Now we go to final part of the tuning process, the spool itself. Here we want to concentrate our efforts of the spool shaft ends and on the area along the shaft where the pinion gears rides during casting. This is the area of the reel that tipped me off to the benefits "SUPER TUNING" could have on a reel. I stated earlier that sometimes my Curados would not be casting well, even after I cleaned them, but adding a drop of lubricant to the spool shaft would restore its casting performance instantly! This is because I created a liquid barrier between the pinion gear and spool shaft with the oil. Through "SUPER TUNING" we want to reduce the friction encountered by the spool shaft when it contacts the pinion gear during a cast! The pictures I have taken of the spools for this section do not really reflect well what you will see with your eyes when you do this yourself. I could not take any decent pictures of the spool shafts ends that showed the effect the sanding and polishing produced on them. I guess it is because of the digitizing of the pictures that it doesn't show well. But when you are done with the spool, the shaft ends will be like little convex mirrors showing their smoothness. And the shaft area that contacts the pinion gear will be shinny and smooth as well

This is the only part of the process that you may have difficulty doing at home. I tried using a drill to do this with at first but the chuck jaws of the drill cut into the soft metal of the spool shafts effectivly ruining them! OUCH! There goes $25-35 for a new spool! I have done this by hand with my Dremel tool at home by placing some tape around the shaft end that I was going to insert in the Dremel and softly locking the Dremel collar down on the shaft. Then I had to one hand sand and polish the spool as the Dremel turned it at blinding speeds, (not fun) it turned out great but it was tricky! Then I discovered mini-drill presses, like the kind jewelers and watchmakers use. These work great for sanding and polishing the spool if you have one. Obviously the best choice is a lathe which we have in the shop fortunately! Whatever tool you have at hand use common sense and caution. Spools are expensive and can be damaged easily as they are made of soft metals. Make sure you use tape to wrap up the end of the shaft or the rim of the spool that you plan to insert into the jaws of the tool you are using. Tighten down on them just enough to get a good grip as over tightening will cause damage to the spool!

There are a few things to avoid while sanding and polishing the spool shaft. DO NOT SAND AND POLISH THE AREAS ON THE SHAFTS (COLLARS or SHOULDERS) THAT THE BALL BEARING INNER RACES USE TO CONTACT THE SHAFT. Doing this may permit the spool shaft to spin inside the ball bearing race without driving it making the bearings pretty much useless except for alignment of the spool. Sand and polish the shaft ends and the area where the pinion gear rides only! Do not use any tool to do this (read no files!) just your fingers and the sandpaper or cotton swab. We don't want to re-shape the shaft or cut into it. Your fingers will allow the sandpaper to run over the shaft ends without flattening them out. We want the ends to have the same convex shape they were manufactured with when we are done "SUPER TUNING" them. Start with the 600 grit sandpaper then progress to the 1500 grit paper and finally on to the Simichrome polish. You can use either a paper towel or cotton swab to apply the polish to the spool shaft. USE CAUTION YOU CAN DAMAGE YOUR SPOOL OR YOURSELF WITH THE POWER TOOLS YOU ARE USING! Once again a mirror like finish is the goal.

SPOOL SHAFT PICTURES