Making A Reel Smoother.

[NWI-Bassin']

I bought a pflueger president and it could be smoother. How do I do this?

[craww]

Spinning or casting?

[The Next KVD]

Its tough to make a reel smoother.  Smoothness comes down to how tight of tolerances the manufacture builds the reel.  The only thing I can say is take it apart, clean and lube.  Other than that buying upgraded bearings from say ABEC 5 to ABEC 7 bearings or even go ceramic is really the only way, but the effects are not very noticeable. For this wouldn't waste money buying ABEC 7 bearings for the handle knobs, I would focus on the spool support bearngs and maybe the bearing under the drive gear.

 

If it is a used reel, buying a new drive and pinion gears to replace the old ones will increase smoothness as well. I replace the gears in all my reels every 2 years.  Brass does wear, especially as much as I fish.

 

You want smooth buy a reel that has extremely tight tolerances such as Calais, Cores, Steez, Revo Premiers, ect.. High end big money reels.

[The Rooster]

Having the reels professionally serviced and getting the gears polished can do it also.

[drew4779]

I'm not familiar with that particular reel but in some cases you can add bearings. A lot of companies will use plastic bushings in lieu of bearings that you can switch out. Also,upgrading drag discs/washers and bearings can add smoothness. However, odds are that by the time you add all these parts you would have better off just buying a higher end reel from the start.

[Fishwhittler]

However, odds are that by the time you add all these parts you would have better off just buying a higher end reel from the start.

True, but upgrading a less expensive reel does allow you to pay over a period of time rather than all at once.

[iabass8]

if it's brand new out of the box, give it time. sometimes reels require a "break in" period. If the reel just feels a little tight or a small amount of resistance just give it an outing or two. if it just feels awful then either take it back or have it professionally cleaned.

[BobP]

When I change out gear sets on some reels they are not initially as smooth as I want.  What helps immediately is to lube the gears with a drag grease like Shimano ACE-2.  It's a thick sticky cosmoline based grease and it really smooths them out.  How the pinion and main gear mesh together is a big factor in how smooth the reel feels when it cranks.  You can use drag grease on gears all the time but after a season of use, I change out the Shimano grease for lighter Superlube grease with PTFE.  Another thing I've noticed is that reels with lower gear ratios are generally smoother cranking than ones with high gear ratios.  I guess the higher the ratio, the more force is applied to the gearing and the more any minor imperfection is felt.

[kickerfish1]

Good post Bob! I am far from a reel expert, but do agree that lower ratio reels (at least in some brands/reels) are smoother than their faster counterparts. The Johnny Morris carbonlite is a great example.