Speargun Reel DIY

[GRAPHITE SPEARGUNS]

Has anyone tried to make there own reel?

I have 3d printed prototypes but never actually installed onto my guns as i feel they are not yet strong enough, but because i am now making parts with 3d printing and carbon fiber i have to opportunity to try again.

how does a drag system on a speargun work?
Anyone have any photos of there reels opened up?
Any radical new ideas instead of the standard reel or float line setup?

current vision.

 

[popgun pete]

Drags just tighten a friction disc, sort of a disc brake with full contact over the surface. You only need drag to stop too much line peeling off, it is not like fighting a fish on a rod and reel. For years I used an Academy fishing reel, all plastic construction and just cut the rod holder off, using it drum style screwed on through the back plate. High drag fishing reels have a stack of multiple friction discs, but they run in air, not water.

The KISS Principle works best for spearfishing.

 

[GRAPHITE SPEARGUNS]

Drags just tighten a friction disc, sort of a disc brake with full contact over the surface. You only need drag to stop too much line peeling off, it is not like fighting a fish on a rod and reel. For years I used an Academy fishing reel, all plastic construction and just cut the rod holder off, using it drum style screwed on through the back plate. High drag fishing reels have a stack of multiple friction discs, but they run in air, not water.

The KISS Principle works best for spearfishing.

Hi Pete,

any comments on this design below?

from the top
m6 nyloc
nut with handle
drag washer
spacer plate
reel handle
top half of reel body
m4 bolts connecting top and bottom of body together
bottom of reel body
drag washer
m6 bolt through whole assembly
base to connect to speargun body with line guide

Handles will be made of plastic body and base carbon. stainless washers as drag washers.

 

[popgun pete]

I am not an expert on reels, but I think that it is not a wheel that needs reinventing. One of the best "keep it simple stupid" is the Aussie Reels model.

 

[popgun pete]

The Omer/Sporasub ONE reels are being sold out of a giftware site on eBay to get rid of them, so I bought another example to pull it apart. Once I figure out how to knock the handle pin out I should have it apart, so will post photos of the components once it is in pieces.

SporaSub Speargun Reel One 50 - Mimetic- Without Line - Omer Big Fish Stringer | eBay

Sporasub Reel One 50 has a reversible vertical winding design with a folding arm. The Sporasub One 50 reel is designed to be small to limit any disturbances to the functionality and hydrodynamics of the speargun.

www.ebay.com.au

SporaSub Speargun Reel One 80 - Without Line - Omer Big Fish Stringer | eBay

Sporasub Reel One 80 has a reversible vertical winding design with a folding arm. The Sporasub One 80 reel is designed to be small to limit any disturbances to the functionality and hydrodynamics of the speargun.

www.ebay.com.au

 

[GRAPHITE SPEARGUNS]

The Omer/Sporasub ONE reels are being sold out of a giftware site on eBay to get rid of them, so I bought another example to pull it apart. Once I figure out how to knock the handle pin out I should have it apart, so will post photos of the components once it is in pieces.

SporaSub Speargun Reel One 50 - Mimetic- Without Line - Omer Big Fish Stringer | eBay

Sporasub Reel One 50 has a reversible vertical winding design with a folding arm. The Sporasub One 50 reel is designed to be small to limit any disturbances to the functionality and hydrodynamics of the speargun.

www.ebay.com.au

SporaSub Speargun Reel One 80 - Without Line - Omer Big Fish Stringer | eBay

Sporasub Reel One 80 has a reversible vertical winding design with a folding arm. The Sporasub One 80 reel is designed to be small to limit any disturbances to the functionality and hydrodynamics of the speargun.

www.ebay.com.au

Cheers Pete!

I wonder if there is a number that manufacturers put on there reels so that they don't get pulled off the mounts?
Maybe its quite low as the whole reel would have to fit through a line guide hole for it to actually dislodge from the gun.

 

[popgun pete]

A decent size fish can tear your gun out of your hands, so whether it rips the reel off or not doesn't matter too much. A reel is a line retrieval device, not a fish fighter in the sense a game reel is.

The Omer One reel is fairly easy to take apart, you knock out the pin that the crank handle pivots on and then unscrew the small grub screws that form a frictional element to retain the handle knob with the crank handle arm folding and pushed into the reel drum. The drag wheel is on a left hand thread and under that is the drag washer. With these removed you have to spring the reel frame and push the reel drum off-axis to get it out by making use of the large holes on either side of the frame. Those big holes are also the drum bearings. You can rebuild the reel either way as everything is reversible. As supplied the crank handle is on the left, but you can switch it around to be on the right. The friction ring surface that the drag washer presses on is incorporated on both sides of the frame.

Some photos will show everything, once I find somewhere to take them, as my reel is black and I need good lighting.

 

[GRAPHITE SPEARGUNS]

Cheers Pete! I would reely (pun intended) like to make a vertical reel, as i think it would be much better to build in carbon fibre. the horizontal reel would rely on the one bolt going through the whole assembly and thus the pivot point will be under more stress than a vertical reel were the "through bolt" would be supported on two side of the reel bracket. im just having a hard time figuring out how a drag system would work on the vertical reel hopefully your pictures will clear that up for me.

Why i want drag and not free spool is because i am hunting in nz, we dont have fish doing massive runs instantly when they are hit generally king fish will circle when damaged and snapper dont put up to much of a fight. but of course if i want to free spool turn the knob and away we go.

 

[popgun pete]

Here are the rest of the photos.

 

[popgun pete]

And the last ones.

 

[popgun pete]

So you can see the One Reel uses a large diameter, but narrow friction bearing surface for its drag. On the other side it looks just like a decorative element, but it is there if you want to rearrange the reel with the crank handle shifting to the other side of the gun. In fact I will put the crank handle on the right when I reassemble the reel.

 

[popgun pete]

Cheers Pete! I would reely (pun intended) like to make a vertical reel, as i think it would be much better to build in carbon fibre. the horizontal reel would rely on the one bolt going through the whole assembly and thus the pivot point will be under more stress than a vertical reel were the "through bolt" would be supported on two side of the reel bracket. im just having a hard time figuring out how a drag system would work on the vertical reel hopefully your pictures will clear that up for me.

Why i want drag and not free spool is because i am hunting in nz, we dont have fish doing massive runs instantly when they are hit generally king fish will circle when damaged and snapper dont put up to much of a fight. but of course if i want to free spool turn the knob and away we go.

The Omer One reel spins in its frame, there is no axial bolt. It had a drag that acts on the frame alongside the bearings created in the frame body, plastic running on plastic and probably glass filled, remember it is operating when wet,.

 

[popgun pete]

Speaking of Kingfish my buddy and I were using our handspears on the outer reef edge, it being a shore dive and we were not expecting anything big. My buddy had his then brand new Sea Hawk telescopic handspear which used a split ring rather than a collet for locking the forward shaft. A Kingfish loomed up beside us and my buddy could not contain himself, he sunk his barbs right into the Kingie. It gave a gasp and then blasted off. Tearing the handspear from his grasp it motored off at best escape speed, about 12 feet of handspear projecting out one side. We headed off in pursuit because the Kingie was travelling on a wide arc due to the handspear drag and we figured that it may come back even though we lost sight of it in seconds. If nothing else my buddy wanted his new handspear back. We never found it or the Kingie, the handspear, all stainless steel, is probably still on the bottom on the far north coast, just off Coffs Harbour.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I am not an expert on reels, but I think that it is not a wheel that needs reinventing. One of the best "keep it simple stupid" is the Aussie Reels model.
View attachment 59386
View attachment 59387

Agreed. I have a couple of them. Simple and bullet proof.

 

[GRAPHITE SPEARGUNS]

Agreed. I have a couple of them. Simple and bullet proof.

does the aussie reel have a drag system or is it free spool?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

does the aussie reel have a drag system or is it free spool?

It has a drag system. See Pete's second link. That knob tightens a stainless washer against the top of the spool.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

 

[GRAPHITE SPEARGUNS]

It has a drag system. See Pete's second link. That knob tightens a stainless washer against the top of the spool.

cheers for the answer Bill, one more question does the knob contain a nyloc nut or is it just a normal nut that will spin loose if the reel gets yanked?

 

[popgun pete]

Winding knobs are usually a loose sleeve held down with a washer recessed into the top and a screw holding it on the reel body. Twisting the knob will not undo the screw.

 

[GRAPHITE SPEARGUNS]

Winding knobs are usually a loose sleeve held down with a washer recessed into the top and a screw holding it on the reel body. Twisting the knob will not undo the screw.

my current design is this
from the top
nyloc
another nyloc that fits inside the drag knob
drag stainless washer
spool
drag stainless washer
base
m6 bolt through whole assembly

I think i may upload my process of how i would make this on this post for anyone else wanting to give it a go.