The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I recently purchased/acquired a few ABU bits. An ABU 66 in need of attention - for spares really - with 2 spools. Plus a couple of other 66 spools as well! All was not as expected upon arrival.

Two of the 4 spools were corroded - a wire brush sorted them out - but not very well. So possibly suitable for heavy line when seafishing! Or as suggested by Beechmere Lake - - - the bin! The other 2 spools fitted my other 66s so not quite a complete disaster at this point.

I the looked at the reel - handle turned ok or so it seemed - but without linkage to the spool - the spool never moved! Now it WAS beginning to be a total miscalculation by me! I messaged BL with the word 'Help' together with what little I knew about the faulty reel's workings.
The answer was 'send it to me'. After a couple of days my wife posted the parcel.

I messaged Beechmere Lake the following afternoon. Astonishingly the parcel had arrived and Martin, Beechmere Lake, had already repaired the reel - I had thought it was going to be a goner! I had not put my return address in the parcel with that in mind.

So I sent my address and I received a 'new' reel - together with the numerous parts that were broken or malfunctioning, a couple of days later. BL had also swapped the spool for a newer non corroded one!

An excellent service that I had previously used on my 66s and 77s. My 155s are yet to go for a service where all parts are examined and replaced if required.

A true and knowledgeable gent on ABU reels.

He really is a top man and breathes life into Abu's on a daily basis. I'm glad that your 66 is now ready for action, they deserve an extended life.

I can only - as a 'non mechanic' - think he is more of a magician!

Thank you gentleman for the kind words, keeping these reels in top condition is all that matters to me so Im pleased you choose me to do them for you. Hope the 55 is still good Dave, that was one beauty of a reel, like winding freshair

BeechmereLake wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:48 pm Thank you gentleman for the kind words, keeping these reels in top condition is all that matters to me so Im pleased you choose me to do them for you. Hope the 55 is still good Dave, that was one beauty of a reel, like winding freshair

An excellent attitude that I’m sure is appreciated by everyone that you help.

I have a question / suggestion about corroded metal spools on these ABU Cardinals. Might it be possible to reuse those spools by stabilization coating them with a clear two-part / three-part clear epoxy / acrylic finish? I’ve used several such finishes over the last two decades (mainly for handcrafting floats and custom rod building) and I’d like to try one of the 3-part hard, gloss finishing products on a corroded spool, just to see if that would refurbish it to a useable condition. Of course, the cost of the finish and the special curing conditions would be a factor. At a rough estimate it would cost me about £4 a spool, so that might not be financially viable? It also depends where on the spool the corrosion is worst. If it’s around the spool shaft hole, then it’s not going to be repairable without coating, lots of measurement and lathe skimming… cheaper to buy a good used spool.

Polecat501 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 04, 2022 4:38 pm

BeechmereLake wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:48 pm Thank you gentleman for the kind words, keeping these reels in top condition is all that matters to me so Im pleased you choose me to do them for you. Hope the 55 is still good Dave, that was one beauty of a reel, like winding freshair

An excellent attitude that I’m sure is appreciated by everyone that you help.

I have a question / suggestion about corroded metal spools on these ABU Cardinals. Might it be possible to reuse those spools by stabilization coating them with a clear two-part / three-part clear epoxy / acrylic finish? I’ve used several such finishes over the last two decades (mainly for handcrafting floats and custom rod building) and I’d like to try one of the 3-part hard, gloss finishing products on a corroded spool, just to see if that would refurbish it to a useable condition. Of course, the cost of the finish and the special curing conditions would be a factor. At a rough estimate it would cost me about £4 a spool, so that might not be financially viable? It also depends where on the spool the corrosion is worst. If it’s around the spool shaft hole, then it’s not going to be repairable without coating, lots of measurement and lathe skimming… cheaper to buy a good used spool.

I have them new old stock in red tubs for £10.00, in near perfect condition I sell them to collectors trying to complete a boxed set, I do have very good used ones at a lesser price but by the time you add on postage now you get nothing for less than a tenner