Bearings #2

[hooked]

Hi,
Just wanted to share; months since fellow forumer kingfisher23 mention he uses the Orange Seal bearings for casting, i went out to buy one or two for testing purposes.

Hoever due to busy work schedule, i was not able to test them on the field. Only made the following video (took about 30 minutes to make): Youtube


Im hoping that my fellow caster who already made several casts on these Bocas will give some insight...

Will update once i have the chance to get my reels to the field. Unlike the previous test i decided to upgrade the bearings for my old Abus... Felt that the Okumas are running too smooth for me to mess about with.

On a separate note i did also upgrade my Daiwa SL20 to one of them OS... they are smooth as for fishing... Now i just wish all the reel bearings come in just 1 size, damned!

[kingfisher23]

I'm glad you like the Orange Seals! I've been nothing but impressed with them. I run Orange ones in one of my own reels and I've put them in several of my custom shop reels. They are very smooth and have given me good spin times. The casting performance is on par with any other type of bearing I've found, other than Rocket Bearings which I find better than the Orange.

The one thing I'm curious about and haven't had the chance to check yet is the matching capacity of the bearings. I noticed that you have a large lot of bearings. Did you try to match them for spin times?

Evan

[hooked]

Hi Evan,
Thanks for the comment on youtube.

[hooked]

Hi Evan,
Thanks for the comment on youtube.

About the matching sets of free spins... i think they were like almost impossible for me to find... OR maybe i just do not happen to know the proper way to do it. Do mind sharing your method for the benefit of guys like myself and those into casting?

Also i noticed that these bearings have 2 different sides, now, what i want to know is how you put your sides together for casting? Again if you can share, for the benefit of us all here. Thanks mate.

Not tried the Rockets... heard they got a new reel... must resist!

[h3rm4nt0]

@hooked, pls advice from where do you get those bearings?
Thanks

[kingfisher23]

Sorry for the long delay in responding. Things have been quite busy at the shop and I'm working on several new and exciting projects.

Bearing shields:

For bearings that affect free spool in tournament reels, I pull both shields and run the bearings open. For me, this makes cleaning easier. It does mean that oil leaves the bearings easier and you have to re-oil more frequently. IMHO, the trade-off is worth it.

I believe what you are referring to as different sides are actually the bearing race retainers. If you remove both orange seals from the bearings, one side will show the bearing balls and the other will have a flat metal washer-type ring. that is actually the race retainer that keeps the balls evenly spaced inside the bearing. I usually install the spool bearings with the race retainer facing out (ie the bare steel balls facing inwards).

Matching bearing spin times:

This usually requires two people to do properly. You need to work with the bearings and have a friend with a stopwatch.

First, I run all the bearings through the ultrasonic cleaner multiple times. I fill the well with lighter fluid or acetone and run the cleaner for 1-2 minutes. Usually on the first run the fluid will turn cloudy. Pull the bearings and let them dry on a paper towel for 30-45 minutes. It helps to have a bright (non-halogen) light shining on them to heat them up. Repeat the cleaning and drying process 3-4 times until the fluid has no particles or cloudiness in it after the soaking. This process does not require an ultrasonic cleaner, I just use one because I have it and it makes cleaning easier.

After the bearings are completely clean and dry, it is time to find spin times. Place each bearing one at a time on the tapered end of a chopstick. This is where two people come into play. Flick the bearing with your thumb to make it spin on the chopstick. The second person times the spin from the initial flick to when the bearings stops completely. Place the bearing on a sheet of paper and write the spin time next to it. Do this for each bearing. Once you have each bearing timed, you can begin matching them. I like to have less than a .5 second difference between the bearings that I put in my reels.

As far as optimal spin times go, 30-45 seconds is excellent for tournament reels. Anything less than 10 seconds are put aside for fishing reels.

Disclaimer: Optimized bearing spin times are only an indication of smoothness and balance. After pairing up bearings, they need to be oiled before you try to cast with them. Also, maximized spinning bearings are only one part of a quality tournament reel. Spool balance, oil tuning, mag tuning and overall design all play into the final product. And spin timing and spool balance will not show a big return advantage until you are pushing 700 feet.

Evan

[hooked]

Hi Evan,
Been real busy with work and just noticed this. Thanks for sharing... I think most tournament casters have their bearing facing inwards.

The ultra sonic cleaners are real cool stuff also.

I only recently manage to cast these OS on the field... had a pair on the 7ht Turbo and it was going furiously fast... As tested on the SLOSH... damn smooth, just that my 7ht didnt have enough braking power i guess.

On the Abu with those benfield the OS were pretty well controlled due to the fact the benfield had more mags than the 7ht Turbo.

I still prefer out board bearings so i didnt cast much with my Abu these days. Will need to test the 7ht more though.