Rapidex scraping?

[Joshluke]

Bought a Rapidex off of eBay awhile ago and it came in terrible condition. It didn't spin, and it was full of grease and dirt. I managed to give it a clean, polish, and oil. It now spins freely for around 7-8 seconds, however it stops abruptly. When I manually turn it, I can hear a scraping noise coming from the same place on the spool, and it sounds as if it's catching on the backplate. I've tried the float screw in different positions but no matter how much play there is, it still does it. Any ideas?

[Keston]

Have you given it a good inspection to see if anything is bent or has has a ding . This can sometimes happen with a Rapidex cage or spool .

[Aitch]

Did you clear out the bearing hole... I just cleaned a Speedia that was scraping and cleared out the spindle bearing it was packed with grit and on cleaning out with a cotton bud and re lubed runs as sweet as a nut... if this doesn't work then it probably is rubbing somewhere...

[Nobby]

It may be a buckle in the spool or it is just possible the centrepin shaft has got knocked off centre.

If you're happy that the spool is OK you could loosen the screw on the back that holds the centrepin shaft, gently tap the shaft on the opposite direction to where the rubbing was with a soft hammer, and re-tighten. It may fix it, but it sounds like a reel that needs sending back to be frank.

[JW1]

I had a similar thing on my Dowling, took me ages to fathom it out, it was the pin locking nut had loosened just enough so that free spool was fine but turning by hand produced grinding. A quick turn with a spanner and is now fine.

JW

[Joshluke]

I have given it a good wipe down with a cotton bud as Harry suggested, and it got rid of a lot of grease which I didn't know was there. It now spins for around 32 seconds, so that is an improvement. I'm going to have a fiddle with it later on when I find the time to see if it still scrapes, and if so try, and locate it. If I'm successful I will attempt what both Nobby, and JW have recommended.
I'll provide an update when I can, thanks guys.

[Match Aerial]

It may be the frame is twisted or the spool is buckled , I would send it back mate

[Joshluke]

Thank you for the advice gents. I did think about sending it back, however I hope he doesn't mind me saying, but Leszek has kindly offered to have a look at it. If he can't sort it, then it's destined for the tip.

[Paul D]

Thank you for the advice gents. I did think about sending it back, however I hope he doesn't mind me saying, but Leszek has kindly offered to have a look at it. If he can't sort it, then it's destined for the tip.

Oh don't throw it away! Even if WM can't sort it (highly unlikely) then its still perfectly usable for a bit of close in work.

[Wallys-Cast]

I have had this problem a few times on J W Youngs reels and it has usually been the spindle end is bent over. It is quite easy to bend due to the deep cut which holds the spool release. If the spindle is removed and mounted in a lathe it becomes obvious. Not too difficult to straighten but if it is a bad bend it can break while trying to get it straight again.

Wal.