how to get the best free spool and smooth reeling(conventional reel

Started by pcde123, June 22, 2013, 04:26:28 AM

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pcde123

what are some of your best tips to get a reel to run really smoothly, were on the reel should i oil/lube/grease and what is the difference between the 3

spearo776

just try reading through a number of posts about different reels , from this you will determine the answers to your questions

akfish

You'll get the best free spool with open bearings and TSI lube. But any fast oil -- i.e., Speed-X, Rocket Fuel -- and quality bearings will spin the spool fast enough for most people. As for smooth cranking, that depends on the particular cut and age of the main and pinion gears. Some reels just aren't very smooth. But if you gears are good -- not worn from age or abuse -- clean and greased with a quality grease like Cal's or Penn XR-1, cranking will be smooth.
Taku Reel Repair
Juneau, Alaska
907.789.2448

pcde123

what is a cheap bearing i can buy?, and i know this is a bit stpid of me to ask but wha exactly does the bearing do , and  where is it located on the penn conventional reels

pcde123

and is cals grease only for carbontex? could i use ht-100 washers

RowdyW


alantani

there are two parts to this, and i think they are both worthy of discussion.  it's something most of us know already, but probably haven't thought through in a systematic way.  so let's to that now.....

freespool is the first question.  if you take a bare spool filled with line up into outer space and make it spin, it will spin forever.  there is no friction.  in an air-filled zero gravity environment, it will eventually stop spinning because of friction with air.  but what slows down a spool even more is friction of the spool shaft against bearing, end caps and pinion gears.  

lever drag reels tend to have the best freespool because the spool is rubbing only against two spool bearings. clean those out, lube them with tsi 301 and then give them a spin and they will spin for a very long timed.  star drag reels with a disengaging spool will also spin just as well as lever drag reels.  these reels also have spools that are only spinning on a pair of spool bearings.  clean these bearings out, lube them with tsi and these spools will also spin very well.

most star drag reels, however, have a spool shaft that runs the entire width of the reel.  now you have a spool (or more accurately, a spool shaft) that has multiple contacts.  the spool shaft rubs against the right and left side plates.  to adjust the amount of endplay, you have adjustable caps on either the left side or on the right side.  you also have a left side plate /spool bearing, a right side plate bearing, and sometimes even right spool bearing.  and then the last point of friction that everyone overlooks is the pinion gear.  yup, the spool shaft passes through the pinion gear rubs like crazy.  so you have to clean out the pinion gear.  what ever you do, don't go in with a piece of sand paper.  you will roughen up the surface so much that the freespool will drop to zero.  

to get the maximum amount of freespool from a star drag reel with a full length spool shaft, start by cleaning out the bearings and lubing them with tsi 301.  then look at the pinion gear.  just run a q-tip through the pinion gear and clean out the gunk, then dip the pinion gear in tsi 301.  if that does the trick, you're done.  if not, take a q-tip and snip off one end, then put the stick end in a drill. now add a little toothpast to the q-tip and slide the pinion gear onto the q-tip.  now very carefully make sure the q-tip does not snag on the pinion gear and get it SLOWLY and carefully spinning.  keep spinning the q-tip until the inside of the pinion gear is nice and polished inside.  then clean off all the toothpaste and lube it with tsi 301.  don't forget to clean up the spool shaft.  polishing is ok, but no sand paper.  

and lastly, if the reel has a levelwind assembly, you will have to take apart the entire levelwind, clean all the parts, dip them in tsi301 and put them back together.  the only problem you should have now is the backlash!

as far as lubes go, i like tsi 301 best for these freespool applications.  tsi 321 is fine as well.  the other lubes are also all fine.  i would normally default to corrosion x if i am not using tsi 301.  hope this helps.  
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

pcde123

thanks , i already bought some cheap lube...i know its probably pretty crappy, but  atleast now i know what to buy in the future and how to apply it to my reels, thanks a bunch

AllenW

Quote from: alantani on June 22, 2013, 09:25:05 PM
there are two parts to this, and i think they are both worthy of discussion.  it's something most of us know already, but probably haven't thought through in a systematic way.  so let's to that now.....

freespool is the first question.  if you take a bare spool filled with line up into outer space and make it spin, it will spin forever.  there is no friction.  in an air-filled zero gravity environment, it will eventually stop spinning because of friction with air.  but what slows down a spool even more is friction of the spool shaft against bearing, end caps and pinion gears.  

lever drag reels tend to have the best freespool because the spool is rubbing only against two spool bearings. clean those out, lube them with tsi 301 and then give them a spin and they will spin for a very long timed.  star drag reels with a disengaging spool will also spin just as well as lever drag reels.  these reels also have spools that are only spinning on a pair of spool bearings.  clean these bearings out, lube them with tsi and these spools will also spin very well.

most star drag reels, however, have a spool shaft that runs the entire width of the reel.  now you have a spool (or more accurately, a spool shaft) that has multiple contacts.  the spool shaft rubs against the right and left side plates.  to adjust the amount of endplay, you have adjustable caps on either the left side or on the right side.  you also have a left side plate /spool bearing, a right side plate bearing, and sometimes even right spool bearing.  and then the last point of friction that everyone overlooks is the pinion gear.  yup, the spool shaft passes through the pinion gear rubs like crazy.  so you have to clean out the pinion gear.  what ever you do, don't go in with a piece of sand paper.  you will roughen up the surface so much that the freespool will drop to zero.  

to get the maximum amount of freespool from a star drag reel with a full length spool shaft, start by cleaning out the bearings and lubing them with tsi 301.  then look at the pinion gear.  just run a q-tip through the pinion gear and clean out the gunk, then dip the pinion gear in tsi 301.  if that does the trick, you're done.  if not, take a q-tip and snip off one end, then put the stick end in a drill. now add a little toothpast to the q-tip and slide the pinion gear onto the q-tip.  now very carefully make sure the q-tip does not snag on the pinion gear and get it SLOWLY and carefully spinning.  keep spinning the q-tip until the inside of the pinion gear is nice and polished inside.  then clean off all the toothpaste and lube it with tsi 301.  don't forget to clean up the spool shaft.  polishing is ok, but no sand paper.  

and lastly, if the reel has a levelwind assembly, you will have to take apart the entire levelwind, clean all the parts, dip them in tsi301 and put them back together.  the only problem you should have now is the backlash!

as far as lubes go, i like tsi 301 best for these freespool applications.  tsi 321 is fine as well.  the other lubes are also all fine.  i would normally default to corrosion x if i am not using tsi 301.  hope this helps.  


Little confused, do you use 301 for both bearing and gears?

And, does a lightweight (?) lube like that offer the wear resistance that a heavier lube might?

TIA

Al

alantani

i'm starting to use more tsi 321 in place of corrosion x.  i'm finding that it lasts just as long and tsi 301.  what you use is probably less important.  you just need to use something......
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Texas Triton Shooter

I have found that polishing all the friction points really helps the free spool but another over looked item when it comes to the pinion gear is to make sure it is totally free of oil. I use a q-tip dipped in acetone to clean it, a polish then another dry q-tip cleaning and swab. I was amazed in the difference this makes.
I use mothers metal polish or flitz metal polish and a lot of q-tips.
I hope this helps

pcde123

wow... looking back at my posts when i first started, man i was clueless...thank yall for the help, ive picked up a few things through experts and trial and error, still got a long way to go but the ammount of progress ive made cus of yall is dramatic

Janine Alioto

Quote from: pcde123 on June 22, 2013, 07:32:50 PM
and is cals grease only for carbontex? could i use ht-100 washers

Hi,

I am about to try to clean some sand out of my Calcutta TE200?  Any tips?

Janine

Bryan Young

:D I talk with every part I send out and each reel I repair so that they perform at the top of their game. :D

Sudsy

Small trick I've learned for casting over grass is pure silicone oil (AKA copy machine oil)

It's not for fishing as it doesn't last very long on the bearings, but for raw distance casting it's amazing (and expensive)