Abu Cardinal 54 Drag Knob

[homergreg]

Came across this reel today and couldn't pass it up. I've never had a Cardinal before. Feels really nice and well built and cleaned up really nicely. One issue though, the drag knob will pop off if I tighten too hard. It comes off in two pieces. I don't know if there is some sort of mechanical piece missing, because if there is, then I can't figure out how it would go on there. I was also wondering if there was some sort of adhesive that was keeping the portions of the knob together, and in the reels 30 years, it's just degraded and I could just epoxy it on? It goes back on with a snap, and the drag adjusts well until I put it too tight. I wouldn't think that this was by design, because then there would be loads of Cardinals out there with missing drag knobs!

Any help or ideas is greatly appreciated!

Greg

[arley]

You have a rare reel. A couple guys I know are desperate for the spools as they crack if line is would too tightly.Dick Janak can advise you on fixing the drag as he fixed mine.you can find him through search.

[homergreg]

Thanks for the info! It doesn't "appear" to be a hard fix on the surface, but I would rather do it in an informed manner than to bodge up a nice reel.

[Dick Janak]

The drag knob on the 54 is held onto the reel by a "fork Spring"
part # 10726 which is located internally under the side plate.Your drag knob seems to be missing something judging by the pictures.I could tell you more if I had the reel here to look at...

Dick Janak
845-255-5874

[homergreg]

Thanks, I took a peek and the fork spring is in there. It's really a beautiful reel inside. It was the outer grip of the knob where it connects to the plastic knob itself. I was able to take care of it.