Grice and Young Seajecta 111

[Old Man River]

Hi all, I have today taken possesion of one of these reels, and decided to start an strip it down for cleaning. The spindle 'cap'
has three brass screws securing it to the centre of the spool, I was going to remove them to access the spool release mechanism, as it is stuck.
Now I discovered I have a problem the screws are solid, and wont budge, being made of Brass they are starting to crumble at the edges, I dint want to damage them any more than they already have been.
Had the spindle cap been made of something other than plastic I would probably have just heated it up, but that is out of the question.

Has anybody any idea how to free the 3 screws without further damage or damage to the plastic cap they secure to the spool ?
They are really, really stuck, maybe even corroded in, I dont know.

OMR

[Jeremy Croxall]

How small are the screws, can they be drilled so you can use a screw extractor? This assumes you can get replacement screws of course?
Have you tried boiling water or steam?
Soak with WD40?
All of the above??!!
Cant think of anything else......good luck!

[Old Man River]

Cheers Jeremy, Too small for a screw extractor.. that was my first thought, like the steam /water idea, but I am very nervous of distorting or melting the plastic spindle cap , as it would be a hard job to replace it . WD 40 may be a good bet... I will have to wait till I go home now, still have 3 days down here in Padstow, well, Daymer Bay, the other side of the estuary.

OMR

[Watermole+]

Cheers Jeremy, Too small for a screw extractor.. that was my first thought, like the steam /water idea, but I am very nervous of distorting or melting the plastic spindle cap , as it would be a hard job to replace it . WD 40 may be a good bet... I will have to wait till I go home now, still have 3 days down here in Padstow, well, Daymer Bay, the other side of the estuary.

OMR

That is my favourite part of N.Cornwall OMR! The view around St.Enodoc is wonderful.
With regards to your reel, be careful what you put on it as some modern fluids might attack the cap.
One thing that generally works is graphited, Penetrating or ‘easing’ oil, especially on salt water corrosion. It works even better if you carefully warm a little of it first on a spoon, then put a couple of drops on the screw heads. Give it an hour to soak in and try again, using a screwdriver that fits the screw slots exactly. Don’t try and freehand drilling out the screws if they do break, send a PM.

wm+

[Old Man River]

Cheers Watermole, would sewing machine oil do do you think ? I am not sure I have any Graphited oil.

Its very fine, I use it for my Beach multiplier bearings .

OMR

[Watermole+]

would sewing machine oil do do you think ? I am not sure I have any Graphited oil

OMR

It may work, but you really need a fluid that is thin enough to penetrate deep around some of the threads first. Lubricating oil tends to just stick to the top part and putting that on first can prevent anything else getting through.
You could try mixing very thin oil with a few drops of methylated spirit. It doesn’t really mix, but it might do the job of getting around the threads.

It sounds a bit silly, but after letting the fluid soak in, try doing the screws UP a tiny amount first. Don’t actually try and turn them, just put clockwise pressure on, then turning anti-clockwise a little. Rocking the screws back and forth often does the trick!

wm+

[Old Man River]

Thanks for that Watermole, the tightening is what I do with woodscrews that wont budge. I will try the mix you suggest .

OMR.