Seems to me we ought to be able to purchase and cut our own drag washers some how.

Anyone know where you can buy carbon matrix material, or some other material that would be good to upgrade or replace drag washers on reels?? 

Reason I ask is because I use Bass Pro Shops branded reels and there doesn't seem to be any places that service these reels or supply parts for them.  I'd like to see if it's possible to "super tune" my reels with a smoother drag. 

By the time you spent the $$$ to purchase the materal and have a machine shop make the parts you would be better off buying a new reel

Seems to me we ought to be able to purchase and cut our own drag washers some how.

Anyone know where you can buy carbon matrix material, or some other material that would be good to upgrade or replace drag washers on reels??

Reason I ask is because I use Bass Pro Shops branded reels and there doesn't seem to be any places that service these reels or supply parts for them. I'd like to see if it's possible to "super tune" my reels with a smoother drag.

Have you checked with Bass Pro? They have their own reel service center.

I would bet there is another reel with drag washers that drop right in. Problem is finding out which ones....

You might be able to gain smoother drag operation by replacing the washers, polishing the drag contact areas, and replacing the washers in the main drive/spacer stack.

I'd give these people a call, they may be able to help you. You probably would need to have the washer dimensions handy.

http://www.smoothdrag.com/

SMOOTH DRAGS CARBONTEX WASHERS !!!!!!!!!!!

go to www.smoothdrag.com

I had that site bookmarked already. Didn't think about having them just make some for my reel, I thought it was "prefabbed" only for specific models and if mine wasn't listed then I was out of luck.

And I didn't know it was as serious as having someone machine the parts. I figured this would be something you could cut with a knife or saw at home. In rebuilding the reels after cleaning, the washers seem so soft that I could not imagine it being that serious. I know if I had some of the teflon material here that my washers are made from I could cut it with a razor.

My reels function fine right now also, I just thought it would be nice to upgrade them a little. They're brand new now though so it's not an issue currently. I was just looking to further my own knowledge with this question mostly.

We are re-sellers for Smooth Drag and I will bet they don't carry bulk or sell bulk materials that I know of. But i'll bet if you send them the drag pad your referring to they could have it cut for you (for a price).....

FYI: BPS service comes from Outdoor World Rod & Reel Repair

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&appID=40&option=2

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!

I had that site bookmarked already. Didn't think about having them just make some for my reel, I thought it was "prefabbed" only for specific models and if mine wasn't listed then I was out of luck.

And I didn't know it was as serious as having someone machine the parts. I figured this would be something you could cut with a knife or saw at home. In rebuilding the reels after cleaning, the washers seem so soft that I could not imagine it being that serious. I know if I had some of the teflon material here that my washers are made from I could cut it with a razor.

My reels function fine right now also, I just thought it would be nice to upgrade them a little. They're brand new now though so it's not an issue currently. I was just looking to further my own knowledge with this question mostly.

Nothing wrong with the question....It's winter/tinker time up this way so I understand believe me.

What BPS reel are you working on? if it comes down to needing to have some made and mine use the same I may be interested in having a few made too.

I know on my Abu round reels, polishing the drag contact surfaces and drying the washers off from a year of oiling the reel from the outside, helped smooth out and strengthen drag function dramatically.

I have the previous models of BPS Extreme, the ones with the ITB braking and the straight handle cranks (now they have swept in designs). 

I thought it might be nice to go from teflon washers to carbon matrix since I read so many good things about it online, how it's heat dissipation is great, provides a lot of drag power, and also is smooth on the pay out. 

I'm a tinkerer by nature, and now that it's winter my brain will be tingling with questions and thoughts of how to improve things even the tiniest bit.