Freeing up a Hardy Conquest

[Duckett]

If this is the earlier 'wheel in the hole' version it's worth checking that the actual metal part that is on the end of the threaded shaft is actually moving away from contact with the centrepin shaft when the drag is set to 'none'.

You see it only retracts by centrifugal motion and can be left behind and continue to act as a drag. It can actually stick in the 'on' position over time.

To check, remove the spool from the reel, then remove the centre boss from the spool. Look from above to see if you can spot the drag component..maybe use something to push it outwards carefully. A drop of oil and work it in and out again a few times if needed.

Once you are happy that it is retracting as it should, assemble the reel and give it another spin.


If it still doesn't spin well check the end float. That is to say; hold the reel in one hand tightly, spool upwards, and lift the spool away from the reel with the other hand.

You should be able to detect a distinct little upwards movement of just a few thousandths of an inch...if there is none the spool release lever is rubbing in its little slot in the centrepin shaft.

It will need cleaning up to remove the rubbing damage before the copper plug is tapped to give some clearance.

Do this by assembling the reel together, but without the release lever in place. Place a tubular object on the centreboss that does not touch the copper plug...so it'll need a hole inside of about a quarter of an inch...a small socket spanner is ideal.

A light tap with a small tacking hammer or similar should restore a little end-float.

Before you do this however, make sure the top of the centrepin shaft and the underside of the copper plug are immaculately clean.

Afterwards you could polish them with a tiny drop of a dry metal polish between them, so that they float over one another without disturbing the film of oil you put on last of all after cleaning the polish remains away thoroughly.

I hope this helps...

Thanks for this Nobby. Mine is the version without the wheel operated drag. The process shown me by Gary Mills of oiling and spinning has certainly impt]roved things. I’m going to give it a go on the river bank and see how things develop. If it doesn’t improve a little more, I shall give your final 2 suggestions a go.

[Nobby]

Sorry, somehow I read this as you having the Young's 'wheel in the hole model'....d'oh!

Yes, just as Wal says...and I've found this on most of them...the shoe brake of the later model rubs even when set to minimum.

bending springs is a bad idea...guess how I found that out?...they snap!

Taking half a millimetre off the shoe seemed to work though......

Isn't it strange that this type of brake was the replacement for the perfectly serviceable 'wheel in the hole'?...some dodgy thinking there I feel.....still the best 'out of the box' trotting reel of its time though, despite the popularity of the Aerial.

[Wallys-Cast]

Sorry, somehow I read this as you having the Young's 'wheel in the hole model'....d'oh!

Yes, just as Wal says...and I've found this on most of them...the shoe brake of the later model rubs even when set to minimum.

bending springs is a bad idea...guess how I found that out?...they snap!

Taking half a millimetre off the shoe seemed to work though......

Isn't it strange that this type of brake was the replacement for the perfectly serviceable 'wheel in the hole'?...some dodgy thinking there I feel.....still the best 'out of the box' trotting reel of its time though, despite the popularity of the Aerial.

I wondered about the change in regulator design myself Nobby and I wonder if Youngs stopped them from using it in retaliation to Hardys not letting Youngs use the full bail. Not sure of all the dates by the way but it would make some kind of sense.

Wal.

[Crucian]

Had exactly the same problem with mine...The Tufnol pad was rubbing on the drum bush. A small piece of leather between the heel of the pad and the spring locating screw solved it, spins for ever now. Hope this is some help.

[Wallys-Cast]

Brilliant idea, the simplest answers are always the best.

Wal.

[Nobby]

Yes, indeed they are!

Wal, the 'wheel in the hole patent was in the Twenties, which as 15 years long would have expired before WW2, which is why so many other makers got to copy it post-war I suppose, such as Speedia for example. Hardy really do seem to have obtusely chosen to change the drag...even going so far as to put a 'retro-looking' ivorine scale on it. This is why for years I wrongly thought the wheel in the hole, actually working better, must be the later design. It was Leszek and his full collection of Hardy Catalogues, that finally solved the riddle...only to leave the further question of.....why??

[Duckett]

Thanks to Nobby, Wal and Crucian for the additional comments.

Nobby - one of the things I learned from Gary Mills on my reel experience day was not to mess with springs! Even though I've been fettling reels since the beachcasting ABU7000 days of my youth, I'm no engineer, and he was kind enough to take me through the entire spring making process, including how to destroy them!

Crucian - as Wal says, love the simplicity of the leather tweak. I am going to try that.

One of the reasons I picked on the "ivorine brake" model was that I like the way it looks and feels. Sometimes I just enjoy using a rod, reel or method for purely aesthetic reasons, even if it doesn't quite work so well as something more conventional. A good example would be my trying to learn the tight line float method using the Homer rod and Flick 'Em I am lucky enough to have. I'm relying on a brief description written by Bernard Venables, I get some really strange looks and my respect for the anglers who developed this method on the Thames (and, I assume, the Lea where I have mainly tried it) has shot up in leaps and bounds, but I'm drawn to it irresistibly.