Tolerances...... bollocks ! 

Compared to some of the delicate bits and clearances inside a car or a swiss watch a pin, even the best of  them, is positively Neanderthal !!!!

What you need is not no oil but the right oil - sewing machine oil, from your friendly local haberdashery.  And one drop on the side of the pin, no more, every other session after first wiping it clean and dry with a lint free cloth will keep it going for many many years and freely turning as it ought.

No oil = mechanical wear and eventually it just wears out..... 

Only exception might be for the first few months of use, so as to allow a wee bit of running in / deliberate metal on metal wear to polish off any high spots on the bearing surfaces, but given what you're paying for the top end of these things I wouldn't expect there to be any.

Evan for once in your life oooops thats a song

you need oil in a car because the tolerances are sh*t !

anyway my mate Roger who told me is an engineer and makes all the bits for Fred's reels  he wouldnt lie to me .........even though he is a west Ham supporter

Which part of the phrase "some of the delicate bits...."  did you not understand my dear Gateau.... not talking about the miles of clearance round a main bearing.  But piston rings to piston walls...... now there's an even closer contact fit in need of lube or your engine will last ten minutes and no more. 

It doesn't matter what it is, there is no such thing as a moving metal on metal contact or bearing that can do without oil.... just that for a pin you need a very fine oil with the least molecular drag you can get away with, and that's sewing machine or watchmaker's finest.

ADCOCK STANTON (centrepin reels)
Adcock Angling Products, 41, Beech Avenue, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 1QH
0115 925 5963

ok do what I just done ...................

Piston rings to wall!!!!! you have to be joking son, thats not tight. Be totally knackered without the oil, slap. slap, slap.

Mr Lythe, who made my pins says "no oil" summut to do with the type of metal used in what is effectively a bush, not a bearing.

Just re-read thread and checked spec; this isn't a 'true' pin. 

It's on bearings and they are sealed for life bearings, hence no need to lubricate.  The ball bearings are already oiled and lubricated inside the protective seal.  Nothing can get in, so sploshing oil all over it won't make the happorth of difference and neither can the abrasive dirt get in.  Though even a sealed for life will wear out eventually....

For a true pin, that is a full width plain bearing centre spindle with the spool running directly on it, no bearings, then anyone who doesn't use a touch of oil under the mistaken apprehension that its not needed because the quote "The tollerences in a true pin do not allow for a coat of oil" is in for a rattly and expensive surprise in due course.

viscosity is the key to oil !,in theroy of cause ""proper pins "" use phrospher bronze bushings against hardens steel pins (phrospher bronze is a great heat dissipater) and the phrospher bronze is self lubricatng as both metals wear at dfferent rates a light smudgen of oil is added as insurance but it needs to be of lo-viscosity as a heavy oil will cause drag between the two surfaces.

one problem with bushings and the wrong type of oil is "caking ~ a bit like coking in engines) where the heat generated burns the oil onto the surface of the pin & bushing which is then polished in creating a shiny coating tarnishing the surfaces.

oil also prevents oxdisation & rust And act as a silencer as metal on metal running surfaces creates noise .

plus it give you a excuse to tinker with your pin.

( Ps...Are sealed for life bearings really sealed for life or are they just sealed against particles not oil / liquids and a sufficiantly lo-viscosity oil penertrate the metal to metal fit of the seal ? (they're not welded shut you know ! ) as wd40 is a penertrating oil would seap in and attack the natual oil being a synphetic oil with solvants which is what makes it a good degreaser ! ......)

Dear Brian,

Many pin purists advocate that the Speedia is the smoothest and longest runner of them all.  Sounds like you already know your stuff concerning centre pin use so I'll confidently predict you'll enjoy using the Stanton because it performs as good as it looks. 

Dear Tony, (Rocca)

When are you coming over our side matey?  It's gone all electric with some cracking catches being made by lads using the pins trotting down the fast flowing pools.  Tomo caught not one, but "three" six pound plus chub in a single session the other day!!  No really big barbel like I said last week but some of those chub are monsters!!  And certainly worth the odd adventure or two seeking them out?

Regards,

Lee.   

Whoa !

There was me thinking they just looked nice & were fun to use ! I follow the science/engineering of it all and "tolerances...bollocks !" was absolutely priceless.My mate is an engineer and that is just SO what he would say.

What have I learned ?

1.On balance,use a light oil sparingly.I use clock oil which seems OK.

2.Dont bugger about with things you dont understand.

3.For every shed dweller there are at least a dozen top blokes.

My BJ runs for about 35-40 seconds though I have long learned that length of spin is not the be all and end all.The Adcock that started all this spins for about the same time but its just smoother somehow as is my Bewick.

The Speedia spins for ever but wobbles and dings a bit & generally does not inspire me to use it. 

I am very grateful for all the advice.Thanks chaps.

Brian