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Post 23 Apr 2023, 19:43 • #1 
Guide
Joined: 12/07/17
Posts: 128
Location: Long Island, NY
Martin frame screws or their threaded holes and the handle screw on an M72 frequently wear out, vibrate loose and back out causing frame rub and difficult cranking. A thread locker might be the solution taming this problem but which one should be used blue or purple? Blue or medium strength might be good for the handle screw since it has a larger diameter and purple for the smaller frame screws which might seize up under the influence of a stronger blue threadlocker. What do you fiberglass flyrodders think?


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Post 23 Apr 2023, 20:39 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
Fingernail polish or head cement work, it's what I use on small screws. Those strong lockers scare me, I've seen screws that had to be drilled out.
An old mechanic told me that cleaning threads with Brakleen or lacquer thinner to remove all traces of oil was all that was ever needed, he might be right, clean metal to clean metal has pretty high friction.


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Post 23 Apr 2023, 21:13 • #3 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Trev makes a good point, clean is good. If you do reel work, pipe cleaners and Q-tips are almost mandatory supplies. Clean the male and female threads with a pipe cleaner wetted with acetone. That will probably be enough.

How hard you lock the threads depends on the tools you have to unlock the threads. With socket head screws, high torque can be applied to break the lock. With small slotted or cross head screws, not so much. If the reel was made in Japan, the cross head screws are JIS, not Phillips pattern. The right driver makes a world of difference.

    Here are some potential thread locking options, in order of how easily reversed they are:
  • a small amount of Saran wrap (flexible plastic film) twisted around the screw
  • a short length of 7-8X tippet wrapped around the screw (a DIY Nyloc fastener)
  • nail polish, varnish, or head cement - just use a little bit
  • purple thread locker - can be broken with hand tools, but difficult to source
  • blue thread locker - should be able to break the lock with hand tools, if the fasteners are in good shape
  • red thread locker (needs careful heating with a torch to break the lock - not for the timid)
  • Super glue (again, can be broken with a careful torch flame)

For most of these, pre-cleaning the thread with acetone is a good idea for a strong hold.


Tom


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Post 24 Apr 2023, 03:11 • #4 
Guide
Joined: 12/07/17
Posts: 128
Location: Long Island, NY
Thanks everyone, great insights. What about Never-seez ? I think I may have been lubricating the screws too much to avoid galvanic corrosion which caused the screws to vibrate loose and back out. The clean metal to metal or nail polish options may be the best since purple threadlocker is hard to find retail. But, how do you avoid galvanic corrosion between say frame screws and frame rings? I fished a 1498 hard in saltwater and the corrosion around the junction of screw and frame ring was so bad the rings failed. However, my maintenance schedule only involved removing the spool with a rinse of all parts in fresh water but I didn’t remove and clean the screws or pillars at least once a year nor did I use corrosion inhibitors like Boesheild, Salt-X or Never-sneez . I also thought threadlocker might help arrest galvanic corrosion between screw and frame. Perhaps, the modern machine frame reels made by Lamson, Coulton or Danielson as well as the high end stuff like Abel or Tibor are more corrosion proof with less strident necessity to pay attention to detail with maintenance. In any case, I have many screw frame reels that I use in salt water and search for a maintenance schedule where frame screw galvanic corrosion and loose screws are are fixed, any more suggestions?


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Post 24 Apr 2023, 04:27 • #5 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/05/06
Posts: 2087
Location: US-PA
Loctite 222 (Purple) is all I will use for most small screws. You just have to get over the fact you won't find it in a store so you buy it online but it is out there all over the place.

Another excellent product for fine threads is Vibra-Tite VC-3 Threadmate or the clear version Vibra-Tite VC-6. I use Vibra-Tite on screws as small as 0-80 and have no issues getting them loose.

Vibra-Tite is unique in that you apply it, let it dry then assemble. You can do this YEARS in advance. It doesn't harden like Loctite so it is reusable meaning you can take things apart and put them back together multiple times and it still holds the screw. The other you can do with Vibra-Tite (the clear version is best for this) is put a small amount on the head of the screw AFTER it is in place where it touches the part it is screwed in and that tiny drop will keep the screw from loosening.

The only negative I can say about Vibra-Tite is it is expensive, make sure you keep the cap tight and you will only find it online.


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Post 24 Apr 2023, 06:54 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Another little help is to be sure to tighten the screw snugly--not beyond convenient force of the tool and its fit to the fastener--in stages and in a crisscrossing, side to side pattern. Even if only one loosens, loosen any others that don't need excessive force. Then resnug all in stages.


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Post 24 Apr 2023, 07:34 • #7 
Master Guide
Joined: 12/27/08
Posts: 936
Location: Columbia, Mo. USA
Has anyone tried plumbers tape?


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Post 24 Apr 2023, 11:30 • #8 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
Teflon plumbers tape is used to seal and lubricate the very coarse and slightly mismatched threads (male thread have a taper that female threads do not) of pipe against leakage and to lubricate both assembly and future disassembly, I think it's too thick for the size screws found on reels, but the saran wrap mentioned above would be serving about the same function. You could cut the Teflon into tiny strips and insert the strip end-wise like using a piece of monofilament as a jamb.


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