Rapidex and Trudex conversion to left hand wind and general tuning

[Nobby]

The ratchet pawl is shaped for right-hand wind originally, but it can be modified and then turned over for left hand wind use.


This is hard metal and you need to work it with either a bench grinder or just hold some good quality coarse Emery paper on the table top with one hand and work the pawl on it with the other.

You can see that the pawl is shaped to be quite different when turned over and in fact it will jam if you don't radius that corner, but it's the 'washing out' of the curve...the reshaping of the lower edge .....that lessens the action of the ratchet when retrieving line left hand wind.


This will give a very quiet and easy retrieve but a stiff and loud action when a fish takes line.

You will see that the pawl has curved edges to reduce friction when installed in the original right hand wind position, it makes sense to create rounded edges on the other side too for left hand wind so that the pawl doesn't dislodge your lubricant.

Incidentally, I like to add some thick grease to the ratchet cogwheel on the back of the spool to both lessen wear and reduce noise.




In the above drawing the pawl has already been flipped over for left hand wind fishing

[Duebel]

Interesting! But first my Trudex has to run properly ...
I'll keep that in mind.

[Nobby]

There's a few points to making them run well. The first is absolute cleanliness....even a speck of fluff from a Cotton Bud can slow the reel down and make one heck of a racket too.

The next point is to reduce areas of friction such as either end of the brass bushing in the spool and the edges of the spool release lever. Radiusing the metal helps a lot here. Remember to make sure the compensating drag button is fully retracted into its hole and not rubbing on the centrepin shaft.

Lastly it's about polishing various components. The centrepin at the base where the spool bush bears, the groove in the centrepin that receives the spool release lever and the tip of the centrepin which should be radiused and polished with varying grades of metal polish until it looks like chrome plating.
Then polish the grub screw that bears on the centrepin; the best way to do this is to remove it, and put it back in the plastic boss upside down. Now the boss can be held flat on the table whilst the screw tip is polished. Clean all polish off before returning the screw to the boss the right way round.
Upon rebuilding the reel the grubscrew must be turned in until it just touches the centrepin shaft tip and then backed off again by an eighth of a turn. So many people leave it touching but this causes the spool release lever to rub against the slot in the centrepin shaft. This is why I always radius the edges of the release lever.

The points that were polished are the points that need lubricating; the centrepin base, the centrepin groove and the centrepin tip.

I use Garry Mill's 'Pin Oil' exclusively, I've tried everything else and it works the best.

[OldTackle]

How funny,
thought about just such a modification today before I went fishing when I tried to change it as it gave line too easy while carrying an assembled rod.
Much appreciated, Sir! Will do that soon.

[Jeremy Croxall]

Nobby, that's most informative post, many thanks for describing the process so clearly.
You suggest polishing various components, what polish would you suggest, something like "Brasso" or is there a better product?
Jeremy.

[Nobby]

I'd start with Solvol Autosol and finish with Brasso, but these are just products I'm familiar with...I bet there are others that are just as suitable.



I polish a lot of the components with a strip of cloth, often the seam from a T shirt or sweatshirt, with the polish dabbed in the middle. I then thread it through a hole, or in the case of a spindle top or grubscrew, I open the seam out to try and make it sit around the object so it won't jump off. I then pull the cloth one way and then the other..like buffing your shoes. When a good finish is obtained I go to a clean part of the cloth to clear the old polish and then I use another cloth and a finer polish. I've re-profiled spindle tips and grubscrews with knife sharpening stones and then got the finish back this way with cloth strips, but actually a small depression in the spindle tip and a tiny 'witness mark' on the grubscrew is preferable!

This holds a tiny reservoir of oil that the spool turns on top of.


One the reel has had it's evening in front on the TV running in, change the oil once again and hope no dust motes get in, because they don't half make a racket! Cheap quality cotton buds are awful for doing this.

[Chris Bettis]

Have you considered leaving all alone and backwinding? What used to be called when I was young the Sheffield Style. I have for 50 or more years and it has a lot of advantages. The line has a more direct line to the first ring and the reel gives line more easily in a slow current, line does not get where you do no want it so often either. No problem for me to turn the reel handle one way with a fixed spool reel and the opposite way with a Centre pin'. Worth giving it a try?

[Nobby]

I presume by back-winding you mean running the line off the top of the spool?
Yes, I did do this with the first 'pin I owned, but many people had asked about this modification recently so I put this up here.

In truth I don't think there's less measureable friction however, the slightly different angle of the line through the butt ring might cause a greater area of contact when running the line from the bottom of the spool in the 'normal' way, but it is such a slight increase as to offer very little more friction in real terms as both line and ring liner are so slippery a material.

I did feel there was a reduced chance of snagging the line when stalking though, but then that's probably because the first 'pin I had was utterly massive.....
http://www.maggotdrowning.com/forum/upl ... allest.jpg

[Match Aerial]

Excellent post Nobby.
Regarding the backwinding of a centrepin don't think it matters which way the line comes off the reel regarding friction the difference is minimum. I prefer the line off the top because it gives me less tangles. I agree with Chris this method does reduce friction in the sense you currents does not have to pull line off the drum.You are feeding the line from the spool all the float has yo do is pull the line through the guides.

[Nobby]

Further to this way of converting a Rapidex or Trudex to left hand wind...bearing in mind the Trudex was supposed to be ambidextrous anyway......the shape of the pawl seems to have varied a little over the years and I have just converted what I believe to be a very late reel and I had to remove more metal from the left hand corned of the pawl, as shown in the image above, where the pawl has already been flipped over for left hand wind.


This left the check a little weak as it reduced the pressure of the spring against it. Rather than bend the spring because they usually break I decided to pre-tension the spring with an insert, thus:





This was filed down from a nail, first a flat was created along the shaft, then another parallel on the other side. The head was sawn off, the nail was reversed and the point filed down, before it was tuned just 90 degrees and the small semi-circular location notch filed in with a small round file. All sharp edges were radiused off and it was ready.

In this image you can see the spring, the spring locator and its screw, my pre-tensioner and the pawl that needed so much more grinding off than others....the screwdriver point is by the re-shaped section:

017small.jpg

Here is the pre-tensioner installed. Put the re-shaped pawl in first, locating its central slot on the pin under the rocking arm. Pop the spring in below it, put the spring locator in position, holding it in place whilst you turn the reel over and insert the locator mounting screw through the reel back. Now push the spring upwards away from its stop and slide the pre-tensioner in from the left, with the locator notch facing downwards so it engages with the stop.

016small.jpg

Incidentally, this Trudex is a different colour to the usual silver, with a touch of black added to make what we used to call 'gun metal' in colour. It's also got a little steel pin locking the foot to the reel in addition to the usual rivet which can work loose in time. The black painted foot is unusual too...the last two Allcock Guides, 1967 and 1968 talk of a chrome plated foot. I can only guess this reel is one of the last ever made, I've certainly never seen another like it.