Columbian No. 62 Service Pictorial (Plus mods to make it work)

FlipFlopRepairShoppe · April 23, 2019, 08:39:24 PM

I picked this reel up cheap, and I would never buy one if it wasn't dirt cheap. They have some major design flaws that should have been addressed at the factory, and if you aren't in love with rebuilding stuff, then this reel isn't for you. If I hadn't been warned by a reel expert on what to expect when I popped this open, it would have been ruined and all over the floor. Those ball bearing are smaller than BBs, so good luck chasing them down. Also, it has a cast pot metal spool cam (probably not using the right term, the piece that makes the spindle go up and down).

The pinion gear is bronze, and the drive gear is steel, so must keep well lubricated or else you're in for some nasty corrosion issues. The spindle was slightly pitted on mine, even though the reel did not appear to be heavily used. Also, there is a a NON-CAPPED BEARING in this thing. Meaning, that when you open it up the outer race, inner race, the cap washers, and ALL of the ball bearing are gonna come pouring out. Have fun. I did.

Alright, now to get down to the pics, because pictures are worth 1000 words. I'll be doing this in multiple posts because of how many pics it took to show the tear down and rebuild.

FlipFlopRepairShoppe · April 23, 2019, 08:48:07 PM

Here's a detailed view of the bearing assembly and how it looks apart.

Dominick · April 23, 2019, 08:50:24 PM

Good information. Thanks. Dominick

FlipFlopRepairShoppe · April 23, 2019, 08:51:23 PM

Not nearly done, Dominick. Got lots more info to post.

FlipFlopRepairShoppe · April 23, 2019, 08:57:06 PM

Pic of bearing disassembled and cleaned. Then packed with marine grease and put back together. I'm sure that this is the exact worst way to do this, but without all of that grease to act as an assembly paste, I personally couldn't have put it back together. It was hard enough, that way. These reels are not for the faint of heart. My heart was racing when I was trying to get it all back together without losing ball bearings. I'm talking TINY.

FlipFlopRepairShoppe · April 23, 2019, 09:03:35 PM

So once I loaded the bearing back up I used the pinion as an alignment tool. Once aligned, I slipped the pinion back in from the bottom. No matter what I tried I couldn't get that steel gear out, so I had to just work around it. I wasn't going to force it and break something, so if I ever need it off I'll soak it in penetrating oil for a few days and have another go.

Be aware that the rotor on this reel screws onto the pinion and then uses a nut afterwards, like a stop nut.

FlipFlopRepairShoppe · April 23, 2019, 09:10:10 PM

There is a bronze spindle support at the bottom that goes through the housing and has a cap nut that I guess also acts as a lubricating port. The bronze support is braced by the housing and has to be installed with the flat side toward the housing support.

Also, the screw that connects the pot metal cam to the gear is REVERSE THREAD. Ask me how much fun that was, finding that out.

Here she is at what I thought was the end. Joy of joys, it was almost time to have to do some redneck engineering to make her run. Lovely design, boys, missed a couple of things that make this forever and always a bargain basement reel.

FlipFlopRepairShoppe · April 23, 2019, 09:38:27 PM

So after putting the reel back together and spinning her she was making this CLUNK CLUNK noise when I turned the handle. She did it when I first got her, but she didn't turn very fast because of the old grease, so it wasn't as noticeable. Well now that she was all slick with marine grease she was running nice and fast, and sounded like she was going to come apart on me after a fishing season. So I tore her back open and noticed that the pinion gear wasn't sitting against the housing, but was rather following the spindle as it went up and down. I looked all through the reel seeing if I'd missed putting something back together correctly, top and bottom. Nope.

So I found a nylon piece that would fit under the rotor cup and bring the pinion gear up against the housing. There's a brass or bronze bushing there, but it hadn't been making contact with the pinion and housing simultaneously. *shrugs*

Once the nylon shim was installed she ran smoothly and quietly. Oh, until you turn the anti reverse on. That clicker is LOUD. So, things should be good at this point.......Nope.

Stay tuned for the next mod that it took to make her run right.

FlipFlopRepairShoppe · April 23, 2019, 09:47:14 PM

Now the pinion was sitting in the place it always should have been sitting.

Unfortunately, now that the spacer was installed, the bail trip was out of reach of the bail mechanism........

So, I did the only logical thing that I could think of, and I converted it over to a manual bail pickup. The bail wire pulls right out of the bail nut, so all of this is reversible. I installed a lock washer where the bail spring lived before, and it screws up tightly. You can see the giant screwdriver I used to make certain it wouldn't move.

Project over. Cheaply designed reel rendered operable only by creative engineering. I have no idea what they were thinking. It also explains why this reel looked almost unfished. Corroded, but unfished.

FlipFlopRepairShoppe · April 23, 2019, 09:55:58 PM

I know that I sound kind of like a hack in this thread, but I honestly couldn't get her to run smoothly without shimming her, and there was no way to get the bail to trip with the shim in place. The shank on the pinion is too long to get her to button up correctly without modifying her. A better reel mechanic than I am will probably have a solution that I don't.