Blueprinting recommendation for a Penn VSW30 and VSW50

[reeljohn2]

I'm looking to upgrade to the blueprint a couple of Penn Salt water International Reels. Please recommend some good places to get this done. I cant stand the thought of sending these reels to an unknown shop. Thanks John

[ak-fish]

The standard is Cal's in California. But do some thinking before you spend the big bucks: The 30VSW and 50VSW are **much** better reels than their predecessors so you won't gain as much with blueprinting. And decide what you need. Better freespool for casting? More drag? Be sure to ask Cal how much improvement you'll see and decide if it's worth it. If you haven't yet bought the reels, check out Avet and Accurate. Their reels don't need blueprinting at all.

[Reel Geezer]

I hate to sound dumb, but what is blueprinting?

[john elder]

Phil: With cars, it's taking the engine back to exact factory specs and I believe that covers it for reels, as well. But usually involves upgrading bearings and trying to make it run as sweet as it can...now, let's hear from the puce sky boyz

[Guest]

Well, almost. It is difficult to return something to factory specs, if it wasn't within said specs to begin with. So, more of a tuning process for maximum performance.

A good basic education can be found here, under the WORKSHOP flag.

http://orcaonline.org/images/pixel.gif?htm

Reeljohn, you could consider sending your reels there, or are you trying to find someone closer? Only ones I know are Tunatoys and perhaps Leperchaun, both of whom hang out at the Noreast.com discussion boards, and are geographically speaking in the NYC area.

[Dr. Rob]

That was me. I said that. Just forgot the login thing.

[reeljohn2]

Thanks for all the advice. I havent had this doen previously but seems like with larger fish the condition of the drag can be really critical to landing a nice one. The 30's drag system is a little beat up so I'm going to contact Cals and get it upgraded- its already a two speed.thanks for the great recommendation both Advanced and Avery look like quality family businesses.If Id know these reels were availalble I would have bought from them. Next time I get a reel like this Ill definitely buy from them. Do you prefer one or the other of these?
Thanks John

[Brian F.]

Hmmm... I wonder what reel customization will mean to some reel collector a century from now? I mean, today when I look at a reel I like to collect that's been customized, at least a professional job, it's more of a novelty for me. It is very unlikely that there is any information on who did the work or why, other than what you can inspect on the reel. In a way, the mystery makes it kind of fun to think about.

Will there be more interest in customizations, say 100 years from now, if people knew the who and why? There will certainly be more documentation and historical record, I would imagine thanks to the internet.

[ak-fish]

I think you meant "Accurate" and "Avet." They are both fine reels, but I think Accurates are over priced. I fish them both and, for the life of me, can't tell any difference in their free spool or drag smoothness. However, the smaller size Accurates do have more drag than the smaller Avets. Above 4/0 size, they both have far more drag than anyone would ever need. Avet now makes a 50 class (in size) reel that has over 100 lbs. of drag while maintaining freespool. I don 't want to catch a fish that requires that much drag!

[Reel Geezer]

Brian: I have been investigating "newer" bass reels for the past year. It is interesting to note the wild customization going on in Japan for the past half-dozen years or so. There are even customizers (Ito) working with Daiwa and other manufacturers. These reels are currently selling in the $500-1000 range, and are in demand. There is a fairly large following for these reels here in the US currently. I believe these reels will be collectible on down the line. However, the emphasis may be more on esthetic collectibility than the historical importance of the reel.

You guys might want to take a look at some of the wild stuff coming out of Japan now. Just check out:

http://www.japantackle.com/Limited_edition.htm

As many of you are probably aware, there are also aftermarket customizers working here in the US.