Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Fishing reel mechanisms

I opened up my fishing reel just to make sure everything was clean and running smoothly. I found two mechanisms that looked inspiring.

The first is the spring-loaded mechanism that holds the "line release bar" in either of its two positions. The part that turns has a hole for a short axle that it swings on, and another hole on the side for a bar that is spring loaded. This spring loaded bar flips around the axle and rests in either of two spots. I suppose these are "stable" positions that make use of the unstable position in the middle, where the bar is right under the axle, the spring is fully compressed, and where it's pushing at the most rounded, "teeter-totter" part.

Position 1

Position 2

The part that turns on the axle, with the small hole on the side. The squarish nub also helps guide the turning motion.


The second mechanism is in a tension-adjusting knob. It clicks the nob into different settings. There is a small ball on a spring that presses into a disk with corresponding dimples. The ball rests in one of these dimples and when the knob (the black plastic) gets turn, the ball slides out and pops into the next dimple. The metal disk is stationary, the black plastic is the upturned knob.


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