TackleTour

Thanks Ipquick and JB. I’ll replace both gears in at least two of the reels. It’s under $20 for the set of gears. The bearings are almost new BOCA ABEC 7’s. Two of the reels seem okay for now. The reels are (2) CTE 200GT’s, a CTE 200 and a CTE 200DC.

Hope Shimano doesn’t stop supporting the TE reels with spare parts anytime soon. Those reels are by far the ones I most often use.

I have spent several weeks researching "super tuning" and am about ready to start on an old reel. During this process I have read many articles. These articles have been conflicting and incomplete. Here are my questions:

What should be used to clean after sanding with very fine grit sandpaper (600-2000)?
What should be used after polishing with simichrome or other polishing compounds?
What should be used to flush oil and/or grease from bearings and other surfaces?
I have seen two ways to install drag washers --- () and )(. Which is the correct way?

mrsjls98 wrote:I have spent several weeks researching "super tuning" and am about ready to start on an old reel. During this process I have read many articles. These articles have been conflicting and incomplete. Here are my questions:

What should be used to clean after sanding with very fine grit sandpaper (600-2000)?
What should be used after polishing with simichrome or other polishing compounds?
What should be used to flush oil and/or grease from bearings and other surfaces?
I have seen two ways to install drag washers --- () and )(. Which is the correct way?

I use naphtha to clean spool bearings. Others use acetone, but I would recommend getting this from a hardware store. The acetone sold in pharmacies has undesirable additives.

() is the usual orientation for drag spring washers. Some say the opposite way )( results in a smoother but lighter drag. These washers are a grade of steel from which actual springs are made. In other words, they are not static on a drag system. They flex and later return to their original shape.

Don't know about the rest of it for sure. I use Simple Green for routine cleaning of parts.

I have seen others who say that (( is better for locking down your drag. I have no idea if this is true or not.

Naptha and Acetone are great for a final clean but I like to first use brake/carb cleaner first and put the bearing on an awl or pick and blast them making them spin the old oil/grease out. Most all my bearings have no shields though to make this process fast and easy,just dont hold the straw to close and blast to hard. This usually makes them spin very smooth and fast when they dry. Then dip in acetone for a final clean of any residue from the cleaner.
After sanding/polishing I wipe with alcohol and then dip in Acetone. Diluted Simple Green works good to.

Afrayedknot wrote:I have seen others who say that (( is better for locking down your drag. I have no idea if this is true or not.

Very possibly true. Since these are drag spring washers, you can see how (( rather than another orientation would be good for lockdown. The (( position would surely produce the most drag pressure as it flexed. For what it's worth, I did briefly try the )( orientation on a Daiwa reel and didn't like it. () was what the reel's schematic specified, and I've since stayed with it. With the )( orientation, the drag star turned freely for several rotations, and then the drag tightened very quickly.

Great tips! Ill keep this in mind if i ever start working on reels myself. Would this work for the saltwater green corrosion problem?

f15h1n6 wrote:Great tips! Ill keep this in mind if i ever start working on reels myself. Would this work for the saltwater green corrosion problem?

One of the reels I'm currently working on had some green corrosion on a few brass parts after seeing hard use in brackish water.
I got rid of it all and got a decent shine.
The reel is an Ambassadeur 6000 from the 80's. Every component on the brake plate has seen hard use for over 25 years, this old work horse really deserves a thorough restoration.

^ looks too nice to fish! Great work!

That is truly astonishing!

Ya this is sweet!
I always wonder if I'm replacing drive and pinions to often when the old toothbrush method doesn't make me smooth

Anyone have any recent links for sourcing these polishing wheels? Having a hard time finding any. Thanks!

BullBass wrote:Anyone have any recent links for sourcing these polishing wheels? Having a hard time finding any. Thanks!

Here you go...

http://www.findingking.com/default.aspx

http://www.findingking.com/p-165763-6-m ... es-34.aspx

Heck of a nice polish,I sent Ian an Ito Millionare,and the gears he changed out were in bad shape now its so smoooth.

Has anyone tried this on aluminum main gear of a spinning reel?