Tri-cast Trophy Feeder rods, 11' 4'' & 10' 6'' refurbishments

I often get asked to 'tart up' older rods that have had years of use and have started to look dishevelled and battle weary! People are sometimes surprised that I inform them that the time served method of hand varnishing them is still by far the best way to bring life back into older rods.

The finish on most modern day blanks is 'baked on' straight out of the 'mould' and can't be reproduced with epoxy finishes and the like which are fine for the ring whippings, and indeed I do finish them in epoxy, but it's not really practical on the blank itself.

Several coats of well applied varnish not only looks good but lasts a lifetime, literally, I still see a friend who has a aset of NWB carp rods that I built over 25 years ago and they still look in mint condition!

Recently I was visited by a long time Trafford Angling customer, Keith, who I've known for donkey's years, and he brought me his treasured Tri-Cast feeder rods for a bit of sprucing up. The rods have been rebuilt with a fresh set of Seymo RDX match rings which are a great set of durable lightweight rod rings that suit all match and feeder rods perfectly.

The ring whippings had my usual 2 step process to finish off the rings, then the blanks have had 5 to 6 coats of varnish applied with a days setting time inbetween, plus a ' resting time' of about 2 weeks, I don't really like to let them go 'til I'm happy they're 'right' which includes more drying time than people usually like!

The results speak for themselves . . . . . . .  ;)

 

Some Daiwa Tournament reel servicing shots. . . . . . .

Thought I'd pop some pictures on of a few recent reels in for servicing, namely some Daiwa Tournament's, the TS5000T's that came out years ago, then went off the market, and then came back into production years later!

Cracking reels, and at (still) over £200 a piece, definitely worth looking after.
Great work horses and really well engineered reels too, ingenious design! one of only a few reels I've come across where the body plates come off either side, which is great for servicing.

This shot shows both side plates off, from the back.........

And the view from the left and right sides..........................

The best part of this configuration is having access to the worm shaft for inspection and the small drive gear on the end, everything else can easily come out be quickly cleaned, greased and put back in place.

Unfortunately this one had a serious case of wear on the main drive gear and the pinion gear as can be clearly seen in the images below, the main round drive gear had very badly rounded and worn teeth, the pinion gear came off even worse and has clearly taken the brunt of the damage. Luckily the oscillating shaft and pawl seem to have gotten away with it, which is something like a miracle to be honest !

The cause of this damage is largely unknown, the only clue seems to be that it's been taken apart before and by the looks of it, not put back together propely, screws not tightened up right, and grease not applied, the reel was bare, with very little, very old, black grease, a sign it's not been done in years.

Here is another example of how damage occurs - the reels are Daiwa again, this time the Emblem Z 5500 models.

 I think it's fair to hazard a guess this guy fishes a sandy pit somewhere fairly often . . . . . . . that stuff really won't help, and can ruin bearings, especially if the reels are left wet and covered in this or any length of time, best advice, wash them under a tap and shake them dry, leaving them on a towel for a day, take the spools off and prop them up so all the water drains out of the reel,  fresh water generally doesn't do much harm if you do your best to drain it off.

And don't forget! 3 reels serviced is only £35 ! That's a bargain! The reels are stripped, cleaned, oiled, checked, greased, re-assembled, this price will not last forever, and it's currently less than half of what Tackle Box charges, it's cheaper than Shimano's charges, you don't have to send them away, so you're saving on postage too !