Simple care adds life to reels

It’s the grit inside a reel that causes it to grind when it’s cranked, sort of like dirty oil in an engine.

Outdoors people are fond of tinkering with gear, be it fishing, camping or hunting.

Looking for used equipment that needs a bit of care can turn up bargains. Yard sales are a good place to start, particularly when shopping for fishing reels.

Reels are loaded with parts, especially washers. Perhaps the best advice for anyone who plans to breakdown a reel is, keep the parts in order. Create an order that will help get the reel back together. Check the internet for an owner’s manual to help repair the reel.

Degrease everything. It’s the grit inside a reel that causes it to grind when it’s cranked, sort of like dirty oil in an engine. Even a cheap, old reel turns much more smoothly after cleaning. Just put the parts in a shallow bowl with degreaser and let them soak. The degreaser will do most of the work.

With an old toothbrush or swabs, wipe away gunk from gears, washers and the worm shaft. That’s a perfectly descriptive phrase for that part. Clean the inside and outside of the housing because dirt left there will find its way into cogs.

Use light greases and lubricants on the worm screw and gears, anything that moves. An owner’s manual might explain how to reach the bearings, which should receive a few drops of oil. Don’t overdo it with the oil and grease, though. Too much lubricant can dry and cake up around bearings and gears, collecting dirt and grime.

On open-face spin-cast reels, oil the bail assembly at the hinge where the bail flips over to cast and the crank where the handle meets the reel body. Just take the handle out of the reel and drop just a little oil where the handle goes.

With bait-casting reels, oil the level wind and put a small drop of oil on the bearings. Pull the spool out and wipe around it.

No amount of cleaning will keep a reel from eventually needing some professional help. Bearings and gears wear out. There’s no way around it.