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best ABU closed face reel

Steven Devereux said:
there is a reason (or three ) for poor line release when trotting ,bigest is poor alignment of spool within the winding cup creating some astute angles the line has to flow through from leaving the spool too escaping the cowling apature

abuCFlinerelease.jpg


if the spool is near or at the top of its travel ,the spool is up inside the winding cup .and has too bend over the lip of the spool then exit the spool at a obtuse angle ,then bend around the lip of the winding cup causing friction and excessive rubbing causing jerky flow of line out of the reel.

a under filled spool won't help here ,and if the flow isn't sufficiant this will multiply the effect .

there is how ever a fix ,well a fix that only really works on the abu 500 series that are back wind only ,you see the abu 500 series has a oscillation ratio of 1:1 (one rotation of the handle = one cycle [up ,then down] of the spool cradle {the bit the spool locks into} returning too the same spot every time)

the fix is too synchronize the handle position too spool position of bottom dead centre ,leaving the handle pointing downwards when the spool is at its lowest point of travel .



remove the cowling
whilst holding the handle steady twist the winding cup (clockwise) away from you to release it
twist the spool anti-clockwise to unlock it ,and remove
turn the handle until the spool carrage is at its lowest point ,then grip and hold it there with your other hand.
(at this point your handle will most likley be at a odd angle )
start the dissasemble the handle's fittings (506 its a knobb ,501 a nut and etc) only to the point the handle is loose reposition it pointing directly down (natural position to begin winding from) .re assemble the fittings
refit spool ,winding cup and cowling

CFdiagram.jpg


now whenever the handle is pointing down (leave in this position after casting) the spool will be fully exposed from the winding cup with less severe angles for the line too travel through .giving a improved free flow of line when trotting.

this fix doesn't work (or not so well) with other models that came later as the oscillation ratio wasn't 1:1 any more ,so synchronizing isn't really possible as the handle never quite reurns too the same place at the end of each turn ,but you should still get good results on the other models (1044,507 goldmax ,704 ,706 ? must check this one )

i set up all my 500 series without backwind and syncronized like this .for faultless trotting
Click to expand...
http://www.abu-mania.com/abu506.GIF
i believe 5579 is the one to remove?
the anti reverse?
 
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DSC00130-1.jpg


yes ,thats the anti-reverse pawl ,its under the main gear located on a pin

DSC00109-1.jpg


and requires a full strip down .(not as daunting ,as it sounds) if you lay the parts out in sequence they're removed ,its easy too put them back in reverse order .while your at it clean/degrease the parts/everything as you go

first you remove the handle (slightly different on verious models ,i'm useing a abu 506 (7&8) here)
slacken the drag knobb right off

DSC00099.jpg


don't loose the tention spring ,just pull the verious parts off thehandle drive shaft and lay out in order of removal

DSC00100.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u19/chavender/fishing stuff/reels/Abu 500 seres/DSC00099.jpg
starting at the front end ,remove the cowling ,winding cup ,spool
then remove the side panel
theres a whitish yoke at the centre of things which is secured too the spool carrage via two tiny C-clips ,this is the most difficult part of the process (they have a habit of pinging off and dissapearing forever) you have to prise them off with a tiny headed screwdriver lodged in the slot in the C-clip ,Hot tip here : located the drivers tip in the slot then cover the whole open casing with a sheet of kitchen roll or something too avoid losing the C-clips!

DSCF1655-1.jpg


then you can pull out the carrage

DSC00123.jpg


then you have too remove the turret ,if its tight put some masking tape around it too avoid damage ,and use pliers too loosen it (anti-clockwise) ,it'll then simply unscrew it ,then take out the retaining clip (don't loose this it also controls the clearance of the spool inside the winding cup ,make mental note of its dimentions ,as a rubbing spool can be aliviated by the addition of a shim of these dimentions /thickness)

DSC00122.jpg


then you can remove the jocky gear / drive shaft

DSC00110.jpg


the yoke is now free too be removed as is the main gears ,try too take them out in one lot (or just half way out ,lift up enough for access too the pawl) to leave the pawl exposed.

DSC00112.jpg


simply lift it off its pin (put someware safe ,incase you want too put it back anytime - they also fetch about £5 on e-bay ! )

DSC00115.jpg


then its a case of refitting everything in reverse order & while your at it put a smidgeon of grease on all the the main gears teeth & the pivot pin on the disc at the centre that the yoke sits & slides on ,but no need to lube anywhere else (i've seen tons of these caked in greese ,which is unnecessary overkill ) and as you re-assemble the reel don't forget too set the handle pointing downwards with the carrage at its lowest point of travel & its done ready too go.

DSC00133.jpg
 
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CHEERS,done mine last night and your mods on the spool,
greased the gears up as well, as it was annoyingly squeaky.
just got another off ebay for £11.50, cheap, err, the anti reverse has already been removed on this one.
i want to try and modify to twin pin.
 
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Love my new 507 really. No problems of any kind, very user friendly reel for trotting. I'd say for smaller fish, even though I have had barbel, the clutch is limited. I'd like to know how to remove it as suggested, but you can always back wind I suppose?
 
Can't beat a 505 with the star drag. Had one since new, a clean and a grease up once a year to keep things running smooth. This winter it's going to have it's first part replaced, the pin is showing in line wear. I only ever load 50 to 70 yards of line on the spool. Any more than that causes trouble and why load more line than yo will ever use
 
4 Modified 506M's, Twin pick up pins, no anti-reverse, shallow match spools...won me loads of money when I was match fishing, brilliant little reels.....not suitable for animal taming tho....
 
Andy Bell said:
4 Modified 506M's, Twin pick up pins, no anti-reverse, shallow match spools...won me loads of money when I was match fishing, brilliant little reels.....not suitable for animal taming tho....
Click to expand...
Andy do you think the twin pickup pin modification has any real advantages/I have a 501 with 2 pin modification and just aquired asecond 501 with just one standard pick up not used the single pickup reel yet as it needs some tlc.
 
If you are Match fishing then yes there is a big advantage with 2 pickup pins, even just normal fishing then the balance is better and the pins last twice as long before needing replacing,
I'd do it every time......
 
Just about to add a Diawa closed face reel to the Auction page on the social board.

Please take a look.
 
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Nobody has mentioned the 503. I bought one new in 1965 (as a poor student i couldn't run to the 505). Has been used for tench fishing and trotting for roach and I still prefer it to the later models, some of which I have. Still in excellent condition and has handled carp up to mid teens.
 
TBH I dont see the point of closed face reels, the only good thing is the smooth pick up.
Pin or fixed spool for me.
 
Always wanted one when I was a kid around 77/78 my mate had one , I had to settle for an intrepid then a Mitchell 324 as my parents weren’t loaded lol
Still never owned one 🤷🏼‍♂️
 
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