Sometimes, the Unexpected Rears its Head

Started by foakes, February 06, 2021, 09:59:57 PM

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foakes

Good friend wanted me to restore his best friends old salt-burned Penn Silver Series 103 spinning reel.

When it arrived from the East Coast — it required a phone call.  If I restore this for you — it will cost more than the reel is worth.  Why not just buy your friend a new reel?

"No, he grew up with this reel, it caught many fish — and I want to do this for him.  Sentimental reel.  Can't you paint it for me?" — No, it is too badly pitted, and the plastic on the sides will still be lousy and salt damaged.

OK, your the boss — I will install a new frame, sideplate, rotor, spool, crank handle, and main bearing.

I pulled the parts out of the bins — and went to work to do a complete cleaning of the smaller parts — along with starting on the exterior change-out.

First issue — bearing cup was too small.  I carefully, and slightly enlarged and made the cup deeper.

Second issue — in doing a test fit after enlarging the bearing cup — I decided to check how the side plate matched up.  Perfect fit — but Penn forgot to drill and thread the holes in the frame for the screws!!??

OK, drilled holes, and tapped screw threads into the holes.

Reassembled the rotor, AR assembly, installed the rotor onto the frame — inserted the spool shaft only to find that the support for the spool shaft at the middle of the frame was not drilled out either.

OK — crossroads time — yes, I can drill out the hole in the frame shaft support — but what else am I going to find out about this obviously missed in Quality Control frame?  And do I want to put my name and reputation on this reel?

No...

So I just pulled out another frame from the parts bin.

Lots of time, Labor, and interesting frustration.

These old Penn Silver Series 101 - 102 - 103 - 104 - 105 are decent reels.  Not as good as the Spinfishers — but similar to the Daiwa spinners of that era.  They are made in Japan — and are made well.  This was a complete blindside surprise.

Just a part missed in the Quality Control inspection.  Very rare for Penn.  I have pulled out screws that were not threaded, or AR dogs not drilled — but never a large major part like this so poorly manufactured.

Onward and upward.

I will post photos when completed.  For now, I have moved on to some other reels so at least I can get something accomplished today.

Best, Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

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The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

Crow

Another old warrior lives to fight another battle !  Good job, Fred !
There's nothing wrong with a few "F's" on your record....Food, Fun, Flowers, Fishing, Friends, and Fun....to name just a few !

oldmanjoe

Grandpa`s words of wisdom......Joey that thing between your shoulders is not a hat rack.....    use it.....
A mind is like a parachute, it only work`s  when it is open.......
The power of Observation   , It`s all about the Details ..
 Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.   Alto Mare

happyhooker

Quality control issue, well yeah....  But how do so many things get missed on one part?

Frank

JasonGotaProblem

If it were someone less meticulous I'd wonder if the part was just mislabeled and actually from a different reel.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

foakes

#5
Completed.

Best, Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

Brendan

     I remember I used to be surprised of what you accomplish and have parts to accomplish anything under the sun. Nice restoration.
Brendan.

sabaman1

Wow, nice restore Fred! How did you manage to drill out the spool shaft hole?
JIM

foakes

Quote from: sabaman1 on February 09, 2021, 04:52:29 AM
Wow, nice restore Fred! How did you manage to drill out the spool shaft hole?

Didn't drill it out yet.  Just pulled another frame out of the parts bins.

My plan was to set up my drill press with the old frame aligned vertically in a drill press table vise attached to the drill press table.  Then make sure of the exact drill bit size by comparing it with the old frame hole. 

Then, when everything is set up and squared precisely — just swap the old frame for the new one — and drill the hole.

Problem was, in my mind, while I would do this on one of my reels — the client was trusting me to restore this reel to as new as possible.  After already running into (3) major issues on this new but incompletely manufactured frame — experience was whispering to me that there was a 50/50 chance this reel would either never be right — and the client would be disappointed.

Anything over "0" defects is not acceptable.

Since I don't do this for a living — it is not a financial matter — it is a trust and reputation issue.

If I get a chance, I will let Penn know.  They will most likely send me a new frame to toss in the bin.  Penn has always been excellent when it comes to customer service.

To be honest, I should have caught the issues on this frame before doing a lot of labor — just never expected the (3) issues — and wasn't looking forward to a fourth.

Best, Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

thorhammer

Nice save Fred! That reel has enough new parts that it qualifies for the favorite axe parable: "This is my fav axe, had it forty years. It's had seven handles and three heads. It's my favorite one."


John

Aiala

Nothing short of miraculous... wow!   :o

~A~
I don't suffer from insanity... I enjoy every minute of it!  :D

Dominick

The man has reel talent.  Nice work my friend.  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.

Benni3

Fantastic job man,,,,, ;) I love it when a plan comes together,,,,,,,,,, ;D