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Drennan Twistlock Handle ...again !!!

N

Neil Kirk

Senior Member
My Twistlock Landing Handle will twist but it won't lock.

Its quite an old handle which I've had for about 20 years but it has become less and less likely to lock until it currently doesn't lock at all.

I've read all the old posts but I can't fathom the mechanism and I'm not sure what the issue is.

I attach a copy of the handle with the inner pole removed and the 'widget' on the end - is something missing?
Drennan Twistlock.jpg
 
Hi Neil
Take of the cap at the bottom of the lower section push the top section down and expose the bottom plastic cap, unscrew the cap and give it a really good clean with some white spirit.
Pull out the top action a clean the inside of the pole.
Once all the joints are cleaned replace the inner pole and put the plastic back on just very lightly, pull the inner pole back up and replace the main cap.
I used to drop a small piece of cloth inside the bottom section and pull it through on a piece of line.
You can get replacement plastic caps from the dealer.
Good luck.
 
The grey locking mechanism may be worn. Give everything a good clean as described but if it still doesn't lock see if you can get a replacement from Drennan. As a temporary measure, a piece of card or thin plastic pushed between the slots works, or you can even spray it with carbon spray. I've done all these things! On my new pole I'm careful to regularly clean the whole of the inside of the pole to remove any grit or dirt and I also don't twist too hard when locking. I also never leave the pole locked when not in use.
 
A bit of electrical tape on one or both sides of the widget should do the trick.. I have two of these poles and they have different workings altogether but the electrical tape trick works on both.. But still ask your tackle shop to get you a new widget from Drennan..
 
had my first one 11 years then gave it to a forum member on here. Hopefully it’s still going strong.
My new one is equally as good and over 18 months old now. I have to maintain mine regularly. Probably more so than others for the simple fact that I wade with it and it spends it’s entire fishing life soaked.

If i didn’t pull it apart, push a load of wet wipes through it and allow it to dry every time i bought it back, I don’t think I’d get 12 months out of it before the threads corroded away to nothing.
It depends on how you use them but I’m a firm believer in preventative maintenance and as a result my tackle generally lasts.

I don’t believe a better landing net pole exists
 
I have 2, 1 is about 15 years old the other about 10, never had any trouble with them and never cleaned them, the only thing I do is if they aren't being used for a period of time loosen them.
A lot of tackle shops have spares which Drennan gave them when people were having trouble with the locking mechanism.
 
Another little tip to keep in the bank. Drennan state backing them off 1/4 turn to move it.
Yes this loosens the collet but it’s still under some pressure and rubbing the wall of the tube quite hard wearing out the collet.
Back it off half a turn and it’s completely relaxed and under less pressure on the tube wall. Your collet will last longer doing this
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Another little tip to keep in the bank. Drennan state backing them off 1/4 turn to move it.
Yes this loosens the collet but it’s still under some pressure and rubbing the wall of the tube quite hard wearing out the collet.
Back it off half a turn and it’s completely relaxed and under less pressure on the tube wall. Your collet will last longer doing this
Click to expand...
Another good tip. 👍
 
What a lot of great advice!

I will request a new locking bush from Drennan and give it all a good clean - I may well give Tom's advice a go and apply of a couple of coats of nail varnish on the existing bush while I'm waiting for the new bush.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Another thing to note is if they get wet, pull it apart and dry it off especially the threads.
It’s a chrome plated thread and it will corrode.

Once the threads are shot, there’s no coming back from that one
Click to expand...
My handle is 15 to 20 years old and has been in the river and in the sea with absolutely no maintenance until it stopped locking last week...and the spindle looks perfect. 😏
 
Neil Kirk said:
Success!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A five star review for Tom Casey's nail polish remedy for getting the Twistlock handle to lock.

It worked a treat ... but I will still order a new locking bush from Drennan for any future problems.
Click to expand...

Don't bin the old one unless you strip the widget's internal thread. You can resurrect two of them on rotation with the varnish and always have a hot spare ready.

My original Twistlock handle is around fifteen years old now. It's one of the earlier ones where the inner pole also had the taped diamond finish. It's so well used that there's little left of the graphics. After an early disaster where I learned not to overtighten the locking mechanism, its widget is only a fraction newer than the handle. It has been resurrected with brush on superglue, or clear nail varnish, many times. The only wear that I can't fix is the slow wear of the inside of the outer pole. It's slowly starting to show signs of getting a little thin.
 
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