I'm no purist but I do love fishing with a pin at times.I've recently acquired a second hand Bob James [Youngs] pin but its nowhere near as smooth as my other Youngs and I was wondering if anybody knew anybody who services centrepins.I'll have a go at most things but pins can be a bit highly strung and frankly I dont want to make things worse by messing about with it when I dont know what I'm doing.Its reasonably smooth but a bit noisy [rumbly] and there is a little free play in the spool.I've cleaned & oiled it but its still not quite right & I'm now scared stiff of making it worse.

Any suggestions ? I tried the only one I could find on the net [Mill Tackle] but didn't get a reply to my mail or calls.

Brian

For Lubrication try some engine oil, varying the rating until you are happy with the spin......I have used it on my beach multipliers for some years, the viscosity dampens the spin somewhat,the heavier the rating the slower the spool runs, I am no expert on "pin tuning, but I do know a bit about tuning multipliers.I use engine oil on my Rapidex and Gypsy D"Or pins, not much, only a smear..for me it works, it cannot damage the reel,but I will stand corrected if any other members have a better idea.

has the pin got bearings most youngs pins have two, could one of the bearings be worn,tho i would expect a reel bearing not to wareout may be it needs a new bearing, could you not send it back to youngs ,they do have a webb site just put youngs centrepins in on google

I'm pretty these are bearing reels rather than true pins.I will try Masterline who bought Youngs and different lubricants but I'm a bit surprised there are not more people out there who will service a pin.I've scoured the net but not got very far.Given the price of a decent quality pin I shall be very disappointed if I cant find some after sales service & am beginning to wish I'd bought an Okuma.The Sheffield spins beautifully but I prefer the more traditional look of the Youngs.I have a Purist and its lovely but a 4 inch wide drum and more suited to lakes.

Try this: grasp the reel with backplate in one hand and spool rim in the other. Now gently move your hands apart. Does the spool feel as though it can move along the length of the spindle? If so the end-float grub screw in the centre of the spindle boss may require adjustment.

Garry Mills offers a complete repair service for all Youngs reels. You can contact him on garry@milltackle.co.uk

gary mills or youngs can service it and find any possable fault/problem with the bearings,but with out seeing the reel in operation one possibility is that the reel has been dropped possibly on its edge and damaged the bearings.check the reel over for distortion to the spool ! which could account for its sale!!or it could just be as simple as it wasn't run in or someone in its past has oiled it with wd40!!!.

"someone in its past has oiled it with wd40!!!"
You're starting to scare me, Chavender. I know Three-in-one shouldn't be used, because the vegetable oils in it polymerise - like an oil-painting - but what's up with WD40? (Apart from not being viscous enough?)

Gary Mills is a bit hard to get hold of, but dertainly worth persevereing with. He did a bang up job on my Speedia (made a new grub screw etc)

I recall reading that you shouldn't use WD40. It is not an oil, and will simply wash away any oil that is already there.

I use 3 in 1 and have had not problems. I have also used Mitchell reel oil with no problems. I think Youngs themselves recommend sewing machine oil.

I oild my pins after each trip, just a tiny blob of oil on top of the spindle.

Phew! I tend to use WD40 and GT85 as cleaners, rather than lubricants, so that's (probably) OK. Three-in-One is only a problem if left a long time, but once it goes, it's a b. to shift.
I don't know where to get sewing-machine oil, but ASDA do a light "Handy" oil, which is just that.

wd40 does dry to a fine film which becomes gungy (as it has solvants in it),plus its a penertrating oil which isn't very good for bearing & it as a synthetic/veg oil doesn't mix too well with mineral oil/grease used in sealed bearings.and they also make 3-in-1 oil which is a blend of oils its ok but there are better oils.

Hmmm... food for thought, there. I know there are fish oils in WD40, but didn't think they polymerised like the veg oils in 3-in-1.

When I ebay yet another wreck, I tend to give it a blast of WD40, wait a bit, then wipe the pin with a tissue, shove a Q-tip up its bush (sorry, vicar) and give it a twirl to get the worst out.
I then oil it with the Asda stuff - which I think is pure mineral oil - reassemble, spin, wipe both bearings, and repeat until the wiped-off oil is clean. Then oil lightly and reassemble for use.

Looks like I'll have to consider white spirit, diesel, or lighter fuel for the first rinse - what think you?

Thanks chaps.I'm satisfied its not been dropped and there's no distortion to anything that I can detect.The grub screw might need a bit of adjustment but I'm not prepared to force it & do more harm than good.I will give it a good clean out and keep trying Gary Mills but I've mailed him & left a message without reply and I dont want to get a reputation as a stalker.I'd really much rather someone that knows pins looked at the reel and remain amazed that there are not more people doing this.

It is enough to know that Gary exists & does this.I will keep trying.

wd40 makes a good cleaner and is good for dealing with alloy surface corrosion and won't do any harm if whiped off strait away

parafin would make a good de-greaser and brasso on cotton buds is good for removing any tarnishing to the insides of bushes but soapy warm water works most times.
cleaning your pin

Don't despair Brian, Gary will get back to you. He turned my pin around in a couple of days, very impressed with the speed of his service.

Other than for cleaning or displacing water, do NOT use WD40 for lubricating your centre-pin reel. I think this is what damaged the ball bearing on my John Wilson Heritage.

Don't use 3 in 1 oil either. It contains few nasty solvents.

The only oil to use is light machine oil of a mineral base, the stuff recommended for sewing machines.

I've been using 'pins for years and have never had any problem with 3 in 1 for lubrication and WD40 for cleaning. However, I can rcommend Gary Mills. He is hard to get hold of, but he sorted an old Allcocks Popular for me a treat.

I have now been using my Rapidex & trudex for over 25 years and the only thing I use is sewing machine oil, its excellent and only takes a drop to keep the reels in tip top condition and spinning freely

computer trouble apologies for the 2nd posting

Use a light oil, I get mine from the Sewing Machine centre, a very small bottle lasts for years.......

I am delighted to say that I followed everyone's advice & Gary has sorted my pin out a treat.Thanks chaps.