925: But I Don't Need Another Light Spinning Reel :)

[Paul Roberts]

Here we go again... I still don't need another light spinning reel... until an SB 925 popped up for a good price. So, I'm inviting fellow intrepid troopers, once again, to follow me down the dim and tangled path few care to tread. I won't be describing this classic reel as others, notably festus, mo65, foakes, and Midway Tommy have covered things well enough. Instead I'll highlight the issues this particular reel posed; What I had to do to bring her back from... someone's discard box in a basement somewhere.

This little 925 was obviously well used. In its present state it was stiff, the "no fail bail" was failing, and the externals were just a bit dinged and scratched (they always look better in photos).

I started with the usual internal spiffy'ing up. No parts were needed; No surprise owing to the way-overkill internals (esp for a UL/L). Oh yes, this reel has two reverse threads to be aware of: The screw that affixes the curved oscillation shaft into the main gear, and the rotor nut.

The bail needed TLC —a fair amount of it. It was bent. It appeared that a previous owner had wrestled with it. Apparently they'd lost. It needed to be trued to the rotor again; That is, lined back up in perfect orientation before screwing it back in place. Then the bail trip mech —a copper ramp located under the rotor— needed tweaking to be brought to just the right height. Too high and the trip action was too stiff, too low and the trip action failed. Further, the spring loaded pin that pins the bail open was banged up and sticky. Grinding and polishing that pin was the final adjustment to re-attain that "no fail bail".

I cleaned out the ball-bearing and found (on my fancy homemade bearing spinner -pencil with electrical tape) that it was worn and raspy. I repacked it with SuperLube grease and, at first, the bearing produced a bit too much raspy rotor hiss when the reel was cranked. A good replacement bearing would cost as much as I paid for the reel. Actually worthwhile in my book considering that these quality worm-drive reels should be close to silent, esp these SB's. But, using a trick Tommy shared with me a while back, quieted her down considerably. That trick is to spend some time spinning that handle forward and then spinning it back, repeatedly; Something my wife calls "playing"! What does she know. I think what this clever maneuver does is mesh the gears and distribute the lube. Whatever is going on in there, it works. And, admittedly, it is fun! I wonder how Tommy figured that one out?

Oh yes, final inspection (done when my wife is not watching) revealed a clicking handle knob: 'Click-click-click-click...' as I reeled. A 1/4" O-ring took up that slack nicely. For less of a gap a hand-cut plastic (or what have you) washer can do the trick.

This SB 925 is now in the stable, with... more quality light spinning reels than I need. But they sure are satisfying, to work on, fish with, and just look at. Of course one can't just look! We've gotta... inspect 'em, to make sure they are ready to go, and at peak performance.

Photo of the bail trip mech below gives a possible optical illusion. The copper trip ramp is actually convex not concave. I can see it either way, if I stare at it long enough.

[Midway Tommy]

Nice save, Paul! Those are cute little reels. Glad that reverse trick worked for you. I think the spin one direction spreads & forces lube into crevices but leaves some gaps on the other side of them so the reeling in reverse forces a little lube into the back sides. I've had quite a few times where it helped smooth out a slightly noisy bearing. It isn't a cure for all of them, though. 

[happyhooker]

Two thumbs up for tackling the job, then improvising as needed to bring the work to a successful conclusion.  A worthy reel to be saved.

Frank

[swede 53]

It really cleaned up nice,well worth the work you put into it.I have the same problem,I can't pass one of these up when I see one cheap.I have 10 of the 900 series reels and I always have one on the boat with me.

[DougK]

good work..

I have a new-in-box 930 sitting on the shelf in front of my fly-tying desk.. handsome reels, well made, need to take it fishing..

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks, all. Yes, worth the effort.

Tom, sounds more than plausible. It works! The before and after difference is enough to have saved me $ for a replacement bearing.

Doug, Nice!