Repairs, reel servicing & rod building from (ex) Trafford Angling Supplies longest serving staff member Dave,

with over 25 years in the industry, and creator of the TBR2 Barbel Tripod.

Tuesday 21 August 2018

Reel Service with replacement bearings

A quick post and before and after video of a reel that's just been finished.

Okuma Epix Pro 40 reel with a very rough feel and noisy 'coffee grinder' racket going on ! The fix was replacing the bearings, all 3 of them as water had got in and the rust had done it's deed on them  . . . . . . .  an expensive job you may think?

No, not really, all in with a service, the reel's total repair cost including 3 new bearings was only £25 ! Now bare in mind that if you were sending it to me you'd have postage costs both ways, but this chap was fairly local, so in his case, a very reasonable fix to keep a favourite reel in action doing battle !

Watch the video below and hear the difference !


As you can see it's made a massive difference to the sound, feel and operation of the reel, completely transformed from something you'd throw away to a reel that's going to be good for years.

This is a service I offer for many many older reels, including the old original Shimano TSS Baitrunners (Triton Sea Spin), Daiwa original Tournament TSS5000's, Emblems (AKA baboons arse!) and many many more, including beach and boat reels !

Give me a shout with enquiries for any reel you have and I'll see what I can do for you !

Cheers

Dave

Monday 23 April 2018

Rod blank re-glossing and finishing and refurbishments . . . . . . . .

Many older blanks that have years of life left in them only tend to suffer from one common downfall . . . . . . .  weathering . . . . . . .

This can come in various forms from just fading with daylight, to the top layers going brittle and starting to crack/split, then the weather and water gets to them and they can go 'white' in the winter, whippings as well as blanks.

Surface scratches and packing the rods away still damp, or leaving rods wet and damp in a damp holdall for long lengths of time all contribute to the degradation of the rods outer finish.

Re-glossing can bring an old rod back to life and make it look like new, as well as being a great base on which to rebuild a whole rod, or just re-whip and re-finish. Below are a couple of examples which show you the before and after shots of some recent rebuilds.

First example is a set of North Western Blanks Carbon Kevlar Multi Range.....
over 25 years old and at first, really looking it !


As you can see there is a marked difference ! 



Tip sections looking good and ready for some rings ! 


Butt sections part way through having some old school duplon abbreviated 
replica handles fitted to complete the top to toe refurbishment.  


Next example is a Silstar Traverse X 390 Match 
A bit of a Silstar classic from back in the day ! 

This has also in for  the full works, which includes rebuilding the handle and replacing the old fibreglass parallel handle insert silstar used to fit, with a tapered carbon fibre handle, new cork handle, Fuji KDPS cork reel seat, 

Fuji Alconite single leg rings with 3 leg butt ring, top to bottom blank reglossing and an as - yet - to be - decided twin colour whipping combo ;) 
This will truly be a one of a kind Traverse X so what better way to start the build than with a freshly reglossed blank to ensure the best start ! 






As you can see, the difference in old and 'new' can be like night and day. 
Most, but not all blanks can be recoated, some factory coloured blanks can't always be reglossed, and depending on the condition, may or may not be advisable to attempt, so when in doubt, let me have either some really good quality photos or bring them to me in person to view.

Thursday 15 March 2018

Original Shimano Stradic GTM match reel servicing video

Thought a little short video might make a change ! This is from a little while back that I posted on my Facebook Page  it's a before and after service on a very old original Stradic GTM, a classic Shimano match reel, that had never had a service since purchase !



From loud and squeaky, to smooth and silent ! All for just £15 !
Beware of imitations ! I spend an hour plus on a service and I am very thorough!

ALL GEARING is checked
ALL BEARINGS  are cleaned and checked
Your reel is cleaned out to FACTORY CLEAN standards then,
REBUILT and regreased & oiled.

PLUS If you would like to see your actual reels stripped and being serviced, I will post a series of images up for you on my Facebook Page  so you can
ACTUALLY SEE  what you've paid for ! Not sure there's many out there offering that, I've been doing it as long as my page has been running to show customers the depth and thoroughness of my services - Please take a look at my page and give me a ' like ' I'd really appreciate it  !

Thank you

Dave