That's a neat old reel. Nice work! That's an interesting design. I can see why the drag is a little light.

 

I love fishing with vintage reels. Been doing it for decades. I picked up an old Daiwa that is built like a tank and has like what 3 parts inside? A drive gear, oscillation block and that's about it except for spool shaft. And no plastic parts to fail. Some would complain its too heavy, but it never bothers me. This one could use a new handle due to some corrosion, but I'm gonna fish it how it is. A new looking handle would cost 10 to 20 times what I paid for the reel. Like a buck in a thrift store.

 

Plenty of drag, and this one is a bass busting reel that's probably going on 40 years old. Not quite as old as that zebco. I think this one is a 1980's reel made by Daiwa. Be a good one to hand to my sons because they would not be able to break it. Good luck trying! A reel like this one will be working long after I am dead and gone.

 

I wish reel manufacturers still made them to last! Made in Japan.

 

 

 

52 minutes ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

That's a neat old reel. Nice work! That's an interesting design. I can see why the drag is a little light.

 

I love fishing with vintage reels. Been doing it for decades. I picked up an old Daiwa that is built like a tank and has like what 3 parts inside? A drive gear, oscillation block and that's about it except for spool shaft. And no plastic parts to fail. Some would complain its too heavy, but it never bothers me. This one could use a new handle due to some corrosion, but I'm gonna fish it how it is. A new looking handle would cost 10 to 20 times what I paid for the reel. Like a buck in a thrift store.

 

Plenty of drag, and this one is a bass busting reel that's probably going on 40 years old. Not quite as old as that zebco. I think this one is a 1980's reel made by Daiwa. Be a good one to hand to my sons because they would not be able to break it. Good luck trying! A reel like this one will be working long after I am dead and gone.

 

I wish reel manufacturers still made them to last!

 

 

 

Those are very nice too and come in a variety of sizes.  I really love the SS Tournament from Daiwa, such a great reel and was in production for 35 years, from '87-'22.  Something I just learned about them from a friend, SS Tournament reels in the 1600 and 2600 sizes dominated ACA and ICFS fixed spool distance competition for nearly 30 years in the 7.5g single hand event and the two hand 18g event.  The reasons for their dominance were weight and line lay.  It took until around 2015 for the Stradic style Shimanos to start replacing them in competition.  Even the smaller 700 and 1300 sizes are mini long cast reels.  

5 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

 

 

 

I wish reel manufacturers still made them to last! Made in Japan.

 

 

 

I have a similar vintage Daiwa I believe. These 2 reels were given to me by my older brother quite a few years ago after I helped him put together a wooden swing set/slide/monkey bar set and told him I wanted to get back into fishing. That was over 30 years ago and I’m pretty sure he had the reels for some time even then, if anyone knows more please feel free to chime in. As a side note I still fish with the Ryobi currently.

8 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

@bulldog1935@bulldog1935this@bulldog1935this@bulldog1935@bulldog1935this@bulldog1935this is wilinout

8 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

~

So much anxiety looking at those pics bro

 

@bulldog1935 my suspicion was correct, it is part of the drag system, but I did slap a little lube on it not knowing any better. Should I clean it all up again? 

 

Any thoughts on aftermarket drag clickers? 

 

Nice to overhear this reel maintenance chatter, wish I had a grandpa to hand me down an old reel. 

 

What modern reel do you think is worth getting and maintaining to pass on to my kids? lockquote widgetlockquote widget

I see a lot of vintage rods and reels both come through the shop. A surprising number of Mitchell spinning reels still being fished. 
 

One can only speculate as to which modern reels will withstand the test of time. 

1 hour ago, Eric 26 said:

I’m pretty sure he had the reels for some time even then, if anyone knows more please feel free to chime in.

The Daiwa D1000 is a later variant of the original GS series circa 1978 which ultimately became the original BG reel that were in production until just recently. Keep them lubed and they'll run forever.

10 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

The Daiwa D1000 is a later variant of the original GS series circa 1978 which ultimately became the original BG reel that were in production until just recently. Keep them lubed and they'll run forever.

@PhishLI I have added a Daiwa BG 1500 to my collection and although heavy I absolutely love this freaking reel😃

@Banned User

Quote

 

 it's corundum, and should be run dry.  

Swab red washer and mating surfaces with alcohol.  

 

9 hours ago, Banned User said:

What modern reel do you think is worth getting and maintaining to pass on to my kids?

It's really hard to say.  In the past, manufacturers were more concerned about reliability with performance being secondary.  In those days, the end user was responsible for making something smoother or perform better.  This is how super tuning came about.  Guys would fine tune the reels by polishing friction areas, shimming out slop, using lower viscosity oils, thinner greases, and that sort of thing.  Sometime in the 90s and 00s, manufacturers took note of what bench tuners were doing and incorporated it into their new products, but as a result, reliability took a back seat to some degree.  Modern reels tend to have more points of failure than the old dinosaurs.  Not that the manufacturers intended that, but it's a side effect of the ever more complex designs we see today, while older ones were comparably much simpler.  These newer reels are super smooth, but it can come at the expense of reliability because there are more parts, and thus more to potentially go wrong.  

 

If I were to give a nod to any newer reels that I believe will pass the longevity test; Daiwa Millionaire CV-Z and Ryoga platforms, Shimano Calcutta B and Calcutta Conquest platforms, and the Shimano Stradic/Vanford/Vanquish/Stella platform.  These are reels where the engineers designed around both performance and durability, and they are/were priced accordingly.  Notice I have no Daiwa spinners included, and that's because they run a helical oscillator gear made of nylon which is very prone to breakage.  I've replaced 8 of them this year, a mix of Tatula LTs and Ballistic LTs.  In one of the Ballistics, the actual frame mount broke off where the oscillator attaches.  Reading back in my reference to Shimano, they use level wind oscillation which is far more durable.  Daiwa only uses that in their tournament spinning reels now, they abandoned the design for the rest of their products when the SS Tournament was discontinued 3 years ago.

@bulldog1935 du(a)ly noted haha, guess I have a little more work to do. As part of the drag stack, why lubricate other components but not that one? 

 

@redmeansdistortion appreciate you sharing your thoughts bro, all that makes sense. 

 

Maybe I'll research the millionaire, I'm definitely a fan of Daiwa. I'd look into getting an older Shimano curdado, but wouldn't know what I'm lookin at to know between two what condition they're in, or how to repair one. Plus, I don't think I get along well with centrifugal brakes

 

13 minutes ago, Banned User said:

Maybe I'll research the millionaire, I'm definitely a fan of Daiwa

The Millionaire platform was made from '98-'23 in many iterations, the oldest being the CV-Z and most recent being the CT SV released in 2019 and the mountain stream oriented Stream Custom released in 2023.  That's 25 years of production on the same platform and they are nearly as customizable as the ABU Ambassadeur.  Parts are a plenty out there with spool options ranging from 28-34mm, gear sets available from 5.8:1-7.2:1 and a host of other modifications.

@Banned User corundum has enough lube from its resin binder - if you lube it, all it will do is slip and not function as drag.  Carbontex needs drag grease - it's known to lock up.  

I run (dry) blue corundum in my surf Ambassadeurs, and they double the drag capacity of carbontex.  

 

I own both CV-Z and Ryoga.  Ryoga is the better reel by far, more versatile, and the next-generation more powerful magnets make for much more reliable casting  

 

21 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

This Leonard BiMetal, made by Philbrook and Payne in the 1880s, is only worth $3000.  

(wish I could have gotten to those screws before someone else did)

 

Would have used muriatic acid w a dropper on those screws or something else? 

16 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

@Banned User corundum has enough lube from its resin binder - if you lube it, all it will do is slip and not function as drag.  Carbontex needs drag grease - it's known to lock up.  

I run (dry) blue corundum in my surf Ambassadeurs, and they double the drag capacity of carbontex.  

 

I own both CV-Z and Ryoga.  Ryoga is the better reel by far, more versatile, and the next-generation more powerful magnets make for much more reliable casting  

 

I like that Ryoga. Is it for sale? 😁

@F14A-B First, mineral spirits to penetrate the threads, then, proper hollow-ground driver bits:  

 

1 - hollow-ground screwdriver blade
2, 3 - cheap tapered screwdriver
4 - cheap tapered screwdriver at work
5 - damage produced by cheap tapered screwdrier
6 - hollow-ground driver at work

 

Never muriatic (hydrochloric) acid - that's exactly what you're trying to get out of reels using vinegar bath.  

1 minute ago, bulldog1935 said:

@F14A-B First, mineral spirits to penetrate the threads, then, proper hollow-ground driver bits:  

 

1 - hollow-ground screwdriver blade
2, 3 - cheap tapered screwdriver
4 - cheap tapered screwdriver at work
5 - damage produced by cheap tapered screwdrier
6 - hollow-ground driver at work

 

Never muriatic (hydrochloric) acid - that's exactly what you're trying to get out of reels using vinegar bath.  

Used muriatic acid in Commerical HVAC before. It’s no joke. Works wonders but potent 

@F14A-B five years later, they send me those chiller tubes for failure analysis.  

 

Ferric and cupric ions make hydrochloric acid 10 times more corrosive - this is where those ugly neglected salt reels ended up.  

2 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

@F14A-B five years later, they send me those chiller tubes for failure analysis.  

 

Ferric and cupric ions make hydrochloric acid 100 times more corrosive - this is where those ugly ignored salt reels ended up.  

Wow, 10-4, I gotcha..

Hmmm... shops can't wait on the vinegar to do its job. Too slow for commercial shops who gotta move product.

 

There is nothing wrong with using a stronger acid if it is used for a correct short amount of time and rinsed off and neutralized. Not an issue.

 

Both are corrosive. One faster than the other. Both have to be rinsed off and neutralized.

 

Its kind of nice to get a part back in seconds rather than hours.

 

I get where you are coming from and weaker acid's effects may be more controllable due to the slowness of it, but I see nothing wrong with speed acid either so long as it is thoroughly rinsed and neutralized all is well.

 

Green reels turn shiny silver instantly. High volume repair shops need it that way.

8 minutes ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

Hmmm... shops can't wait on the vinegar to do its job. Too slow for commercial shops who gotta move product.

Run it in an ultrasonic cleaner for about 30 minutes.  Spend that time doing something else, like disassembling the next job or prepping elsewhere.

High volume repair shops don't work that way. That might be fine for the DIY at home type of thing where its one reel at a time.

 

But in a professional repair shop with more than a dozen warranty contracts with rod and reel brands its a different story.

 

Take the shop I worked at for some years. That shop serves all of Florida basically and beyond. They have all of the central Florida reels coming in from Orlando area daily. They have the entire east coast of Florida saltwater guys. They have some of the South Florida people bring in reels and rods and, that shop has the west coast of Florida coming in there. The bass fishing guides bring in their rods and reels. State of Florida biologists. And then all the reels being mailed in. It gets overwhelming and doing it one reel at a time is just not how it goes.

 

We have had professional football players show up. Law enforcement. FWC. Professional baseball players. You never know who is gonna walk through that front door on any given day. We also serviced trolling motors so that was another huge draw for the shop. If they bring in trolling motors, they are bringing in rods and reels too and vice versa.

 

They turn the reel repair business and trolling motor repair business into a production line.

 

There are 1 or 2 techs who sit at a bench all day long doing nothing more than disassembling and cleaning reels up and cleaning parts up. Once a reel is torn down and cleaned in the ultrasonic cleaner solution, the parts are placed into a box and put at the back of the line on shelves. There could be a 100 reels on that shelf at a time. Sometimes more. Sometimes less.

 

The reel techs - usually 3 or 4- grab the next box or next reel in line and assemble it.

 

I did not like doing it this way myself. I much prefer doing it one reel at a time, and if I disassemble it then I know better how to put it back together. It was extremely difficult being thrown into that scene and handed a box with a reel I never seen before and did not take apart.

 

It sure was a learning curve experience for sure.

and of course the subject of this thread is maintaining reels properly at home.  

 

Yep. That's what I do now since I retired! Thank goodness!

12 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

@PhishLI I have added a Daiwa BG 1500 to my collection and although heavy I absolutely love this freaking reel😃

Here's a pic of the original Daiwa BG10 which ran from about '80 up until about '20 I think. My local B&T had stock and still showed them in the display case up until '22 alongside the new BG like yours which came out in '17 I believe. I think I got my 2500 in late '17. Pretty sure with a few spare parts purchased in reserve my great grandchildren will be using that reel. BTW, I have several of the D series including one NOS in the box D1000.

 

4 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Daiwa spinners run a helical oscillator gear made of nylon which is very prone to breakage.  I've replaced 8 of them this year, a mix of Tatula LTs and Ballistic LTs. 

Good info. I have a '17 LT3000 that I'm very happy with. I guess I'll be ordering some spares.

1 minute ago, PhishLI said:

Here's a pic of the original Daiwa BG10 which ran from about '80 up until about '20 I think. My local B&T had stock and still showed them in the display case up until '22 alongside the new BG like yours which came out in '17 I believe. I think I got my 2500 in late '17. Pretty sure with a few spare parts purchased in reserve my great grandchildren will be using that reel. BTW, I have several of the D series including one NOS in the box D1000.

 

Is that a picture of your personal reel? If so that’s in beautiful shape, although I know reels are tools I really don’t like scratching something I worked hard to purchase even though the tools I use for work definitely look the part.

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

Good info. I have a '17 LT3000 that I'm very happy with. I guess I'll be ordering some spares.

Here is my thought.  The spool attaches right to the main shaft, and the main shaft to the oscillator.  Pulling out of snags is the most likely culprit from what I can see.  Repeated jerking would cause shock to the oscillator, causing it to break.  Here's a photo of one from a Tatula LT 2500.  You can see how the stud broke free and took some teeth with it.

 

With level wind oscillation, the carrier for the pawl screws to the main shaft, then the pawl, washer, and cover are installed.  There is no plastic present so it will have better durability.