic frame. The first step was to bend a piece of 32 x 10mm 6061 aluminium to size - it's a bit tighter than the minimum bending radius recommended for bending 10mm sheet but I seem to have gotten away with bending the narrow flat bar.



10mm thick gave me room to allow for uneven bending and distortion of the bar - checking the piece is bent enough to cover the profile of Tom's frames;



Then square it up a bit on the belt sander;



Mark the inside diameter;



And start sanding with a 38mm dia sanding drum;



I checked how things were tracking as I went - still well inside the frame dia;



and still close to square;



I switched to a 50mm drum when I could fit it in the frame;



I'm not going to say this process was quick - it took hours. I kept the drums wet with RP7 to help keep the dust down - and building up on the drill table  ;D



I'll post more photos soon and maybe try to focus on one project at at time  ::) ;D

Mike

It can't be too difficult - a lot of people do it.

steelfish

The Baja Guy

Darin Crofton

God, Family and Fishing, what else is there?

Dominick

Leave the gun.  Take the cannolis.

There are two things I don't like about fishing.  Getting up early in the morning and boats.  The rest of it is fun.

Swami805

Yup I'll be watching,this looks good
Do what you can with that you have where you are

redsetta

Quotedefinitely following this  :)
Yep, me too!
Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer

mhc

#6
Thanks for the encouragement guys - it's still a fair way off being finished but it is a bit more advanced. When I made the drilling jig for the underhead surfmaster & squidder frame spacers and stands I included a template for the cortez squidder plate hole pattern at one end. Before drilling the side plate holes in the job, it was sanded to just under 1mm short of the final dia to allow for final sanding and finishing (the stops in the jig were located to allow for that);



And the jig assembled ready to drill the screw holes;



To help with shaping the outside of the frame, I made a couple of 2mm stainless templates of the Cortez frame to act as a filing / sanding guide for each end.
Marking the shape;



No project is complete without a bit of chain drilling  :D



Checking the fit on Tom's frame as I went;





And screwed to the piece ready for filing and sanding;





And getting close to the final shape.



Next is to drill a few hole for the cut-out sections.

Mike



It can't be too difficult - a lot of people do it.

Rothmar2


Tiddlerbasher


mrwilson99

David

Fishy247

QuoteQuote

definitely following this  Smiley
Yep, me too!

Me three! This is too cool....

mo65

~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


mhc

#12
Thanks again guys. There has been a bit more progress with this - the next step was to mark the hole locations for the cut-out sections;



To 'mill' the slot for the foot, I tried using a 10 mm carbide burr in my drill press with the piece mounted on one of those cheap cross slide tables available on line. I didn't take photos of the process but the results were about as good as you would expect from a cheap press and cross-slide. I had drilled the bulk of the material in the middle before trying it - the bottom of the cuts were 'OK' but the edges wandered a fair bit;



The slot cleaned up with files and the holes to mount the foot tapped for 8-32 screws;



Test fitting with one of Tom's reel feet. Tom had sent me this foot to use on my underhead 501 stand but I ended up making a stainless one for that;





Trial assembly with the spool - after a bit more filing and sanding;



Another test fit after a bit more filing and sanding;



It's getting close but there is still a bit more fi....... never mind.  :)

Looking forward to anodizing it soon - I'll probably stay with clear like the plates.

Mike




It can't be too difficult - a lot of people do it.

Rothmar2

Quote from: mhc on March 23, 2019, 10:05:33 AM

It's getting close but there is still a bit more fi....... never mind



:D :D :D

Actually I shouldn't laugh, but that is one sentiment I can relate to.

Is going to be a work of art when finished!

mhc

Quote from: Rothmar2 on March 23, 2019, 12:01:24 PM

Actually I shouldn't laugh, but that is one sentiment I can relate to.


HaHa - yeah, I'm blaming you for showing me how it can be done if you take your time. As you said the other day - at least aluminium sands easier than stainless!
It can't be too difficult - a lot of people do it.