Adjusting The Bearing Cap On A Penn Reel
Original post by Darrel Miller(Cornhusker) on February 26, 2005
I'll tell you what I can and the others can fill in the gaps. I will try to go down your list of questions one at a time.
Q : In the book it mentions about setting or adjusting the left side bearing cap. Can some of you experts explain this to me? My understanding is you tighten the cap down so you can barely move the spool side to side, also if I get it to tight or to loose what will happen....
A : This info came from a Penn Manual
![]()
I start with the bearing cap loose, a grip on the spool with my fingers and move the spool back and forth. You should be able to feel it click as it moves from one side to the other and hits the opposite side. Keep moving it back and forth with your fingers feeling the click while you tighten the bearing cap. Continue to tighten until the click disapears then back off on the cap slightly until you can just feel the click.
If you have it too loose I don't know that you will damage anything but the bearings may a little noisy and may not run as smooth. If it is extremely loose you may have problems with line getting between the spool and sideplate.
If the cap is too tight it will put a side loading on the bearings. This will eventually damage the bearings.
Q : there is a tiny screw on the handle of almost touching the center handle screw, what is this for, I had to loosen this up when I recieved my reel just a bit to turn the star drag.
A :
![]()
![]()
The little screw next to the handle nut is a locking screw to prevent the handle nut from backing off. It should not go through the handle but should be long enough to be flush with the backside of the handle. It sounds like it may be a little long and pressing down on the star drag handle when it is tight. Tighten the star drag up a bit and look carefully between the back of the handle and the star drag to see if the small screw is sticking out. If so you may want to file off just enough to make it flush with the back of the handle. Actually, even if it does stick through too much it may be OK when you adjust the star drag to where you will be using it. There should be a little gap between the drag and the handle.
Q : there is a little round knob infront of the spool clutch that says turn and lift, what is this for
A :
![]()
The right sideplate is held in place with 2 lugs for lack of a better name that fit in 2 grooves. The screw you are talking about that says turn and lift is the sideplate locking screw. To remove the right sideplate completely loosen the screw. It is usually captive in the sideplate so it can't come out and spring loaded to put it down on it's mating stud. With the screw loose, pull it away from the sideplate, hold it out while gripping the main frame in one hand and the right sideplate in the other and turn the sideplate counterclockwise with respect to the frame. When you feel the sideplate turn and come to a solid stop pull it off the main frame.
Q : what is the max line rating that I can put on this reel and not mess with its capability.
A :
![]()
I got this out of the 2004 Penn catalog. My guess is that the JigMasters all have about the same line capacity.
I'll tell you what I can and the others can fill in the gaps. I will try to go down your list of questions one at a time.
Q : In the book it mentions about setting or adjusting the left side bearing cap. Can some of you experts explain this to me? My understanding is you tighten the cap down so you can barely move the spool side to side, also if I get it to tight or to loose what will happen....
A : This info came from a Penn Manual
I start with the bearing cap loose, a grip on the spool with my fingers and move the spool back and forth. You should be able to feel it click as it moves from one side to the other and hits the opposite side. Keep moving it back and forth with your fingers feeling the click while you tighten the bearing cap. Continue to tighten until the click disapears then back off on the cap slightly until you can just feel the click.
If you have it too loose I don't know that you will damage anything but the bearings may a little noisy and may not run as smooth. If it is extremely loose you may have problems with line getting between the spool and sideplate.
If the cap is too tight it will put a side loading on the bearings. This will eventually damage the bearings.
Q : there is a tiny screw on the handle of almost touching the center handle screw, what is this for, I had to loosen this up when I recieved my reel just a bit to turn the star drag.
A :
The little screw next to the handle nut is a locking screw to prevent the handle nut from backing off. It should not go through the handle but should be long enough to be flush with the backside of the handle. It sounds like it may be a little long and pressing down on the star drag handle when it is tight. Tighten the star drag up a bit and look carefully between the back of the handle and the star drag to see if the small screw is sticking out. If so you may want to file off just enough to make it flush with the back of the handle. Actually, even if it does stick through too much it may be OK when you adjust the star drag to where you will be using it. There should be a little gap between the drag and the handle.
Q : there is a little round knob infront of the spool clutch that says turn and lift, what is this for
A :
The right sideplate is held in place with 2 lugs for lack of a better name that fit in 2 grooves. The screw you are talking about that says turn and lift is the sideplate locking screw. To remove the right sideplate completely loosen the screw. It is usually captive in the sideplate so it can't come out and spring loaded to put it down on it's mating stud. With the screw loose, pull it away from the sideplate, hold it out while gripping the main frame in one hand and the right sideplate in the other and turn the sideplate counterclockwise with respect to the frame. When you feel the sideplate turn and come to a solid stop pull it off the main frame.
Q : what is the max line rating that I can put on this reel and not mess with its capability.
A :
I got this out of the 2004 Penn catalog. My guess is that the JigMasters all have about the same line capacity.
5
