TackleTour

In my recent order from Brian at The Tackle Trap were a few Steez handle nuts to install on a few reels as a fun little project. Having access to a full machine shop is pretty neat and you can do just about anything you can think of limited by your skill. So I threw the driveshaft in the lathe and turned it down by about .200 of an inch. Then I drilled about .275 deep with a .129 drill bit and tapped for M4 threads.
After that, I used a .155 bit by .050 deep for the shoulder of the nut head. I figured since I had the driveshaft out, I'd give drilling out some material a try. I'm not a stickler when it comes to my reels weight, but let's give it a whirl. Over to the manual mill we go. I used the same .155 bit to drill 4 holes evenly spaced. And the final product put back together...

Excellent work. That looks nice!

wow!
this could be a solution for my two lefty td-z with a stripped driveshaft.

THAT looks great. Those holes look perfect. How much weight did it save?

Full access to machine shop... Jealousy engaged!

hoohoorjoo wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 7:21 am

Excellent work. That looks nice!

Thank you very much!

poisonokie wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 8:02 am

THAT looks great. Those holes look perfect. How much weight did it save?

The mail room scale read to 2 decimals. From .04 to .02 lbs which equates to .32 ounces. I'm not sure that sounds right, although the shaft felt surprisingly heavy in hand. I'm not sure what exact material it was but it felt heavier than a brass driveshaft.

Awesome work! I think you're ready to make some 8.1 gear sets for TDZs.

domthewon wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:13 pm

Awesome work! I think you're ready to make some 8.1 gear sets for TDZs.

It's funny you say that...i just got my first lefty last week (that I did my first shaft mod to) so I haven't even had the pleasure of enjoying the 7.1 gear set in a tdz! I've been joking with a designer and a CNC guy I work with about making custom gears. I will say, as a right hand dominant, I'm enjoying and getting comfortable with this reel. I've done all to it there is, and the hlc spool will, well, spool 65lb J braid with a frog. Time to expand the lefty arsenal.

MountainMan 83 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:46 pm

domthewon wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:13 pm

Awesome work! I think you're ready to make some 8.1 gear sets for TDZs.

It's funny you say that...i just got my first lefty last week (that I did my first shaft mod to) so I haven't even had the pleasure of enjoying the 7.1 gear set in a tdz! I've been joking with a designer and a CNC guy I work with about making custom gears. I will say, as a right hand dominant, I'm enjoying and getting comfortable with this reel. I've done all to it there is, and the hlc spool will, well, spool 65lb J braid with a frog. Time to expand the lefty arsenal.
Webp.net-resizeimage.jpg

Those are great reels. I don't care what anyone says. I just mounted mine back up to an OG tat711MHXB for tossing footballs.





Need to get that 100mm handle off of it in favor of a 90, though. I really like this combo, even if it isn't exactly enthusiast grade, and will hold onto it forever.

Sorry to go

MountainMan 83 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:46 pm

domthewon wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:13 pm

Awesome work! I think you're ready to make some 8.1 gear sets for TDZs.

It's funny you say that...i just got my first lefty last week (that I did my first shaft mod to) so I haven't even had the pleasure of enjoying the 7.1 gear set in a tdz! I've been joking with a designer and a CNC guy I work with about making custom gears. I will say, as a right hand dominant, I'm enjoying and getting comfortable with this reel. I've done all to it there is, and the hlc spool will, well, spool 65lb J braid with a frog. Time to expand the lefty arsenal.
Webp.net-resizeimage.jpg

Ambidextrous huh. Pretty cool. I can't even hold a righty reel without fumbling it if it's not attached to a rod. Your lucky cause you can buy whatever reel you want wether it's righty or lefty. There are so many nice reels in right hand that I wish I could find in left. The HLC spools are a great spool.

domthewon wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 9:07 pm

MountainMan 83 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:46 pm

domthewon wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:13 pm

Awesome work! I think you're ready to make some 8.1 gear sets for TDZs.

It's funny you say that...i just got my first lefty last week (that I did my first shaft mod to) so I haven't even had the pleasure of enjoying the 7.1 gear set in a tdz! I've been joking with a designer and a CNC guy I work with about making custom gears. I will say, as a right hand dominant, I'm enjoying and getting comfortable with this reel. I've done all to it there is, and the hlc spool will, well, spool 65lb J braid with a frog. Time to expand the lefty arsenal.
Webp.net-resizeimage.jpg

Ambidextrous huh. Pretty cool. I can't even hold a righty reel without fumbling it if it's not attached to a rod. Your lucky cause you can buy whatever reel you want wether it's righty or lefty. There are so many nice reels in right hand that I wish I could find in left. The HLC spools are a great spool.

I had to learn to fish left handed reels when I developed tendinitis in my left elbow while laying brick at home. It wasn't that difficult, just muscle memory. I learned to throw them pretty quick, but getting a good hookset took a whole to learn. Once I finished the brick laying, my tendinitis went away. So I was able to return to right handed fishing, but I still use a left handed setup for punching.

mark poulson wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 24, 2019 8:15 am

domthewon wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 9:07 pm

MountainMan 83 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:46 pm

domthewon wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:13 pm

Awesome work! I think you're ready to make some 8.1 gear sets for TDZs.

It's funny you say that...i just got my first lefty last week (that I did my first shaft mod to) so I haven't even had the pleasure of enjoying the 7.1 gear set in a tdz! I've been joking with a designer and a CNC guy I work with about making custom gears. I will say, as a right hand dominant, I'm enjoying and getting comfortable with this reel. I've done all to it there is, and the hlc spool will, well, spool 65lb J braid with a frog. Time to expand the lefty arsenal.
Webp.net-resizeimage.jpg

Ambidextrous huh. Pretty cool. I can't even hold a righty reel without fumbling it if it's not attached to a rod. Your lucky cause you can buy whatever reel you want wether it's righty or lefty. There are so many nice reels in right hand that I wish I could find in left. The HLC spools are a great spool.

I had to learn to fish left handed reels when I developed tendinitis in my left elbow while laying brick at home. It wasn't that difficult, just muscle memory. I learned to throw them pretty quick, but getting a good hookset took a whole to learn. Once I finished the brick laying, my tendinitis went away. So I was able to return to right handed fishing, but I still use a left handed setup for punching.

A good friend of mine is in construction and has similar issues, and has to use lefty for topwater,frogs, and jerk baits with a lefty reel. The only one he struggles with is setting the hook with frogs. I can do a lot of things with both hands but using the right hand to reel isn’t one of them and would take me some time. I would definitely do it if it was the only option for keeping me on the water for sure.

domthewon wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 24, 2019 9:45 am

mark poulson wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 24, 2019 8:15 am

domthewon wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 9:07 pm

MountainMan 83 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:46 pm

domthewon wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:13 pm

Awesome work! I think you're ready to make some 8.1 gear sets for TDZs.

It's funny you say that...i just got my first lefty last week (that I did my first shaft mod to) so I haven't even had the pleasure of enjoying the 7.1 gear set in a tdz! I've been joking with a designer and a CNC guy I work with about making custom gears. I will say, as a right hand dominant, I'm enjoying and getting comfortable with this reel. I've done all to it there is, and the hlc spool will, well, spool 65lb J braid with a frog. Time to expand the lefty arsenal.
Webp.net-resizeimage.jpg

Ambidextrous huh. Pretty cool. I can't even hold a righty reel without fumbling it if it's not attached to a rod. Your lucky cause you can buy whatever reel you want wether it's righty or lefty. There are so many nice reels in right hand that I wish I could find in left. The HLC spools are a great spool.

I had to learn to fish left handed reels when I developed tendinitis in my left elbow while laying brick at home. It wasn't that difficult, just muscle memory. I learned to throw them pretty quick, but getting a good hookset took a whole to learn. Once I finished the brick laying, my tendinitis went away. So I was able to return to right handed fishing, but I still use a left handed setup for punching.

A good friend of mine is in construction and has similar issues, and has to use lefty for topwater,frogs, and jerk baits with a lefty reel. The only one he struggles with is setting the hook with frogs. I can do a lot of things with both hands but using the right hand to reel isn’t one of them and would take me some time. I would definitely do it if it was the only option for keeping me on the water for sure.

I still cast with my right hand, so I still thumb the spool with my right hand. Reeling with my left hand was pretty easy to learn.
I doubt I could cast with my left hand. Fortunately, I never had to learn. Knock on wood!

Nice work! It is super nice to have access to a machine shop I think almost all of my reels have this mod now, and I love it!!!

Here is one I did a while ago:
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=40024