How to Quiet Noisy Reels

[Yoeddy1]

I'm wanting to remove my reels from my machine.  I cleaned the reels, but I want to see if I can make them any quieter.  Is there a video or tutorial on removing the reels/reel baskets?

Thanks!

[stayouttadabunker]

Pull the harness out from under the reel tray and pop out the reel mechs.
Remove the strips
(Lay them out as 1. 2. 3. so they go back the same way you removed them)
and tighten the reel baskets "spokes" with plastic ties.
Tighten them up good and cut off the excess with a good pair of snips.
Put the strips back on making sure the notches
are in the correct spot and re-install the reels and harness.
They should be much quieter!
When you put the ties on, make sure the ratchet tie lock
is facing inside the "spokes" away from the optics that's all!

[rickhunter]

I've never tried bunker's solution, mind posting a picture of the "finished product". 

 The only methods I had used for "quieter" reels were:

1.  Tape up the reel strips nice and tight so that they don't vibrate as much as the reels spin (they become kind of like a speaker diaphragm and increases the resonance of the vibrations, so the tighter they are, the less they resonate).

2.  The hammer to the hub trick.  Place a small nut driver/socket so that you can use it to tighten the friction nut on the hub, then give it a good wack, but not too strong so as to destroy the reel.  Sometimes I put a plastic washer between the basket and the nut to get it tighter while still giving it a very minor "wiggle room".

[StatFreak]

In addition to the above mentioned methods, one can also take the reel basket apart and add a thin layer of tape to the two metal spokes on the motor spindle to remove any possible vibration between the spindle and the basket.

When taking the basket off of the spindle, be careful removing the clip that holds the basket to the reels, as it has a tendency to go flying across the room!


Extras can be expensive -- They only seem to be dirt cheap at something like $0.02 each (<EDIT> They're now $0.06 each ), but with Happ's $25 minimum order and super-bonus Surprise shipping, getting them is more costly than one might imagine. I think they ended up costing me around $50   (Okay, I did get other cool stuff from Happ, but I probably wouldn't have placed that order if I hadn't needed ONE lousy clip. (Now I have a bag full. )

For those who are interested, the Happ part number is 70-1499-00.

[brichter]

  (Okay, I did get other cool stuff from Happ, but I probably wouldn't have placed that order if I hadn't needed ONE lousy clip. (Now I have a bag full. )

For those who are interested, the Happ part number is 70-1499-00.

Sounds like we need to do a group buy of clips from Stat!!!!

[Yoeddy1]

1.  Tape up the reel strips nice and tight so that they don't vibrate as much as the reels spin (they become kind of like a speaker diaphragm and increases the resonance of the vibrations, so the tighter they are, the less they resonate).

Could you snap a photo of the "tape job?"  I'm not quite sure I follow how you're doing this.  -Thanks!

[CaptainHappy]

  (Okay, I did get other cool stuff from Happ, but I probably wouldn't have placed that order if I hadn't needed ONE lousy clip. (Now I have a bag full. )

For those who are interested, the Happ part number is 70-1499-00.

Sounds like we need to do a group buy of clips from Stat!!!!

What do we think..... Everyone paypal him 50 cents, 6 cents for the clip and effort, and 44 cents for the postage stamp! 

OR

We could be really careful when we pull the clip off like someone suggested! 

CH

[StatFreak]

  (Okay, I did get other cool stuff from Happ, but I probably wouldn't have placed that order if I hadn't needed ONE lousy clip. (Now I have a bag full. )

For those who are interested, the Happ part number is 70-1499-00.

Sounds like we need to do a group buy of clips from Stat!!!!

What do we think..... Everyone paypal him 50 cents, 6 cents for the clip and effort, and 44 cents for the postage stamp! 

OR

We could be really careful when we pull the clip off like someone suggested! 

CH

Hold on   ... I knew that we had a Clippie emoticon somewhere around here...   

[stayouttadabunker]

1.  Tape up the reel strips nice and tight so that they don't vibrate as much as the reels spin (they become kind of like a speaker diaphragm and increases the resonance of the vibrations, so the tighter they are, the less they resonate).

Could you snap a photo of the "tape job?"  I'm not quite sure I follow how you're doing this.  -Thanks!
[/quote]

Well,
The "tape job" I know of goes like this.
Remove the clip from the stepper motor shaft...
Pull the reel off the shaft and turn it over exposing the shaft hole.
Place about a 1 inch length of electrical tape over the hole.
Squeezed the reel back onto the shaft.
The tape will be forced into the reel hole and become very a snug fit.
Push the clip back onto the shaft and re-install the once-noisy reel !

[StatFreak]

1.  Tape up the reel strips nice and tight so that they don't vibrate as much as the reels spin (they become kind of like a speaker diaphragm and increases the resonance of the vibrations, so the tighter they are, the less they resonate).

Could you snap a photo of the "tape job?"  I'm not quite sure I follow how you're doing this.  -Thanks!

Well,
The "tape job" I know of goes like this.
Remove the clip from the stepper motor shaft...
Pull the reel off the shaft and turn it over exposing the shaft hole.
Place about a 1 inch length of electrical tape over the hole.
Squeezed the reel back onto the shaft.
The tape will be forced into the reel hole and become very a snug fit.
Push the clip back onto the shaft and re-install the once-noisy reel !

That was my fix you described, Stout.

Rick was referring to taping the seams of the strips tightly together (as they would have been when they were first installed and had strong adhesive glue on their ends).

...and tighten the reel baskets "spokes" with plastic ties.
Tighten them up good and cut off the excess with a good pair of snips.
Put the strips back on making sure the notches
are in the correct spot and re-install the reels and harness.
They should be much quieter!
When you put the ties on, make sure the ratchet tie lock
is facing inside the "spokes" away from the optics that's all!

I've never tried bunker's solution, mind posting a picture of the "finished product".  
...

I was also hoping to see pictures of your cable tie method.

[Yoeddy1]

I popped out one of the reel mechs.  I didn't  remove the strips, but I manually moved the wheel around and there appears to be some friction.  I wish I could just spray some WD40 on the shaft to quiet it up. 

Anyway, if manually spinning, should it spin freely and quietly?  I would suspect maybe my motors are just somewhat noisy due to their age...1988/89.  Again I would love to see a photo of some of these tricks if possible.  Thanks!

[stayouttadabunker]

Okay,Here we go...the combined cable tie AND tape methods to help stabilize the reel noises and alignment.
These methods will help your S+ reels be more quiet and thy will look much better when spinning as well!
All pictures can be clicked on to be clearer and larger>>>

To do a reel fix, you need 4 plastics ties and, some type of pointed metal pick, a pair of pliers and some electrical tape.

The first picture is sort of what you need to start!
The second pic is me taking the little clip off the stepper shaft...careful you don't stab your fingers...lol

[stayouttadabunker]

Now once the clip is off, grab the reel baskets with two hands
and press thumb over thumb on top of the stepper shaft and pull the reel off.


The second picture is me putting a tie onto the reel spokes>>

[stayouttadabunker]

Tighten up the tie wrap as tight as you can get it without busting the spokes off!
You can use the pliers to help you grab the length of tie to snug it up real good>>>

[stayouttadabunker]

Here we snipped off the remaining lengths of plastics ties
and what it look like after it's done! 
Again, make sure the tie ratchets are facing away
from the optic cutouts on the reel baskets.
We don't want the reel to spin
and break off the reel optics do we?...lol >>>

[stayouttadabunker]

Now the for the reel silencer tape job...
Flip the reel over and place about a 1"length of vinyl
electrical tape over the shaft hole on the reel basket...>>>

[stayouttadabunker]

Punch a few holes in the tape to make it easier to slip the reel back onto the stepper shaft.
You want only little parts of the vinyl tape to get sucked down into the hole to act as an insulator against the shaft wobble which is what causes the reel noise.
You don't want ALL the tape squashed into the hole...
Re-install the clip over the shaft and press it down as far as you can get it with your fingers>>>

[stayouttadabunker]

Finally, use a pair of pliers and position on each side of the stepper shaft over the clip
and deftly tap the pliers down with the handle of a screwdriver...
you can also use the correct sized socket and tap the clip down tightly against the basket too!!
Second picture is the finished re-furbished stepper reel!>>>

[StatFreak]

Thanks for taking the time to document this for everyone. I'll have to wait 12 hours to give you another karma as I already gave you one for another post this morning.

[CaptainHappy]

Bunker,

Thanks for posting the great pictures complete with narration!  K+ well earned! 

CaptainHappy

[brichter]

I popped out one of the reel mechs.  I didn't  remove the strips, but I manually moved the wheel around and there appears to be some friction.  I wish I could just spray some WD40 on the shaft to quiet it up. 

Anyway, if manually spinning, should it spin freely and quietly?  I would suspect maybe my motors are just somewhat noisy due to their age...1988/89.  Again I would love to see a photo of some of these tricks if possible.  Thanks!

Warning: Nerd content below!

The reels will not spin freely, they will have a "notchy" feel to them because they are stepper motors: the motor is capable of being stopped at any position and the way the motor is turned by the machine is not by applying voltage to a (+) and (-) terminal, but by energizing different magnets in sequence to turn the motor a fraction of a revolution with each activation. 

Here's a good article on how they work:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepper_motor

[StatFreak]

You know, for all of the information that they give about stepper motors, they don't mention the slot machine anywhere on the page, but they do mention floppy drives.

[stayouttadabunker]

lol....I saw that...they did mention that they are "used for many other applications"...
but that was it really....

[brichter]

it's Wikipedia, what do you expect? 

[knagl]

You know, for all of the information that they give about stepper motors, they don't mention the slot machine anywhere on the page...

They do now.