D.A.M. Quick Bale-Arms

[Cat]

I think Mike's Reel Repairs in Canada have spare rollers as new old stock. A top tip is that the roller for the 330, etc also makes an excellent replacement for a usually heavily worn one on the Altex No3 (with just a little fettling).

[Bilch]

I've seen a couple of reels of the DAM Quick 110-550 series with heavily grooved line rollers.

No wonder, from what i know of you i'd say you've seen dozens (if not hundreds) of Quicks
I've seen considerably less and thoroughly inspected only the 5 I have myself. The line roller of all 5 is basically intact and I know for 3 of them that they were fished a lot.
If he doesn't misuse it, I think @Mitch300 has nothing to worry about

[Mitch300]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

Although this 330N is nearly 40 years old, it appears to have had very little use and there is no line wear. Since I don't use braid, I'll plan on rotating the roller through 90 degrees every 15 years. The reel's build quality and the smoothness of the gearing suggest it will last me until I'm at least 120.
While there are plenty of Quick's in the US, were they marketed in Britain? I can only remember seeing Mitchells, ABUs, Shakespeares and Intrepids in local British tackle shops in the mid-1970's.

G. B.

[Cat]

They were certainly highlighted in Mr Crabtree's guide to good fishing tackle in '68, well, the 330 and 550 were. I can't remember seeing them in the tackle shops I frequented from the late 70's.

[Gilbert]

FWIW , tungsten line guides tend not to wear ---but they will abrade monofil -as i nearly found out to my cost with a 29 lb er .......... 100 yds of quality line in the bin

[Bilch]

FWIW , tungsten line guides tend not to wear ---but they will abrade monofil -as i nearly found out to my cost with a 29 lb er .......... 100 yds of quality line in the bin

Interseting, I've never read or heard of such problems. Which reel do you have? Could you make a photo of the line roller?

[BoltonBullfinch]

I'm waiting on a 331 to arrive, can I take it that the roller on this reel will also be fixed?

[Nobby]

No, the bale arm is not supposed to rotate freely, but it can be turned if wear appears, this making the reel last even longer still.


Just in case you hadn't noticed, the reel also has the Abu system ( I don't know who did it first) which lets you press the bale release button and move the bale arm right back under the reel body for storage. In this manner the tension of the bale spring is reduced this ensuring a longer life for the spring.

Many, but not all, DAM reels are able to have the handles swapped to the other side too. Just like the Ambidex.....

When you consider that the mechanics inside the reel are pretty much the same design as the Ambidex.....it's strange that they sold so poorly in the UK and the Young's offering sold so well...........

[Gilbert]

FWIW , tungsten line guides tend not to wear ---but they will abrade monofil -as i nearly found out to my cost with a 29 lb er .......... 100 yds of quality line in the bin

Interseting, I've never read or heard of such problems. Which reel do you have? Could you make a photo of the line roller?

the reel in question was a Mitchell 300. i moved them on soon after and replaced them with Cardinal 44Xs of which i have several .Google Mitchell 300 and you will be able to see the tungsten guide - roller it is not !, if you google Cardinal 44 you will see the difference - a roller that does what is says on the tin.

the other point in favour of the 44 is they need little maintenance . the Mitchells were stripped 2x yearly to keep them sweet . all the 44s need is a few drops of oil on the head bearing every couple of seasons .

[Mitch300]

Thanks for pointing out that you can pop back the bail arm to reduce the spring tension, Nobby. I have just done so on four of my reels, possibly for the first time in their existence! The things you learn on this forum!

G. B.