two calcutta 400 discoveries....

never pass up an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others.....
 
i have an ultrasonic cleaner that i filled with simple green soap.  works great to clean out crud from corroded reels, but the water in the simple green evaporates over time.  out of laziness, i've been topping the tank off with arm & hammer liquid laundry detergent.  it contains mildly alkaline sodium carbonate.  well, i tossed in a slightly corroded "a" series calcutta 400.  um, and i forgot about it until the next morning.  here are the results.  so from now on i stick with soap alone and i use the timer function and not just the "on" switch. 
 

 

 
so i went out to buy my friend a new reel to replace the old one.  in the process of changing out the drag washers, i found myself looking at the two reels, side by side, for the first time.  yup, the older "a" series calcutta 400 right next to the newer "b" series calcutta.  so what's the difference?  well, for one, a bearing replaces a bushing on the right side of the newer calcutta "b."
 

 
another difference is the set plate (part #bnt 3362) and an anti-reverse pawl (part #bnt 3361) in the newer reel. 
 

 

 
the older "a" series calcutta 400 does not have this back up anti-reverse mechanism.  so when the anti-reverse roller bearing fails, the reel goes "knuckle buster" on you.
 

 
but it does have the hole.  a pin with a 3mm OD would fit just fine.  it's also possible that you could hold the anti-reverse pawl in place with a screw.  it might only have to fit the 3mm hole of the pawl.  i'll have to check this out some more.  wouldn't that be interesting, being able to add a back up anti-reverse pawl to all of the old "a" series calcutta 400's out there.

Cool Alan!

Too bad it took a reel's early grave to figure this stuff out.

This is quite interesting, as my ABU 6500C3 does not have a dog, only a anti-reverse bearing.  It would be interesting to see if you could put one in like in the calcutta.

To hold the dog in you could groove the top of the pin, and then use one of those little clips that looks like a "C" that fits in the slot and holds the dog in.

MolBasser

it would be interesting to add this kind of backup to the abus for sure...

I guess they used to have it.

I am the kind of person that loses things, but 'generally' has the touch that does not break stuff.
Alan told me that if you baby the anti reverse bearing, it will last a long time.  nonetheless, it would
be nice to be able to depend on the abu workhorse a little more.

mol, have you have had one fail? seems like I hear about the reel not flipping into gear after you push
the button or flip the lever to pull it out of gear the most as the failure mode?

J

I've never had one fail.  I'm not even sure how they work exactly.  I tried to find out on the web sort of half heartedly but failed in my attempt.

My curado's (and even my cheapy ass crestfires) have the backup dog.  I'm suprised that the abu doesn't have it.

I will say that that abu 6500C3 subdued a 20# yellowtail with 20# line on it fairly well with no slippage.  I wish I had carbontex drags at the time, but the stock drags worked.

MolBasser

I guess the first 5 yellowtail are okay, it's the next 5 you'd have to worry about. eventually the frame
would bend or something. I'm sure it'll happen the one time you don't do everything just right,
i.e. you horse it away from kelp, or something. But yeah, I am not surprised an experienced fisherman
like yourself could land a big fish on an ambassadeur. I wonder what the ambassadeur record is?

All I have are 7 abu's and a great big honking penn 330 GTI so I'd use the abu's in a heartbeat if I go down there.

You mean you did not figure out how the anti reverse works? when the roller rolls backwards it jams
almost instantly in the cage slot. clearly this can be over powered and it can slip. It's not high strength,
just convenient.

I think this is it, I had the same thought and that is what I came up with. the anti reverse roller bearing
is around the shaft.

Mol did you see the pics I posted of my 4600 converted with power handle, greased carbontex drag,
stainless steel pinion, greased ceramic bearings and level wind removal?

It is so pimp!

It is now an 8oz mini jigmaster and I have 20lb fireline on it, except for maybe the anti reverse and no clicker.
I like left handed level winds, but right handed conventional is okay as I use my left hand to level the line.

I used it that day I fished with alan t off his boat, it worked great. of course it did almost get spooled on a
snag before we turned the boat around and wet back to it. fishing in 160 feet of water with a 4600!

Well I am sad I have no more reels to pimp.

J

Sounds sweet!  I missed that post, but will look for it.

The first 5 min. of my fight with that yellowtail were me holding on for dear life as line screamed off of the reel.  It was nuts.  The fish was headed back to the paddy that I hooked it from and I got paranoid and put my thumb on the spool to slow him down a bit and ended up getting a burn on my thumb from the spool!!!

Definately one of the coolest momments in my fishing career.

MolBasser

I hear that the sided plates of the abu will pop of if you hook into a bid albacore.  I dont know if this has to do with the levelwind or the frame.

I would think the frame. But it sounds like a worthy death for an ambassadeur.

J

so do these scarred shimano reels still work? or are they trash?

john, i already cannibalized this reel for parts.  i could re-order the base plate for it, maybe even convert it over to a "calcutta B" and it's yours if you want it.  one thing for sure, it's clean! 

 

I was mainly curious!

J