the indifferent crucian
Well-known member
Since so many people have been tempted by the currently available cheapish centrepins from various sources, the Marco Cortesi being the cheapest at just £30, I thought I'd have a look at one.
I knew that the Chinese bearings would be a fault ( and they were) and that poor maching tolerences would be a factor.
I was surprised just how out of balance the reel spool was and this combined with the poor bearings meant it really was a bit of a boneshaker.
But all is not lost......
If you dismantle it and wash the bearings clean in petrol and re-lube them with a thin oil like 3 in 1 oil before re-assembling you can statically balance the reel for a vast improvement!
Just spin it until it stops in a vertical plane, as though it was hanging off your rod, and mark the very bottom of the spool at the lowest point once it stops.
Mark it bang in the middle of the spool drum where the line will sit.
Do this three times to be sure you have found the 'heavy spot' and then drill a small hole, say 1mm, exactly on the spot.
Clean the drum, assemble the reel and spin it again. It'll probably stop in the same place, so you need to enlarge the hole.
I went up to a 3.5mm hole, but a massive improvement could be felt even with the first 1mm hole.
If you really want to go to town on it, you could replace the bearings with something better........these seem to be the ones......
6872RS Sealed Deep Groove Ball Bearing 7x14x5mm Simply Bearings Ltd
I knew that the Chinese bearings would be a fault ( and they were) and that poor maching tolerences would be a factor.
I was surprised just how out of balance the reel spool was and this combined with the poor bearings meant it really was a bit of a boneshaker.
But all is not lost......
If you dismantle it and wash the bearings clean in petrol and re-lube them with a thin oil like 3 in 1 oil before re-assembling you can statically balance the reel for a vast improvement!
Just spin it until it stops in a vertical plane, as though it was hanging off your rod, and mark the very bottom of the spool at the lowest point once it stops.
Mark it bang in the middle of the spool drum where the line will sit.
Do this three times to be sure you have found the 'heavy spot' and then drill a small hole, say 1mm, exactly on the spot.
Clean the drum, assemble the reel and spin it again. It'll probably stop in the same place, so you need to enlarge the hole.
I went up to a 3.5mm hole, but a massive improvement could be felt even with the first 1mm hole.
If you really want to go to town on it, you could replace the bearings with something better........these seem to be the ones......
6872RS Sealed Deep Groove Ball Bearing 7x14x5mm Simply Bearings Ltd