Strikeright handles not turning - any advice?

[Peter Wilde]

Gentlemen,

Thanks very much indeed for all these helpful, detailed and creative suggestions. An example of what this forum does so well!

I've only had time so far to try the hot water method, with not very promising results so far (one handle only turns, in very hot water, but seizes up again once it starts to cool down). Will try some of the other suggestions and let you know how I get on.

Peter W

[Wallys-Cast]

Here is the method with which I clean the handles on my centrepin reels, I hope that it may prove helpful. It works best on round section handles but can be used on irregular shapes like those found on the Mordex and certain JW Youngs reels, such as the Trudex and Rapidex models. Here is my kit:



The green tube is a section of cheap medical tubing used for connecting up various pieces of equipment for administering oxygen therapy. It is sometimes called "bubble tubing" as it has a bubble of larger diameter every metre along its length. The bubble can be cut at any point giving a wide range of possible diameters for connecting to various machines (or reel handles) without the need for special adapters.

The small, clear tube is a piece of silicone tubing such as that used with aquarium air pumps. This is of the correct dimensions to give a tight seal between the Bubble tubing and the rigid, red tube which is the extension pipe from a can of WD40, or similar. Here is how they all fit together:







Using this method it is possible to obtain quite a pressure and I have found that all but the most stubborn handles remain seized. With irregular shaped handles, the fit needs to be tight and the bubble tubing is then softened in hot water before fitting over the handle. The tube then better moulds itself to the shape of the handle.

My only failures have, unfortunately, been with seized Strike Right handles, but I have used it with good effect on other Strike Rights too.

I will now try Mr. Wally's method of some kettle de-scaler (citric acid) on those still seized handles using a piece of bubble tube around the top of the handle to act as a reservoir for the acid.

Robert

That's a great idea Rob, a really good way of getting oil inside tight handles..

Wal.

[Wallys-Cast]

This post has just reminded me of another post I read somewhere of a way of loosening tight handles, this is applying heat to the spindle of the handle with an electric soldering iron then applying oil while still hot. I've never tried this one myself but it sounds like it might just work..

Wal.

[Peter Wilde]

Well, I tried most of these suggestions on my Strikeright (Except the Wallys-cast one about the soldering iron - which in my by-now frustrated hands might have melted the plastic, I think!

Still no joy. I think it must be right that this brand has special problems with seized handles, possibly reflecting a design or materials error.

I didn't want to give up, and this was a very cheaply acquired reel, so I decided to try and make some new handles.

Anyone of a delicate and perfectionist disposition might prefer to look away now! The result is below. It won't have added any value but the new handles do turn nicely and the reel should be usable. Rather to my surprise, it still spins OK so evidently the new handles have not made it unbalanced. I may have made them a bit too long and liable to catch the line; if so they should come off fairly easily to make way for a Mark Two version.

(The rod butt is another recent acquisition. It will need some work on the handle and it will need a new tip section).

[Paul D]

Well done Peter
Handles do look a little long but you should be able to shorten them without to much trouble if they bother you.
That cork will clean up lovely with some hot soapy water and an abrasive pad by the way.

[Peter Wilde]

Much later, I can report a happy ending after everyone's superbly helpful advice on this thread.

Finally got to use my repaired Strikeright yesterday, and found it pretty satisfactory - in fact better than I thought. The new handles maybe should be a tad shorter, and ideally a bit fatter, but that doesn't seem to be urgent.

And I caught this lovely little carp, along with two smaller ones:

[Peter Wilde]

I can add a further postscript to this, in case anyone else is researching this issue.

I recently managed to acquire another Strikeright from Ebay, at very modest cost as it was advertised as possibly having some minor faults. (It's nice to see some Ebay sellers are trying to be straight with us!) The reel is not quite identical to my earlier purchase, I think this one may be a Hydraflo.

This reel had one handle turning freely, the other seized. I tried the kettle-descaler tip, and this time it seems to have worked well and both handles now turn OK.

Curiously (given that I used the same brand of descaler), whereas the descaler had had absolutely no effects on my earlier purchase, this time it had two effects; the good one of freeing up the handle, and a bad one of causing some minor deterioration of the handle plastic, with a hard white deposit forming on the black plastic surface. On finding this I quickly washed off the descaler, then had to scrape off the deposit.

Overall this seems a good result and my new reel seems very usable now. But it seemed worth mentioning here as a reason for some caution. If you try using descaler, I'd suggest keeping an eye on it and not leaving it working for too long.

[Alchemist]

I've just bought a wide drum Speedia that had been little used, but had been stored in a garage or somewhere for a long time. It was filthy and the spindle was dry, but these were easy to put right. The main problem was that the handles were completely seized. By following the helpful advice on this topic, I was soon able to sort them out.
Firstly, I heated the handles in a bowl of hot water, (from the tap, not boiling), and they began to turn a little.
I then put a few drops of Cillit Bang Limescale Remover onto the top of the handle spindles and left it for an hour to work it's way in. The active ingredient is oxalic acid, which reacts with the metal oxide, (base), formed by corrosion of the spindle under the handle. I could've used any household acid that's not too strong, i.e. citric/lemon juice, Coca-Cola, vinegar, etc. Obviously, care is needed to ensure it doesn't cause any damage, but I didn't have any problems.
After an hour, the handles were becoming looser. Handles usually have some up-and-down play too and this began to return. By alternately heating in water and jiggling them, they eventually became free.
I then flushed them out with WD40, using the tubing system above and was amazed to see how much brown muck came out!
The handles are now fully free. Thank you.