Leon Paul Reels

[fencinman89]

To whom it may concern,
I am 14 years old and have become the official armorer of the club. I know how to fix almost everything except machines and reels. Since the title of the thread is Leon paul Reels you can prob guess that i need instructions on how to fix one(the Triangle kind) A design, schematic, or blueprint or where i can get it would be very hellpful.
Much Abliged,
Fencinman89

[DHCJr]

There are two types of Leon Paul reels, but they are very similar and the nicest thing about the reels is they are easy to repair. There are three big differences visible from the outside; the older ones have a strap, while the newer ones have a molded handle. The older ones come out the near the middle with a triangular opening in the guide, while the newer ones have a round guide. The last difference is the connector on the newer ones has a place for a grounding wire, while the older ones do not.

When you need to open it up, always open from the connector side. Once you have it open the commutator just pulls off. Spreading the contacts will help. If you need to fix the spring make sure and release the tension slowly, then you can lift off the wire drum. The nice things about the springs are they are in separate cartridges and can be worked on separately. You can do like some clubs and have spare springs and pull off the broken one and drop in a good one. The old springs were in metal cases and had a hole and screw to connect the spring to the case. The new springs are in a plastic case and use a fold over to hold itself in place. Replacing the spring is dropping three springs back in and then the wire drum and tensioning, then the commutator. I try between 5 and 8, based on feel. You should clean the springs every 2 to 3 years and use Vaseline to regrease them.

Hopefully, that will not be your problem. One thing you do need to do is clean, especially the newer ones, since the hold is close to the bottom and brings in a lot. Also the contacts should be cleaned and retensioned and the metal rings also.

Most of the problem will be at the body cord end. There are several different ‘Original’ connectors and I have seen many others put in, so you will need to be more specific at this end. If it is Leon Paul wire the colors are Red, White and Blue.

If you can contact me with where you are located I can get you in touch with an experienced Armorer.

[DHCJr]

I would also suggest you go to LeonPaul.com, then to 'Shop' and
Data Sheets'. There is 'Spool Part Breakdown' and 'Spool Information'.

If you have one of the older reels and need parts, some will not be available, but modifications can be made on newer parts.

It is the easiest reel to work on.

[Inquartata]

How serendipitous! I was just about to PM you, Don, with a question of my own.

In one of our LP reels ( the newer ones ), one of the springs broke off right next to the screw conection to the little plastic "dog". I made a new hole and reattached it and it works fine again now, but my question is this: How many times can I get away with doing this? I've already done it at least three times. How long before the spring gets too short? Should we just throw up our hands and get a new spring pack?

( Part of the problem may be that I don't have a punch, and in order to be able to drill a new hole for the screw I have to anneal the end of the spring first. Could this be weakening the steel, or is it more a matter of age-related metal fatigue? )

BTW, I picked up an instruction sheet on assembly/disassembly of these reels from LP at Nationals last summer. It recommends 15 turns of tensioning, which seems excessive to me, but that's what I've been putting in. Could that be putting undue stress on the springs?

Er, OK, so that was actually FIVE questions....

[adidas33k]

thanks so much for starting this thread. We just had three of our LP reels go down. It's the spring on all of them. At least now I'll be able to repair them.

[DHCJr]

Remember you will be working on spring steel. If the spring is broken in the center you will have to make a hole just large enough for the screw. This is not a job for a drill. There are spring punches. It can be done without, but unless you know what you are doing and even then you won't be successful every time.

If it is the outside and it is an older style spring, you will have the same problem. With the newer style, the end of the spring must be heated and reformed. This is also, not easy.

BE CAREFUL!

[adidas33k]

Thanks for the info

[sallearmourer]

15 turns on older springs can break them again I normally due about 7 to 8 turns for the spring and punch from mirco mark does very well and run around 40.00 I carry one with me.

Tim Loomis

[DHCJr]

Originally posted by Inquartata
How serendipitous! I was just about to PM you, Don, with a question of my own.

In one of our LP reels ( the newer ones ), one of the springs broke off right next to the screw conection to the little plastic "dog". I made a new hole and reattached it and it works fine again now, but my question is this: How many times can I get away with doing this? I've already done it at least three times. How long before the spring gets too short? Should we just throw up our hands and get a new spring pack?

( Part of the problem may be that I don't have a punch, and in order to be able to drill a new hole for the screw I have to anneal the end of the spring first. Could this be weakening the steel, or is it more a matter of age-related metal fatigue? )

BTW, I picked up an instruction sheet on assembly/disassembly of these reels from LP at Nationals last summer. It recommends 15 turns of tensioning, which seems excessive to me, but that's what I've been putting in. Could that be putting undue stress on the springs?

Er, OK, so that was actually FIVE questions....

As Tim said, 15 is way to many and as the spring gets shorter, the fewer turns it will take. Also, Tim reiterated what I said, a spring punch is the way to go. If you maintain reels, especially Leon Paul, you should have one. I also carry one to most tournaments and I make use of it at a large percentage of them.

I had to repair a reel that someone had reversed the springs, which caused a break almost 2 feet in. That spring is still in the reel and still working. The triple spring design is very forgiving.

A trick is to put the shortest spring in first. This spring gets the least amount of tension and movement while working.

Thank you again, Tim. I did not see this posting, when I posted last.

[Inquartata]

Thanks, Don and Tim. Good news on the spring life front, then. And I'll move the one I just fixed to the bottom of the spindle, and put fewer turns on when "winding it up"...

We only have the two LP reels, and I don't feel I can justify the purchase of a punch just for that one task. It'd only get used once or twice a year.

[fencinman89]

Thanks Don, the info helped ill talk to my coach to see about wat is exactly wrong. If there are any mory problems i will notify you
-Fencinman89