Rod/Reel Repair

[GPaquette]

It's almost that time of the season where you have to put everything away for the Winter. This is the perfect time to get all your gear you've been beating up on for the last 6 months repaired. Send your stuff to Josh's Reel Repair, he has connections with all the big reel and rod part manufacturers throughout the country and will get the lowest prices for the highest quality. Your equipment will be back in a week or two depending on how long it takes to get the supplies in. He also builds completely custom rods and cleans reels by completely taking them apart and working on every little piece. $20 for every reel cleaned or 3 for $50. If that seems expensive think about it in the long run, I know whatever I can do to save a $300 reel an extra 3-5 years I'll take advantage of it. I've sent Josh many reels and rods where in almost every case they've been returned in the same, if not a better, condition than the new product. Give it a look, (734) 3883-1717 or jschanz007@gmail.com

[JchesBass_7]

Agreed.... I fished and talked with josh and the deals are great saves your reel for an extra 3-5 years and with the prices where there at you cant get any better. hit him up at (7340 3883-1717 or jschanz007@gmail.com

[5poundhooker]

Thanks for the good comments fellas! The phone number is actually (734)883-1717). All comments or questions regarding reel repair, maintaining your reels, or rod repair and or building are always welcome either here or on my E-mail at jschanz007@gmail.com

[bigjc]

So Josh,  I see the 734 area code...so where are you located downriver?

[5poundhooker]

Clinton, MI 11 miles west of Saline off Michigan ave. I don't have a store or anything like that. I'm just a guy who does rod and reel repair after work and on the weekends. Most of my clients are people I fish with in the Jackson county area last year were called Big Bass Liars Club on tues. nights (took over Midwest) I think they changed it to Big Bass Lunkers Club or something like that, also Great lakes a little club on every other saturday or so, and another on wed. nights called Tri-County Lunkers Club. You have my info if you want to contact me. I assume I shouldn't have corrected my number on here since it got moved. My bad. I didn't know this site existed until about two weeks ago or so.

[matt]

Been looking for someone who I can go to local for reel cleaning...I still don't like the idea of sending them off in the mail. Only thing that has kept me from sending any reels yet....I really need to get them cleaned though.

[5poundhooker]

Matt it is perfectly safe. If you are worried just buy insurance. If it is a trust issue with me personally there are quite a few users of this forum that can vouch for my professionalism and work. all though people don't use this forum as much as some others I have been to(not as frequently). Your reels will be fine if you package them yourself to make sure that they are safe and sound when they arrive. You could also drop them off if that is what you are worried about.
sincerely, Josh

[TCook]

We all got alot of freetime during winter so why not clean your reels yourself? You will save alot of money and help with your cabin fever a bit. I decided to take this route last winter and made one purchase from a reel cleaning site with all the needed tools and oil/grease. The total cost was $40 which included TG's yellow rocket fuel, Cal's drag grease, super lube synthetic grease, precision screwdriver set, precision needle pic set, and needle drop bottle. Outside of this all you need is cleaner like Naphtha for your bearings and rubbing alcohol to clean your reel. But I would highly recommend getting access or buying an ultra sonic cleaner to clean your bearings this seems to make a big difference. Actually does anyone have an ultra sonic cleaner I lost access to the one I was using. Anyone know how much they cost to buy one?

[bigjc]

The problem is that if you don't know what your doing, or are mechanically inclined, you can actually do alot more harm than good.

I have taken a few apart myself, and for me, I just don't have the patience for it.

[5poundhooker]

You are correct bigjc, there are many small parts and only one way to do certain things or you will damage your reel rather than improve it. Certain parts cannot go in an ultrasonic cleaner or certain solvents will destroy other parts and some bearings that are not completely stainless steel or hybrids of all sorts. You have to take the shields off completely or at least one to clean them thoroughly. Anti-reverse bearings are a whole different animal all together. Some anti-reverse bearings like grease and others oil or they will slip like crazy. There are some people who can have success with a bunch of patience and mechanical inclination, so there are some who do it themselves. There has to be a passion for cleaning and fixing reels, because it will not pay large dividends per hour that i am sure of. It is something I enjoy doing most of the time. That is why I clean and repair them and building rods is in my opinion extremely satisfying that you either designed or built the rod that you catch fish with and can have it exactly the way you want it. That is why some choose custom over off the shelf. There is time and heart built into every one that you make and you are your quality control department not someone who lets a crooked guide go buy and say "they will never notice such a thing" I notice all of those small detail things because I am a perfectionist freak about my tackle and any that i work on.

[TCook]

You are correct bigjc, there are many small parts and only one way to do certain things or you will damage your reel rather than improve it. Certain parts cannot go in an ultrasonic cleaner or certain solvents will destroy other parts and some bearings that are not completely stainless steel or hybrids of all sorts. You have to take the shields off completely or at least one to clean them thoroughly. Anti-reverse bearings are a whole different animal all together. Some anti-reverse bearings like grease and others oil or they will slip like crazy. There are some people who can have success with a bunch of patience and mechanical inclination, so there are some who do it themselves. There has to be a passion for cleaning and fixing reels, because it will not pay large dividends per hour that i am sure of. It is something I enjoy doing most of the time. That is why I clean and repair them and building rods is in my opinion extremely satisfying that you either designed or built the rod that you catch fish with and can have it exactly the way you want it. That is why some choose custom over off the shelf. There is time and heart built into every one that you make and you are your quality control department not someone who lets a crooked guide go buy and say "they will never notice such a thing" I notice all of those small detail things because I am a perfectionist freak about my tackle and any that i work on.

Yes I could see someone doing damage or lose parts attempting to clean there own reels. It is time consuming I just do one a night maybe two when I start cleaning them during winter. The first couple took awhile and little getting used to but since all my reels were shimano it got easy after that. I did however do my homework and asked questions before I attempted cleaning them and it worked out great. Last year as you mentioned in another post I also upgraded to boca orange seals on 6 of my lower end reels mostly curados and quickly found out it is probably the best money I ever spent on my fishing equipment. For $25-28 you can turn your $150 reel into a top of the line casting dream. The first time using a reel with the upgrade I put my lure consistantly way up into trees until I got used to the extra distance they give you. You mentioned some some bearings do not agree with certain cleaners, is naphtha ok for cleaning the boca orange seals? Do you have any idea how much an ultra sonic cleaner runs?

[5poundhooker]

TCook, naphtha would be fine for the Orange seals.I personally use carb cleaner to blast out the large gunk and old grease, but only use simple green or other detergent based chemicals on Quantums  hybrid polymer caged bearings and rinse or soak in rubbing alcohol or you may damage the ball retainers.with pure stainless and ceramic hybrids I would also do a final rinse, soak, or ultrasonic with acetone(don't get in a rush i usually let the bearings soak over night in the first solvent). The reason for acetone is it leaves absolutely no residues oily or otherwise and dries extremely fast. Your other question about ultrasonic prices go from $60 to hundreds depending on brand, size of tank, and quality. Check them out on e-bay and you should find a descent enough one for personal use reasonably inexpensive. They are a must have for bearings in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend them for every part of the reel. They have been known to cause damage to certain plastics with coatings and gears/pinions. Hope that answers your questions for you.