A few months back I wanted to build a fly reel, so I started designing this one. Through the process, I based some of the features on some other designs I found, most notably the handle spindle and the asymmetric clicker that gives more resistance on stripping line from the reel than it does when reeling line in. The clicker design was based on SublimeLayers' 3D printed fly reel found here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2680438. Pretty much everything else came from my own imagination.

The black reel in the pics was printed using my Tevo Tarantula (FDM), so it needed supports as I designed the spool to be a single piece. These were easily removed, though, and the surfaces were sanded down so they were smooth. The gray reel was printed using my Anycubic Photon (DLP), so it printed much easier without support material. It look a lot longer to print, though (15 hours of printing as opposed to 5 on the Tevo).

I haven't had a chance yet to get these out to fish with as it's been raining since I printed these out. But handling them on the rod is quite easy, and they sound very nice. I'll update the post when I get it out on the water.

TEVO

Tarantula

No

Yes

0.2mm

20%

Remove all the supports and sand any surfaces that require it (most importantly the inner faces of the spool)

Use super glue to bond the clicker wheel to the bottom surface of the spool so the center bores are concentric. It may be useful to print out a 15mm rod to ensure good alignment

Use slide the handle over the handle pin and use super glue to bond the square bottom of the handle pin into one of the square holes on the top of the spool. Make sure to apply downward pressure to the top of the handle pin and also spin the handle itself while the glue is setting. This makes sure that the handle doesn't get fused to the pin.

Use super glue to bond the square bottom of the counterweight into the other square hole in the top of the spool. Again, apply downward pressure to the counterweight to ensure there is a good, tight bond.

Use super glue to bond the foot to one of the outer side walls of the cage. It doesn't really matter which wall you choose, but I like to have it on the same side as the clicker. Make sure the foot is centered on the wall both axially and circumferentially, and use a healthy amount of glue to ensure a solid bond. Once again, make sure to apply downward pressure to the foot to make sure it is solid.

Finally, slide the spool onto the shaft of the cage, and spin it around a few times to make sure the clicker works freely. If you print these with supports, there will be a small amount of support material between the clicker arm and the cage floor. This will break away easily, but you may want to slide an exacto knife between the clicker and the cage floor to clean up any loose material so it doesn't make noise. If the shaft is too tight in the bore of the spool, use some sand paper to reduce the diameter of the shaft a bit. Don't overdo it.

Once you have a good fit and everything turns smoothly, apply reel grease to all mating surfaces (shaft, bottom of clicker wheel, clicker wheel teeth, and clicker wheel itself). Then, insert the spool into the cage, and push the plug into the center bore of the cage shaft. Don't use glue on this one, or you won't be able to remove the spool again.

Happy fishing!