Penn Spinfisher 950ss

[james7]

My mate Syd has a Penn Spinfisher 950SS. (Great reel by the way) However, he told me that the bail stud screw is always coming loose. It doesn't lock down. Syd thinks it may be because the bail head screw head is too small for the size of the star lock washer.

Does anyone else have this problem with their reels?

Solutions?

Cheers

Peter

PS This forum was great idea!

[jewgaffer]

Peter the early Penns had the same full metal bodies in the 650ss - 950ss size as they have today but were set up for some reason as left handers. They were rushed onto the market as more or less protypes that took over the market and over time never needed to be changed much at all... the drag knob shape was changed and the Penn badge were modernized and covered for protection. At the time the SS Spinfisherss were regarded as the best spinning reel available. I am a fan of these reels for good reason too and, not that I'll ever need to replace one unless I happen to lose one of course, you can buy exactly the same reel at such a good price now that the plant in Pennsylvania has relocated to China and the Penn ss reels still hold their own as the Fin Nor's do in more ways than one..

The 50's came with a spare shaft for changing them over to right handed - left being prominent for some reason before the new Penn 500ss range came in with the reversible handle and actually Syd might still have the lefty shaft off his 950.

Having said that the later model, the 9500ss has the same problem with the bail screw loosening up but not sufficiently enough to lose the screw...whereas the asian 850ssm model that I bought from a member is the same as the 9500ss only a bit lighter to hold all day on the beach etc as is its counterpart the U.S,made 8500ss because of both having the smaller capacity spool. Anyway the 850ssm is still in the box so too early to tell. Tell Syd that whilst there are better ways to do it, my old 750 seems to have been fixed by tightening the screw into a thin piece of plumbing tape and apart from that the screw on my 9500's seem to have a tighter thread.

Cheers

jewgaffer

[slinkymalinky]

Hi Peter,

for other readers... this is the screw Peter is describing...

There's a couple of possible causes... if it's always been a problem, even since new, then it's possibly the wrong sized screw. It could be that the screw thread, or the star washer are worn or damaged. It may be damage to the thread inside the spindle on the bail wire.

It might also be a problem with the spindle itself although I reckon you would have noticed. If the spindle were broken, it could spin with the roller and apply torque to the screw??

You probably noticed that I grease screw holes... I don't use Loctite, even where (like with this screw) it was originally supplied. I've always, like Alan Tani, been more concerned with corrosion protection. I've never had this screw back out of my 6500SS (but I do check and service my reels very regularly). So I think the problem is likely to be a part.

Have a close look at the spindle, screw and washer under a magnifying glass. If you can't see anything obvious, try replacing the screw and washer and see what happens

Cheers, Slinky

[james7]

Thanks for the helpful info and advice Byron and Slinky.

I'll pass it on to Syd.

Cheers

Peter