Well summertime brought a bad case of fishing fever to the grandson so I pulled out my box of gear from the attic only to find my grandfather's post war Summit 1993L. Granted, my memories of him with that reel were mostly untangling backlashed line.
Anyway, it's in good mechanical condition except that the line guide needed coaxing to travel along and it does not reverse direction on the left side. I replaced the pawl with the spare which resolved the travel issue but not the reversing issue.
The double threaded shaft looks OK to the naked eye but I'm no expert? All I can think of is to do a deep clean on the shaft. Any suggestions appreciated. TIA
ORCA recommends synthetic oil now in our restoration book. Ed Scharf is a lubrication expert and is quoted in the ORCA book:
"Grease has no place in a finely machined miniature sleeve or rolling element bearing unless water intrusion is a problem. A light oil in these areas is usually best. Grease is good for low speed gears in gears in spinning reels. High speed gears like in vintage rotating spool fishing reels can do well with oil or thin film grease.
As an alternative, a product called Reel X marketed by Corrosion Technologies (same company that makes Corrosion X, and Reel X Grease) works very well in your reel roller bearings and is excellent for bait casting reels with ball bearings. Reel X is a mineral oil that contains special additives for high film strength and is the same oil used in Reel X Grease.
My objective in lubrication is always to keep it basic and always use high quality products. Avoid proprietary lubricants with TFE compounds. Remember, TFE does NOT dissolve in any oil. TFE always will remain a solid and can eventually cause caking problems and reel tightening. I would avoid Silicone oil for reels that are going to be used. The actual lubricating properties are not nearly as good as standard petroleum oil or “PAO” synthetic oil. It is simply not needed."
Matt Wickham
Collector of Casting Weights, KY Reels and KY Tackle
