Speedia Grommet Screw .....

[Steve Ruff]

Need your assistance please ...

Just purchased a wide drum standard speedia from e-bay - got it a bit cheap as the grommet screw which adjusts the end-float of the reel was missing.

I managed to find some small bolts in my shed which have the same screw thread as the central boss of the reel and then "dremeled" the heads off them and put a slot in them so I could screw it in and out to adjust the end float.

My question is ..... what shape should the end of the grommet screw have to be : should it be pointed / rounded (like a pencil tip) or should it be flat ?

I have made one of them pointed / rounded and the reel seems to spin well enough but I am unsure as to whether or not this may cause wear on the central pin - I suspect that a flat end to the grommet screw may cause less wear but not spin so well as the contact area (and friction ?) on the central pin would be greater.

I only found two bolts with the right thread so don't want to do anything to the other bolt until I know if it should be a rounded or flat end.

If anyone has a speedia could you let me know what shape the original grommet screw would have had.

Thanks.

 

[the indifferent crucian]

You need to try and achieve a rounded profile, the same as the top of the centrepin, something like a 4 inch radius.


Minimal contact, such as a point, just adds to the friction as the oil film is pierced.

Finish it with a polish as fine as you can be bothered with, Brasso does a fair job.


Then run the pin as you watch a bit of TV one evening and give it an oil change every ten minutes or so...you'll know you are there when it spins by itself as you rotate the whole reel in your hand and it is 'held' by the Earth's gravitational field and stays still.

Clean it when you do the oil changes with a cotton bud to remove the old oil and any dark grime. It will eventually spin silently and 'feel' smooth as it does so ( the 'loudspeaker effect' of a centrepin exagerates even a speck of dust in the oil to a rumble).

3 in 1 Oil is fine for this running in, but you'l notice the difference if you do the final assemnbly with something better, such as Gary Mill's 'Pin Oil'



You need to take this seriously. The screw you have replaced was chrome plated brass. You have put in a carbon steel screw which is much, much harder. It will wear away the top of the steel 'pin if you don't get it perfect!


It's do-able OK...I've done it dozens of times, but you need to get your replacement screw perfect.

 

[Steve Ruff]

Thanks for your reply - thought it didn't seem right to have a point on the end.

I will get have a go at the weekend with some very fine emery paper / brasso polish to try and get the profile sorted.

Did spin well but suspected it may not so good in the longer term with the point wearing on the pin.


Thanks again - really useful info and much appreciated.

 

[the indifferent crucian]

If you don't get it right, don't worry too much, my best Speedia has quite a 'dent' on top of the pin...but it is SO good I decided not to touch it. Perhaps that dent holds the oil nicely, perhaps the greater surface area of the dent and grub screw reduce the coefficient of friction?

And there's always Gary Mills for a new screw too........



The Mill Tackle Company: Fishing Reel Repairs, Ser