redmeansdistortion

All of the main bearing manufacturers ship their products to partners greased. NSK, SKF, GRW, and NMB all ship this way. This isn't for storage purposes, but for the environments they're used. The same bearings used in fishing reels are also used in much more demanding environments like food processing, high speed tooling, dental tools, and analog instrumentation. The reel manufacturers don't degrease spool bearings, they run them as is. Truthfully, these greased spool bearings run satisfactorily for most people, but at some point you may want more out of them. It's much, much easier to remove the grease without the shields, and if the shields are left on, it can take a very long time to get it all out. It sticks to the bearing ribbon pretty good. Leaving the shields on drive bearings is fine since they aren't involved in casting unless it's a synced level wind. Disengaging level winds are different, so keep the shields on those bearings and the pinion bearings. They're cheap enough to replace if they run a foul. 30 year old spool bearings from a Calcutta 400. Shields removed from one to show the grease. It's pretty dirty. In a fresh bearing the grease will be translucent white.

Yes, just spool bearings I remove them. Other bearings I leave the shields on. You can leave the shields on the spool bearings, but the grease is harder to remove then. If I'm leaving shields on, I run in an ultrasonic cleaner for 1/2 hour, spin test, and if they're not moving good enough, another 10-15 minutes. With the shields off the time is reduced to 10 minutes. Clean and dry (no oil) NMBs will spin for 20-30 seconds on a bearing check tool depending on size.

Yes, a drop of oil, spin until they quiet down, install.

15% duty and shipping ran me about $35 through ECMS. You need to buy through a proxy service, I use Buyee.

Here is where I get them. https://zikuuke.shop35.makeshop.jp/ Funny enough, MinebeaMitsumi's North American HQ is near my home. Being a business, I contacted them to inquire about business pricing and they wouldn't sell them as cheap as the Japan shops unless I was buying in quantities of 1000. I usually buy them 100 at a time, and it's less than half the price importing from Japan even considering tariffs, duties, and shipping costs.

There are retaining rings for the shields that can be removed with an awl. I install spool bearings without shields because they are much easier to clean later on. Here's a pair of NMB spool bearings from a brand new unused Daiwa.

The main reel manufacturers all use NMB stainless which are very high quality. Daiwa, Shimano, Isuzu, and Doyo (Abu, Lew's, BPS, etc) all use them. They really are great bearings, but the caveat is that NMB ships their products filled to 30% of the internal volume with a light grease according to their technical docs. This is because they are commonly used in other more stressful environments, like analog instrumentation, drive motors, and high speed tooling. The grease gives them a longer life in those conditions and when the bearings fail, they are simply replaced. Pull the shields from a NMB, clean the grease, and watch them really fly. NMB stainless and ceramic hybrid bearings are made in Japan and Singapore, while their chromed steel line-up is made in elsewhere. These are the spool bearings from a Shimano Tranx 400 I serviced a few days ago, note the grease. The reel is an absolute screamer now.

This is very common with the Tatula and I believe brinelling is the culprit. The Tatula 200 and 300 are super popular where I am with salmon fishermen, those guys are notoriously hard on their gear. They're hooking 30lb+ fish that make long and powerful runs and fishing with the drag cranked down on top of it. I've never had one in the shop that didn't have a brinelled pinion. The pinion takes the lion's share of abuse in the drivetrain, and the pressure from an overly tightened drag can prematurely wear the pinion. It's fairly easy to identify. Clean your pinion and if the teeth appear to have a haze to them after, you're dealing with a warped pinion. The good news is that the reel will still function just fine. It may be smooth and crank well, but you'll have the noise to contend with. If the noise doesn't bother you, keep on fishing. If it does, get some new gears and install them.

Round nose pliers work great for fixing dented spool edges, the same kind electricians use for bending Romex. I've done it for spools that are no longer available or very hard to come by and did well enough that the repair is hard to see unless pointed out. The curved tips let you reform the curve in the spool lip with little to no flat spot. Work slowly.

Huron River is right in your backyard and an excellent smallie river. The area by Dexter can be very easily waded, while downstream by Flat Rock is deeper and better on a boat, canoe, or kayak. +1 for Schultz Outfitters. They're having an angler's expo next Saturday right by their shop, you should go. I'm going with a friend of mine. If you go t to Schultz enough, you'd probably run into my as I stop in frequently to chat with Matt on the G Side. The angler's expo is free. EventbriteSCHULTZ OUTFITTERS SPRING ANGLERS EXPODive into spring fun with gear, tips, and good vibes at Schultz Outfitters Spring Anglers Expo! If you'd like, I can show you around. I'm in Wyandotte, about 45 minutes from AA.

I don't look at fishing gear as a diminishing return. I like what I like and if something is going to cost a good amount, I squirrel away a few dollars here and there until I can get it. I'll say this much, I've never once regretted purchasing/building a high end reel. Bench tuning can get quite expensive, but if you want to play you have to pay. The reel in this blog post ran me ~$550 by the time all was said and done. https://www.ashlin-fishing.com/blog/the-red-reel

If you're near Windsor, we can meet in the middle of the Gordie Howe lol

Tariffs ran about $12 on these. The frame is so good I ordered another, have yet to install as I just got out of the hospital from an emergency surgery last weekend. AliExpress has been shipping very quick these days. I've bought a decent amount of AMO parts over the last couple of months and have been getting them in 7 days from order submission to delivery.

Top water fishing for big brown trout at night is spectacular. The explosion of a 20"+ brown smacking a wake make makes the bass blush for miles around.

It really isn't hard to be mindful of your gear. I fish in waders and hike through the undergrowth on the regular, conditions where a dunked reel, snapped rod, or bent guide are the norm if you aren't careful. Hiking through game trails? My rod tip is behind me. More commonly, guys do it the opposite way, tip ahead of them and this is what often causes mishaps as they attempt to thread the needle through the brush and branches. Landing a fish? Rod butt gets tucked in my wading belt; it's stable and not going anywhere. Also handy for retying. Once you do it a few times, it becomes a habit. All of my reels look as good as the day I built them.

Walleye rods tend be be exceptionally fast compared to bass rods since the primary method to target them is vertical jigging. This is because walleye have a subtle bite and a very hard mouth, plus jigging action is best on such a taper. I live within walking distance of the walleye capital, the Detroit River. The rods on the shelves here are exactly as I described. While they can be used for bass, they aren't ideal.

As far as ARBs are concerned, use a foam swab and not cotton. Loose fibers can find their way into the rollers and cages which can cause malfunctions. I clean them with mineral spirits along with the rest of the parts.

One-piece frame on one of my 2500CIARs, this frame is so good I ordered one for my other reel. It's way better than the Avail frame. New 4500AL, well a clone of one but with the Ultracast architecture and some Avail and Haneda Craft goodness. New old stock Morrum SX3600C Mag; Avail 90mm, rosewood knobs, AMO thumb bar and line guide, and a no name 8g shallow spool.

46.12mm for the plate only, 50.1mm on the frame where the plate mounts.

I blow out all excess with compressed air with all of my reels. I'm using TSI 301, great stuff. It's rated 5 cst at 40°C, thin film lube that bonds to the balls, cages, and raceways and fills in any microscopic porous surfaces. It's used to lubricate hard drive platters in space bound instruments. I like that it has readily available technical data and that I don't have to take the word of a reseller, especially one who refuses to disclose or can't obtain the information for the product they are peddling. That puts it in the realm of Himalayan pinks salts and essential oils.

The 200 is more like a Curado 200HG on the inside, while the 300 and 400 are like the beastly Calcutta D that was on the market a few years ago. Those were brutes and the Tranx 300/400 follows right in their footsteps. Great suggestion for some jungle fishing.

Isuzu also uses NMB bearings. They're the largest bearing manufacturer in the world so their products are cheap just because of their volume. I pay $1 and some change for each one buying in bulk from Japan. I'm sure the reel manufacturers get them cheaper since they're buying thousands at a time. I run them even in my bench tuned Ambassadeurs, my 2500Cs cast lighter stuff better. I'm getting better distance with NMB DDL-1150ZZY04 than I am with Hedgehog Air 1150s. I'm not sure who OEMs Hedgehog's bearings as they aren't very up front about that or the mystery magic oil they sell. I asked them for test data on it once and they told me it's a secret recipe. I replied back that I wasn't looking for composition, but test data and they fessed up that they had none. Bummer. I use hard data as part of my selection process.

Everybody is using NMB these days. My Calcutta Conquest SE has them, Millionaires of mine came with them, newer production Ambassadeurs I've gone through had them as well. They're rated P0, the Japan equivalent to ABEC 1. They come with a light grease as this is how NMB ships them to manufacturing partners. These are from a Tranx 200 I just did the other day, the Curado 200HG I did afterwards was the same. A good cleaning in denatured alcohol followed by a shot of TSI 301 and excess blown out and they fly. The shields really need to be removed to get the grease out. If they're left in place, much of it will remain left behind and rotation isn't going to be as good.

I use it for the abrasion resistance and shock absorption. I fish what amounts to underwater jungles much of the time; lots of fallen trees, beaver dams, logjams, and root wads to contend with.