What the Inside of my Brain Looks like at 3am

[Deepfins791]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I find it impossible to get a good nights sleep when I have a reel or two in pieces on my workbench. I wake up in the middle of the night, and my thoughts invariably start obsessing over that stubborn screw, the slight wobble in the spool, how I am going to pull the stubborn spindle gear off the end of the spindle, where might that bearing have disappeared to, the anxiety of working on a reel and risking damage when there are only a handful known to exist, etc. Soooooooo, at 4am I put the coffee pot on.

John

[Midway Tommy D]

No offense, John, but you're taking this stuff way too serious! I finally found that the best solutions to some of those issues come when you least expect it so when tough situations arise I make sure I have good pics and give it a rest for a few days. When the solutions comes to a clear head I go " ".

[Nick in NY]

Haha I've been there! I'd buy a great piece on Saturday and spend the next 12 hours cleaning and polishing till I got it right! Make the coffee and lets go. Unfortunately I missed 1 to many events. Ex-wife used it against me said something like so can more about your reels than.....oh well still have the collecting fever only thing is I really don't clean any more. Tight Lines Nick in NY

[Steve]

When the solution comes to a clear head...

[Deepfins791]

None taken, Tommy!! Right now I am wrestling with the spindle gear on a Stead. Tried all the usual tricks, but can't get it to budge. Even tried Elder's advice: "beat it with a hammer". Does anyone have a link to a nice little gear puller?

[54bullseye]

Why don't you just buy yourself a nice set of new reels instead of wrestling around with that old crap ! I will give you a few bucks for the used stuff and you can go new !!!! Fewer headaches, better sleep !! John Taylor

[Nick in NY]

Have you spoken with Elder? Was it peened over of simply slide on? I've made tools for such a purpose. Is it possible to add heat, what about notching a trowel and sliding it behind the gear only after you've taken out any burrs. Pry/lift! Good luck

[Tightlines666]

Soak in a 50:50 Acetone : Automatic Transmission Oil mix overnight. Then leave it in the freezer for 8-12hours. Pull it out and heat it with a torch. Use opposing flathead screws drivers or similar to pry evenly from both sides of pinion upwards. Maybe mount the spool in a vice after wrapping in leather or something. Light taps all around the gear while heating might help. Running it through a sonic cleaner while soaking in penetrance may also help.

Just a few ideas.

John