Handle slip in Daiwa T-Wing?

[CaughtMeABiggun]

I just got my second Tatula 100. The first one is great but as soon as I pulled this one out of the box I noticed that every few handle engagements after depressing the thumb bar the and turning the handle to engage the reel, the handle turns a bit before the engagement happens. It's almost like there is a random slip in engagement. Has anyone seen this on their T-Wing Daiwas? 

[bulldog1935]

There are 12 teeth on the mainshaft ratchet plate, which means the handle can turn up to 30-degrees before kicking the kick lever - one kick plate moves the thumb button, the second simultaneously moves the T-wing.  

 

         

[MN Fisher]

And if the ratchet plate is installed backwards - it won't engage the kick lever and it'll never come out of 'casting' mode.

 

Don't ask.....

[GRiver]

4 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Don't ask.....

Enough said

[CaughtMeABiggun]

The reel engages after pressing the thumb bar, but randomly it acts like the old anti reverse reels did before infinite anti reverse, except the handle isn't moving backwards. The handle has to rotate about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch forward and then will engage. It's like it has to pick up the slack. My other tatula doesn't act like this at all.

[Bigbox99]

9 minutes ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

The reel engages after pressing the thumb bar, but randomly it acts like the old anti reverse reels did before infinite anti reverse, except the handle isn't moving backwards. The handle has to rotate about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch forward and then will engage. It's like it has to pick up the slack. My other tatula doesn't act like this at all.

All my reels from all brands are like that.  It's a normal part of the clutch activation.  

[PhishLI]

 

[CaughtMeABiggun]

I guess I'm having a hard time explaining what it is doing. When I press the thumb bar and then click the handle the reel randomly has 1/4 inch of play like it's not connected to anything and then it will click to engage. Every other baitcasting reel I have ever owned the handle immediately clicks and engages when turning the handle. There is no slack to take up in the handle before the reel clicks to engage.

[MN Fisher]

7 minutes ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

Every other baitcasting reel I have ever owned the handle immediately clicks and engages when turning the handle. There is no slack to take up in the handle before the reel clicks to engage.

You've been lucky?

 

Truly, the occurrence when the ratchet and trip line up perfectly so that there's no 'free play' is actually rare. My Tatulas, Fuegos, Patriarchs all have a little bit of play before the reel clicks into 'drive' mode...it's perfectly normal and the fact that you haven't had that happen on other reels I chalk up to pure luck.

[bulldog1935]

If you ever had a small frame Ambassadeur, the main shaft only has 4 kick posts, and you can turn the handle up to 90-degrees before anything happens.  

 

[Bankc]

1 hour ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

I guess I'm having a hard time explaining what it is doing. When I press the thumb bar and then click the handle the reel randomly has 1/4 inch of play like it's not connected to anything and then it will click to engage. Every other baitcasting reel I have ever owned the handle immediately clicks and engages when turning the handle. There is no slack to take up in the handle before the reel clicks to engage.

That's totally normal.  None of them actually engage immediately.  There's a ratchet plate with only a few teeth on it, and you have to move it until the teeth catch the lever to disengage the casting release button.  There might be a slight difference in this reel that's make you notice it, but all modern baitcaster reels do this.  It's nothing to worry about. 

[Bigbox99]

2 hours ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

I guess I'm having a hard time explaining what it is doing. When I press the thumb bar and then click the handle the reel randomly has 1/4 inch of play like it's not connected to anything and then it will click to engage. Every other baitcasting reel I have ever owned the handle immediately clicks and engages when turning the handle. There is no slack to take up in the handle before the reel clicks to engage.

This is normal.

[CaughtMeABiggun]

I have over 60 baitcast reels from MGL Curados to Piscifun to anything else. This is the first modern reel I have ever had this issue with. I do my own reel maintenance. I decided to take the reel apart again. (1st time was to put a little reel grease on those bone dry Tatula gears) I was able to watch the thumb bar and t wing actuation and saw what is happening. I think that the teeth on the main shaft ratchet plate are a hair too sharp. By design the arm that is attached to the thumb bar should slide into place between the ratchet plate teeth each time the thumb is pressed. If you notice on a Tatula the handle will rotate forward when you press the thumb bar sometimes. This is the arm sliding into place.  If it is working properly, the arm will drop into place and will pop properly off of the next tooth to engage the reel handle and reset the thumb bar. If a couple of the teeth on the ratchet plate are a bit too pointy or the angle of the notch isn't quite right it will prevent the arm from sliding into the notch between the teeth on the ratchet place. The arm will hang on the top of the tooth and that is where the issue is. My other Tatula is spot on every time. I think this reel will wear in because the the more I do it the better it is getting. I have old Shimano Black Magnums that  have slop that needs to be taken out first before the handle engages. Modern reels are not supposed to do that anymore. If you have a modern reel built by a reputable brand this is not normal. I have a second gen Castaic that doesn't do it because instigage can't work if there is play in the mechanism. That reel is going on 20 plus years old. The old Curado B reels from the 90s do not do this. I would say that there "shouldn't" be a Shimano or Daiwa that came off the assembly line in the last 20 years that should act like this becuase with good QC these reels have had that engineered out of them. The engineering is the reason we aren't all still using Black Magnums or BW2 Procasters. I am going to chalk it up to the spotty QC of the Tatula 100s. 

[garroyo130]

I didn't read most of the above, but I do have my new Curado MGL next to me and it displays the exact same 1/4" of play before it engages. 

 

About 1 out of every 10 attempts does get lucky and gives me no play.

 

The reels are made with the same parts so I really don't see how some can have absolutely no play every single time. 

[bulldog1935]

Zillion ratchet plate only has 9 teeth, so it can turn up to 40 degrees before engaging the kick lever.  

 

@MN Fisher - note, this one is reversible - ha.  

[F14A-B]

On 7/25/2024 at 11:07 PM, CaughtMeABiggun said:

I just got my second Tatula 100. The first one is great but as soon as I pulled this one out of the box I noticed that every few handle engagements after depressing the thumb bar the and turning the handle to engage the reel, the handle turns a bit before the engagement happens. It's almost like there is a random slip in engagement. Has anyone seen this on their T-Wing Daiwas? 

Bro, unless you ordered it from Japan, return it and get another copy. That is my advice. 

[CaughtMeABiggun]

After my inspection and re assembly I was able to get the reel working properly. There is zero play now. It looks like it just needed to wear in. Definitely some poor QC. Seems to be a Tatula thing. They are dry, noisy, or clunky. I'm not a hater but there are better options depending on your needs. The one thing they do well is throw lighter baits. That is why I have two. The handle should not turn 30 to 40 degrees before it starts to engage. Maybe a 1980s reel but not any quality reel made in the last 25 years. After you press the thumb bar and make a cast the reel's internals should be in a position to click and engage the drivetrain. They are designed to do so. You should not have to make the reel "find home" on the ratchet plate before it will start the engagement. Yes the handle does turn during the engagement, but shouldn't be noticeable reel turn before you feel the pressure and click of the engagement. Obviously the handle turns through the engagement. I recommend taking the side plate off of these reels and watch them work. It is very clear on the Tatula what the intended design is and how it is engineered to work. 

10 hours ago, garroyo130 said:

I didn't read most of the above, but I do have my new Curado MGL next to me and it displays the exact same 1/4" of play before it engages. 

 

About 1 out of every 10 attempts does get lucky and gives me no play.

 

The reels are made with the same parts so I really don't see how some can have absolutely no play every single time. 

I just purchased 4 new Curado MGL reels. They all have zero play.

In case I have not communicated this clearly about the "play" I am talking about. This is not the movement of the handle when engaging the reel. This is before that. Between pressing the thumb bar and the engagement of the reel. Having to move the handle to get it to a point where I can turn the handle to engage the reel.

[PhishLI]

6 minutes ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

After my inspection and re assembly I was able to get the reel working properly. There is zero play now. It looks like it just needed to wear in.

So, after turning the handle several times it works to your satisfaction? Is that the extent of the wear in, or did you do something else? Lubed the articulated point of the kick lever or something? Deburred the click ratchet? Fished it for a few hours?

 

11 minutes ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

I just purchased 4 new Curado MGL reels. They all have zero play.

My Curado K has some forward play before engagement during random cycles which is why I responded earlier in this thread with the post/link from '21, and it's fully lubed by me.

[CaughtMeABiggun]

I took the handle and side plate off and started watching what the reel was doing. When I saw that the lever arm connected to the thumb bar would sometimes hang on the top of the tooth of the ratchet plate, I knew that it needed to wear in to allow the arm not to catch there. That arm moves forward and down to advance the ratchet plate to the next tooth and seat in the notch after it. When it has advance the ratchet plate you will see the reel handle slightly turn when pressing the thumb bar down. Sometimes it is aligned correctly and you won't see the handle move. After observing this, I then disassembled the drivetrain and put it back together making sure that the lever arm was in a place that meshed good with the ratchet plate. Once I got it back together I noticed it seemed to be a litttle better and I started pushing the thumb bar and clicking the handle over and over. It continued to get better. I took it out fishing today. It worked great and even caught a decent largemouth with it.