Reel disassembly learning

[faker]

Hi all, got a question on how they learned to disassemble a reel? I don't want to try it on a expensive reel and I am not sure if the basic reels are complicated enough to build the experience.

Edited January 5 by faker

[JustJames]

Google and youtube are your friends....

 

 

[Green Hornet]

Start out with a basic reel and work your way up from there. Once you start getting up to something around the quality of a Stradic, some parts start to get complex, but nothing out of your realm if you’re mechanically minded.

[noelm]

Reels are a pretty simple thing, biggest tip, make sure you have a good work area (the kitchen table is good, but, not always a big hit) get some basic tools and have them with you, a small shifter, various screwdrivers, long nose pliers, an ice cream container with some degreaser and a toothbrush,  and a small tub of grease. Take photos as you go if you’re not confident, lay all parts out in order as you remove them, have some decent cloth handy to wipe things.

[XD351]

Back when i was a kid reels were not very corrosion proof ( alvey excepted) so we had no choice but to service them regularly . These days provided you rinse them off with fresh water and haven’t drowned it you don’t need much more than the occasional drop of oil on the line roller bearing , some lube on the bail arm pivots and a dob of grease on the gears and sliding bits inside maybe once a year . When i think back on all the reels i have  owned and done full rebuilds on that were not needed i shake my head - i was killing them with kindness - it’s a bit like taking an engine apart to clean the spark plugs ! You also need to understand that reel manufacturers have different viscosity grease for different parts of the reel which will give that “feel “ that a new reel has , when you use grease bought from  tackle store - you know the stuff , it is usually in a tube and marked reel grease and i have seen this stuff as thin as melted butter and as thick as peanut butter . Use that stuff and you can end up with a reel that grinds like it has no lube at all or so stiff it feels like you have used axle grease on it . Also you need to be ultra careful when opening the gearcase - the outside of the reel needs to be spotless because there is the risk that a grain of sand might be hiding in a crevice and if this gets inside and gets caught in the gears wave bye bye to that silky smooth reel . 
My way of thinking is: 

Reel under $400 just look after the bail roller and pivots and i would only strip it down if it went for a swim ,got dropped in sand or a bearing seized up - use it till it wears out .

Over $400 i would do the same in regards to the bail but if it had to come apart for a rebuild i would send it into either the manufacturer or one of their service agents , that way you get the reel back feeling and working as if it were new . You would probably only do a full service once in the life of the reel anyhow - they are far more durable than what we had as kids . 

 

[Rob81]

If possible, do it in a place where theres no carpet on the floor, or ideally a smaller room. That way, when something flies away from some form of spring, you can find that part again. Other then that, practice makes perfect.