Inside a no8 CGI reel

[matzilla]

Well here it is...during the 2nd tare down to "fix" the crappy drag. I ended up cleaning up the main shaft drive gear to drag washer mating surface - applied another coating of lithium grease to the gear face and oiled the drag disk to steel face again. It still jerks when a steady pull is applied to the line


Exploded parts
Left to right: free spool actuator knob, knob spring, handle nut, handle lock and screw, handle, coil spring I added as a mod to keep the drag star from self adjusting, drag star, shim washer, bearing, one way bearing, bearing, drag steel, "carbon" drag disk, main shaft, main shaft cradle, internal fender/dust cover.
2nd row: spool, main body with counter shaft still installed
3rd row: no8 Snitch rod (this thing is very very nice tho the reel is garbage)


Main shaft and drag
Left to right: Main shaft, "carbon" drag disk, drag steel, bearing, one way bearing, bearing, shim washer, drag star


Drive gear
Modifications, 2 step deburring of screw holes, polish screw hole to drag surface


Internal
Shows main shaft and counter shaft installed with main shaft cradle. Item at 10 o'clock is the free spool scrubber brake. Item at 7 o'clock is the bait clicker




The drag still sucks but the bearings are a bit smoother after their 2nd treatment with some light weight precision machine oil.



Comparison sake - internals of a black betty 6061 http://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/ice_1190837/
Internals of an Eagle Claw vs CGI http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=292850.20

[missoulafish]

What's your explanation for the surging drag now that you are an expert on this reel after breaking it down again?

[matzilla]

the drag disk isn't exactly flat and the main drive gear drag contact face has runout measured parallel to the shaft

[missoulafish]

Roger that. Thanks!:)

[matzilla]

If they had a counter rotating/dedicated drag gear like a fly reel it would be a huge improvement



That's an orvis but even my cheapo Cabela's fly reels have the same type of drag design

[diesel2012]

I bought a CGI reel also and haven't had any issues with the drag on mine. Wonder if the part your talking about is defective. I've had this reel the whole season so far and I absolutely love it. Maybe mine is a fluke and yours is the norm although I hope not. Just paired it with a snitch stick also but haven't had it out yet. I really like the tip and then the backbone it has so far. We'll see how it performs on the ice.

[Dave R]

I bought a CGI reel also and haven't had any issues with the drag on mine. Wonder if the part your talking about is defective. I've had this reel the whole season so far and I absolutely love it. Maybe mine is a fluke and yours is the norm although I hope not.

x2

[E Z turn]

I have 2 CGI 8 reels and so far I like them a lot better than spinning reels. I had some problem with the line icing when on the ice but no more problems than the spinning reels. Saturday I used them for the first time in a heated house and they worked great. Much better then spinning reels. Fishing 25 to 30 ft water the Rat Finkee with a small split shot no problem. The free spool is great.