Drag maintenance!!!

[Bustlinbarry]

Hoy There,
recently removed drag washers from both spools and found that on one the fabric(<<whats this called??)..( between the key washer - eared washer+ drag washer) was oiled and the other spool nothing.. dry as a bone. I figure these should be lubricated but wouldnt know. :confused: Plz Help!!
L8tr
Barry:D

[Bustlinbarry]

Also.....should I keep these washers highly polished and furthermore any tips relating to this part of my reels anatomy... Could be one for Dave W as i've read he is quite keen on fiddling in this department. Damn washer retainer nearly took my eye out when I was removing it with the steak knife...never 2 be seen again, had to shape a new retainer from a paperclip, learnt quickly there:rolleyes:
L8tr
Barry:D

[Bustlinbarry]

bump!

[torvic]

Wow your a brave one

I wouldnt open up my new Okuma reel in a million years...but then by then I guess it wont be new again.

I dont know maybe its best just to get it serviced at a tackle shop, probably the best way as there are some things inside a reel that once opened is near impossible to put back in.

Servicing your drag is not a big task if the drag is in the spool.
It is a simple case of removing the retainer, then the washers.
You wash the washers in kero and rinse in very mild soapy water and leave to dry.
WHen putting it back together, the felt wahers should be left dry without oil and in the case of the sinthetic type washers, they should be oiled with the highest quality drag lubricant you can get. (i'm pretty sure it is the synthetics which get lubed and not the felt)
Also, a drag even when from the factory and very new, can be serviced as the lubricant they use is likely to be cheap.
It really makes a big difference!!!:D

[Bustlinbarry]

Cheers Kingpin,:D

[Dave W]

Sorry Barry, I must have missed this post first time around.....

Do what Kingpin suggests - he's on the ball, and Inox makes a great washer lube;)

A quick word of warning - if you're going to 'sand' or polish any drag washers make sure it's on a dead flat surface (such as a piece of glass), the best way to make an average drag worse is to put uneven drag washers into it:(

[chris_lemess]

If you've got felt in between the drag washers then it's a felt drag and you need to oil it regularly with a good reel oil available from any good tackle shop. Get a reputable brand.

Torvic - you need to service your reel at least once a year. Completely strip it down, wash parts in warm soapy water, then grease main moving parts and oil minor parts inc. drag / bail arm etc. After every trip you should oil exterior parts especially the line roller and the handle. Also the drag if it needs it.

Chris

Barry, Chris is right If it's felt it should be oiled. To test if the drag is operating properly rig your rod as you would for fishing, adjust the drag setting that you would use for the line class and rod being used, usually somwhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of the lines breaking strain.
Tie the line off to a solid object, be carefull not to have anything above the rod in case the line snaps during the test.
Load the rod to a working curve, steadily increasing pressure, if the drag starts to give line without any hint of jerk or sudden speed up of the drag giving line then your close to having a good drag, A lot of drags will give line smoothly once they start to rotate but have a steep increase in drag pressure just prior to giving line, very bad when fishing light leaders that may have sustained damage during a fight.
For the ultimate light line drag get yourself some split chrome leather (Looks like suede) and replace the non metal washers in your reel and keep them oiled. Hint: You may not be able to fit all the washers back because the leather is thicker.:)

[Matt Ireland]

where do you get that split chrome leather ? ( I thik thats what it was called)