reels 2

jambaloney again!

hey this post got parked in ealy april due to work - i just finished it - my bad ;-)

so back by popular demand ( a lie i told myself to indulge in more fishing reel cleaning)..

we have reel restoration part 2. After I restored the DAM 220 I set my sights on the DAM microlite - pretty much a similar vintage, but smaller...

here is a nice pic of the oscillating worm-drive gearing, as you crank the handle, the round gear causes the spool to travel up and down when you reel in which retrieves the line evenly on the spool.

Cleaning was the same as my previous 220 post...so i will spare you repetitive details...

however i gave this gear oil a try on the bearings, and lithium grease on the gears, it is what i always used..

as ultralight reels are for ultralight fishing they tend to have simpler drags with fewer washers...

220 and microlite restored....

another angle.....

I will be frank, after all that, I fished the micro lite some and really preffered my more modern shimano. In addition, i bought another used microlite for parts cheap. The worm drive was damaged so the reel wasn't`t of any use, but as for parts, all the rest were there. IF you are considering these older reels, find a way to get 2 - it is WAY cheaper than trying to dig up individual parts...

additionally, it helps to have a schematic of the reel - you can get almost any here:

http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/fishing-reel-schematics/

they are "blown up" diagrams that show you the whole reel with part numbers. examples

Mike`s is a great place to get old parts.

After the disappointment of my restored reel, I did more research and set my sights on old Penn ultralights - i got a pair of 716Zs made in the good old USA..it is ALWAYS good if the reel still has the box, usually a sign of care.

don't be fooled - this grease is dry as glue!!!

one of the first things to go on older reels is the bail spring, fortunately these are relatively easy to get - i got 3 from Scott's bait and tackle.

you can see that the new ones in the bag are thicker - hurrah!

very old reel grease...

here is where the ball bearings are housed...

here it is all apart... i cleaned it in a nice varsol bath...

i changed grease after looking online - - the green marine grease is much less hard on the reel in cold weather than lithium grease - i also got some mobile 1 for general lubrication use (apparently it makes great gun oil at a fraction of the price).

however in the end i opted for 3 in 1 a small bottle will last a while in fishing reels..

my mom and step-dad ted gave me a bunch on "handy-man" surprises a while back - this syringe is AWESOME for getting grease into small areas!!! - thanks guys!!!

here is the drag and spool apart - notice the width of the washers - large surface = smoother drag...

the bail roller can be seen here - on older reels they do not tend to have ball bearings and can stick pretty quickly - i have an idea, but that is for another post...

here are the clean parts...

coming together..

new grease (oil on the bearings)....

and voila - shiny near-new reel!!!!

 

hope you are all having a great spring - cheers!!!