Reel tool storage

[herder]

Small often used tools I stick in a foam block, screw drivers, picks,X-acto knives, brushes, files and most importantly my magnifying glass.

As Bankc said a towel is used when disassembling reels to stop the dreaded bounce, still haven't figured out the sprung spring though.

Empty egg carton for keeping the parts in order.

 

[cadman]

4 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

It's a cheap Amazon mat.  I haven't fully built out the shop area yet.  At my old house I was using cafeteria trays lined with a towel.  I actually prefer that setup over the mat because it contains small parts a lot better and I can work on more than one reel at a time.  Using the trays I can do 2 or 3 at a time.  

Thank You for your input.

[JediAmoeba]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

Start that up and you'll get even more people sending you reels.  Ask me how I know, lol. 

 

2 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

You really should.  You will want to price on the lower end and gradually increase as your reputation builds.  It also plays to your benefit giving discounts on bulk jobs.  I give a discount when a customer sends me 5 or more reels.  I also discount my own in-house die-cut laminated drag washers when a customer has a number of reels in for service.  Give them incentive to want your services.  Reel service is such a niche thing that there is never any shortage of work.  I do a lot of conventional reels like the Shimano Tekota, Okuma Convector, Okuma Coldwater, Daiwa Sealine, and various Penn models.  These are the reels most charter services run here in the Great Lakes, especially the Okuma models because they are cheap and can take the abuse.  My business is probably 75% charters and 25% recreational fishermen.  As I type this, I have 14 Okuma Convectors, 8 Okuma Coldwaters, 11 Daiwa Sealines, and 9 Penn GTIs that were delivered between Thursday and yesterday.  It's crunch time as the charters scramble to prepare their outfits for the season.  Between the months of October and March when the charters are closed up for the season, I often get so many in that I have a friend help.  Charters are the most consistent business you'll get.  They want their stuff in tip top shape and will send annually for routine maintenance.  My charter customers are all over the Great Lakes region with most on Erie, Huron, and Michigan.

I am aware - it started in my club and guys I know. I have always tinkered with my reels going back to when I was a teen. I used to work on HO slotcars I tuned them, tested them and sold them for decent profit. Reels are similar in the goal - free movement while working with centrifugal and magnetic forces. I am very good at tuning a reel and offered to do it for guys. Now I have dudes giving me 10 reels and upset when I tell them it's going to be 10 bucks because I had to order a bearing, spring or handle. It's easier when all the reels are the same as you can just tear em all down and have a little assembly line but often it's 5 different reels. I enjoy doing it and have tested umpteen different oils, greases, bearings, polishing compounds, bushing materials I machine, different washers, drag materials, etc. I have learned superruning a reel really doesn't offer any upgrade to performance unless you are a professional distance caster.

 

I have also found that freeing up a reel causes a lot of guys problems as they were more consistent with a dirty reel that was slow from the gunk. Lol in turn they end up cranking down the tension knob to reduce backlash. 

[Johnbt]

Old Plano 757 holds fishing tools, gun tools and bore cleaning/polishing stuff. Not my actual box. Mine is full.

[J Francho]

@JediAmoeba our hobby backgrounds have a ton of overlap. I used to be in a club that raced T-Jets exclusively. 

[JediAmoeba]

3 minutes ago, J Francho said:

@JediAmoeba our hobby backgrounds have a ton of overlap. I used to be in a club that raced T-Jets exclusively. 

In Horseheads NY? I raced a lot of TJets...I used to make parts for a JW

[J Francho]

No, it was local to Rochester

[JediAmoeba]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

No, it was local to Rochester

Did you know a guy that use to have a track in his basement? I went there a few times to race superstores and screw around with TJets. I raced HO all over the country...lol

[J Francho]

I know lots of dudes that had tracks in their basement/garage. I'll take this up in pm

[DaveT63]

Thanks for all the pics and input!  I considered a number of different options, like a Plano 3700 box, a shoe box, and stealing my wife's portable Craftsman 3 drawer tool box.  But that was bigger than I wanted.  Today, I found this little beauty in a pawn shop for $5.00.  May use as is, or scuff it up and hit it with a rattle can.  Haven't decided yet.  That is a Daiwa TDZ in the pic for size reference.

[ATA]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry shared wrong post 😂

[bulldog1935]

Well gee, Spanish cedar cigar boxes, of course.  I pick the best and flattest to stack tools on my bench, also for work space that I can fold up.  

 

I use the blocky ones for storing projects like round reel frames.  

They're also extremely useful for storing bicycle parts in a different location.