Real Cleaning/repair

[ttabaleulb]

Do you guys know anyone in the general area (maybe OH, WV, NY, PA) that works on conventional Musky reels. Preference would be nearest to the Pittsburgh area, but willing to ship further too. I thought I remembered something about this on the site in the past, but my searches on this site don't usually get me what I'm lookin for. Thanks for any info.


Jay

[Red Childress]

I have been with Dave's Reel Service the past 2 years and glad I made the switch.


http://www.davesreelservice.com/

[ttabaleulb]

Thanks Red. I'll definitely check them out.

[lowbidder]

I've heard others say Dave's is good too. I used to send them away for everything, but now make the minor repairs / maintenance myself. It gives me something to do during weeks like this!

Some reels are easier than others to work on, but they all work similarly. The low profiles are a little tricky, but just because there is not as much room. I have a Revo that was the first muskie reel I bought back in 2009. I use it more than all my others combined and it hasn't had a part break yet. For some reason they just stay cleaner and that's probably why. Meanwhile my round Abu's that I don't use nearly as much need repaired annually.

I've found my Abu's have more problems than my Daiwa and Avet, but their parts department is pretty good and reasonably priced. I just tore apart all of my reels this past weekend. Cleaned them, greased them, replaced all my drag washers with Carbontex and replaced one roller bearing that had gone bad. Only took about 4 hours to do all 4 reels and the parts cost about $70 including 3 shipping charges. $27 of that was because the roller bearing was integral and I had to buy a whole new sideplate. The rest was for misc. screws that were stripping, the drag washers and a tub of Cal grease.

I never minded ripping into something like that, but if you're worried about screwing something up you best send them away to be safe. If you do try to do it yourself, make sure you're on a FLAT surface, put down a towel and lay out the parts in order as you disassemble. Take the time to read the cleaning instructions that came with your reels. I really enjoy seeing how they work.. it really is a marvel.

[rodwrap]

I used to use tackle unlimited repair... right there in Clariton

[Ivan]

I have used Tackle Unlimited in the past with good results but had a bad experience last year. I had a couple trolling reels serviced and repaired before our week at LSC. One of the freshly repaired reels did not even last the week.

[ttabaleulb]

Cool, great info guys, thanks. I'm actually asking the question for someone else. I believe he is now going to do the servicing himself. Sounds like he found some good youtube videos out there too. I didn't even think about that initially. I swear youtube has just about anything nowadays. I'm kind of lucky since I'm only using flyrods now. Theres really nothing to those reels and I RARELY use them for anything other than a line holder.

[rodwrap]

swear youtube has just about anything nowadays. .

Youtube makes going to music concerts rather dumb...most are there & I can watch them anytime..

[ttabaleulb]

You got that right!! I'm a huge music fan too and play guitar. Anytime I'm lookin for a little inspiration, I do a quick Youtube search and find some video of some teenager who could smoke me even tho I've been playing a LONG time. Gets the creative juices flowing and keeps things interesting.