ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

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Mole-Patrol
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ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by Mole-Patrol »

I recently acquired what was described as an ABU Cardinal 44 that turned out to be the Express version with 6;1 ratio. It is a nice reel and I am sure that I will get years of use out of it. There was a slight problem however in that when the reel was turned quickly there was a severe wobble. I suspected that the rotor was unbalanced so started putting pieces of Plasticine around the opposite side to the pick-up roller. Once enough Plasticine had been applied to make the reel run smooth I weighed it on my drug dealers postal scales and it came to 35.6 grams.

Fortunately I have some lead flashing that I bought from a second hand dealers and use for making swim feeders. I cut a small piece off then trimmed it down to around 40 grams. It had to be shaped to fit into a recess so that it didn't protrude above the housing for the bail arm pivot and interfere with the seating of the spool. That trimming and shaping reduced the weight. I also had to squeeze the lead sheet in a vice to make it thinner to keep it below the spool. The finished part looks a bit like a brake pad from a car and fits snugly in the recess secured so it can't move by the spool.

In the absence of lead flashing it would be possible to stuff some Plasticine in the recess but I don't think the result would be as good.

I thought that I would share this repair in case anyone else has a wobbly Cardinal.

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Aitch
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Re: ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by Aitch »

ingenious Sir... perhaps you could post a picture of your fix....? :Hat:
Just one more cast love, and I'll be on me way home

Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures and memories

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Mole-Patrol
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Re: ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by Mole-Patrol »

Aitch wrote: Fri Oct 30, 2020 4:13 pm ingenious Sir... perhaps you could post a picture of your fix....? :Hat:
No problem. It ain't pretty. But it is hidden from view :Wink:

Image

Image

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Barbelseeker
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Re: ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by Barbelseeker »

I always thought that the express models were side badged with a plate saying 44X, rather than 44. Are you saying that the seller forgot to add the X. If so a nice find, because I believe they were only made for 1 year - but I may be wrong, quoting from memory.

The fix was very ingenious.

Know where my Cardinal 66X is, which was my pride and joy at the time. In a field at Muskham, Notts. Was fishing a small gravel working which was being filled in with bedsteads, sofa's and general rubbish, before having soil pushed over the infill. Could catch some nice roach - the reel fell off my rod, entangled in the debris below and I just couldn't retrieve it. Cost me some money as a teenager - very nice reel.

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Barbelseeker
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Re: ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by Barbelseeker »

It does the job, and makes it a very satisfying reel - that's what matters.

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Mole-Patrol
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Re: ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by Mole-Patrol »

Yes, it was merely described as an ABU Cardinal 44 so I was surprised to find out it was the rarer model. This one has a side badge that is not recessed and says ABU 44 Express with the 'X' enlarged. The number on the foot is 740200 and the right way around - not upside down.

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It might have been ABU's answer to the Mitchell 410 but for whatever reason, possibly rotor wobble :Chuckle: , it was only produced for a year in the 1970's.

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Barbelseeker
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Re: ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by Barbelseeker »

Nice reel, the X's command a hefty premium - good find.

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Aitch
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Re: ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by Aitch »

Very neat... an ingenious remedy... :Hat:
Just one more cast love, and I'll be on me way home

Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures and memories

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BeechmereLake
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Re: ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by BeechmereLake »

Thats a great fix you have there , this led me to reply by saying you could of used less material maybe had you used "Heavy Metal" rig putty that car anglers use to balance their rigs out with, being tungsten based you would probably need a lot less for the fix. Great fix anyway and one to remember. One other small item of note is Im pretty sure the early 44 eXpress reels had slightly bigger rotor cups to take the spool with the white chenille, with todays scrap dealers on eBay who just make up reels without knowing this its possible its where the problem stemmed from, just my thoughts

Regards Martin
" It is a sinister place yet powerfully fascinating"

"BB"

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Mole-Patrol
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Re: ABU Cardinal 44 Express - rotor wobble fixed

Post by Mole-Patrol »

Thanks for the suggestion Martin :Hat:

However, I have no tungsten products laying around never having used the stuff. But I do have a sheet of lead that I use for making feeders. Given that the modification is hidden when the reel is in use cosmetics don't really matter . :Thumb:

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