Fine tolerances in modern spinners

Started by BigT, March 02, 2010, 06:07:53 AM

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BigT

I know most of you guys use conventional reels but here's something just for interest.

A lot of my fishing is done with small spin reels. One is a Daiwa TD Sol 2000 that unfortunatly went for a salty swim when a fish my wife caught kicked while she was holding it. :'(

After getting my Sol back from a guy that was supposed to fix it, I've been frustrated by the fact it wasn't quite 100% right. Why oh why didn't I strip it down myself (I got stuck, that's why!!)

Anyway, I've been battling gear noise since getting it back. I must have stripped and rebuilt the reel 30 times replacing bearings and making little adjustments. Finally I've tracked the problem. Among other screw ups from 'the guy' (note to self... NEVER AGAIN!) a couple of bearing washers went missing. These little washers minutely adjust the position of the left side bearing and how it engages the drive gear.

After playing with lots of washers (not having any of the originals) I stripped down my other (perfectly working) 2000 Sol and found that there's not 1 washer but 4... each only about 0.06mm thick... yep, 6/100ths of a mm. Total thickness of the set was 0.25mm. The washer that I'd settled on in the 'damaged' reel when measured was 0.20mm and while a lot better, there was still noticeable gear vibration.

So playing around with some brass sheet I made a made a washer each from 0.03mm and 0.06mm brass. The .03mm washer went in too, to make a total stack of 0.23mm... better but not perfect. The .06mm washer was swapped with the 0.03 to make a total of 0.26mm... much better but not quite perfect. At 0.30mm (with other washer combos) the rattle was back big time. So I've stopped frigging around and have ordered a handful of the original washers.

'So what?' you might ask. Think about it... this means that .03mm made all the difference between the reel working nearly perfectly and being obviously imperfect (to me at least). That's a tiny difference.  >:(

The more I love these high-tech modern reels, the more I hate them.  ;D There's a lot to be said for Penn Spinfishers and Abu C-series baitcasters.

Mind you, if you ever see me on the water I'll more than likely have a Shimano Stradic or Daiwa Sol in my hand.


Cheers, BigT
more of my rebuilds on
http://www.fishraider.com.au

alantani

and people wonder why a don't fix spinning reels ......   ;D
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

septicsac

I had a spinner playing up once,took it apart and its still apart ::)
Not in the least bit surprised that you avoid them Alan.

nelz

#3
That's odd. My SOL only has only the single washer as shown in the schematic, and the gears feel buttery smooth. I guess reels vary depending on the accuracy of production runs.

As for complexity, the SOL is one of the simplest designs, and a breeze to work on. I just refurbished a SOL 3000.

paal

I guess it's due to the casting process they use on 98% of all spinning reels. It will produce varying tolerances on the frame as well as the main gear. This is why there's a disclaimer on many spinner schematics stating "The number of shim washers used might differ from that shown in the schematic".

I'm not sure if the "shim tuning" of spinning reels is a manual or automatic process, but I've purchased several spinners that went back to the shop due to either a noisy or too tight drive train. Both are signs of improper shimming.

fisher480

I've come to the conclusion that the high end stuff is a real pain. Good mid range reels are much better because they tend to be easier to maintain ( less parts) and at the end of the day half the price. Spinners aren't that bad and the good old Stradic's are a favourite of mine.

I look at my brother in law who abuses his tackle. I service them from time to time but his Shimano Symetres and Daiwa Excelers have held up well with no cleaning after saltwater usage. I think a top of the range reel would have a seized bearing or something by now.

paal

#6
I really like the Stradics as well, in my opinion it's the reel that gives you the most performance (smoothness under load, longevity, line lay/casting distance) for the money. You still have to watch the shims, though.

I don't own a Stella, but I expect the maintenance interval to be longer because it's water resistant by design. However, Alan Hawk told me that servicing a Stella is comparable to that of maintaining a 747. Might not be entirely true, but I guess it puts things in perspective :)

Clem

I have found shim problems even with the latest Stella (SWB).. I have redone my own and a few others that I have serviced. All of them had a little too much play..Can really cause excessive wear on the bigger sizes as those reels tend to be used under more relative pressure. Usually it's only small .005 or .010 but enough to make quite a difference.

A well shimmed reel feels a lot better in the hand than one with excessive play...gears last a lot longer too. I quite enjoy working on spinners..must have done hundreds of Stella's by now as many people use them here..I guess like any reel once you have done them a few times it becomes second nature.

They all tend to suffer similar problems from a service perspective, line roller bearings would be the main replacement item, occasionally a main or a shaft bearing. I think one of the biggest problems is the way they are used, there is no reel cranking power in a spinner due to the design. I often see a rod loaded up and someone trying to crank the fish to the boat...usually ends in tears