Anyone Rebuild Gurdies?

[pioneercmt]

Hi Salmon Trollers:

We down in California just entered a 3 week closure, so I'm using the time to install snooter poles and getting my 4 spool Hasbra gurdies rebuilt (the other spools keep popping out of their braked position and sometimes engaging partially, thus the wire on that spool jumps off the spool, backlash mess in the making). I'm thinking of sending the gurdies out to get rebuilt. So, just wonderering if anyone here knows a Hasbra gurdy rebuilder? I've tightened down the brake shoe so that it takes a lot of effort to put them in and out of brake position. But, I have noticed that my neighbor's Hasbra has little springs on the adjustment bolt that push the brake shoe halves apart.

[jaz]

There is a salmon fisherman homeport Bodega Bay lives in Auburn and rebuilds gurdies, mostly simplex. Frank up in Fort bragg at the marine shop is another. Heard both are good, do not know what there prices or turn around time. I will try to get some phone numbers.
Jeff...

[jaz]

Pioneercmt, try Stan West f/v Gyspsy 530- three zero five 4480, or his email @ sawsalmon@hotmail.com, he is in the Auburn area. Frank @ the marine shop south harbor Fort Bragg. Both are good. Hope this helps, Jeff...

[pioneercmt]

Thanks much Jeff!

[pioneercmt]

Well, I called around and talked to several leads, but after talking to hydraulics guru Warren Junes decided to take his recommendation to talk to Dennis Rush in Warrenton near Astoria. I spent a good hour and a half at Mr. Rush's machine shop which adjoins his house, and he was able to answer all my questions and concerns regarding my 4 spool Hasbras. He is recently retired from a career as a machinist, but he loves working with hydraulic gurdies, and does custom rebuild work to support his private machine shop, and is quite familiar with all the brands. He is going to take my gurdies apart and soak them in solution to remove all oils, then sand blast the individual parts, provide new SS shaft and machine a hex onto the end of the shafts so that the spools can be cranked by hand in case of hydraulic power loss, new oil impregnated bushings on the spools, and new regular bushings on the ends, add weld material to the worn clutch handle area to eliminate slop, rebuild the Hasbra control valves and pressure test to 1700 psi to check for leaks, recondition or replace the Char-Lynn motors and repaint, rework parts to give me room to effectively adjust the clutch again (essentially restarting over again the currently bottomed out bolt fastener adjustments), replace or bend back to true the valve control rod, epoxy Easthope type plastic handle tops on the four clutch handles, add half a dozen SS grease fittings to the frame, change the design of the Char-Lynn motor coupling to all metal parts, re-machine the coupling parts for tighter tolerances to be able to eliminate the lovejoy (he says the lovejoy is a way for the manufacturer to get away with sloppier tolerances), also make the coupling space no longer a (salt) water trap. Also, as a convenience he will stamp each gurdy part with "A" or "B" so that the starboard and port gurdy parts aren't mixed up in the future. He also uses Pam and Food grade grease. And there's probably more items that he mentioned that I've already forgotten. Mr. Rush says the gurdies will be better than new Hasbras because of the new design features he has incorporated over the years for much improved performance and durability. Also, he is going to do all of this in 10 days, so that I can have them back in time for the second half of our season down here in California. Price is $400 per spool plus any major parts that have to be replaced (like a new Char-Lynn motor if necessary). Also, for a nominal charge, he is going to mount the gurdies on 1-1/2 inch plastic board and countersink the bolts on the bottom so that I have a flat surface to mount to my hayrack, and will be isolated. Incidentally, I found that Hasbra (Hastings Brass Foundry) is still in existence and while their main line of business is fire department equipment, will still make new gurdies, but you have to wait maybe 6-8 months for them to build them according to Rico at the foundry (because they have tool up and setup expenses so they will wait until they have a minimum of 30 spools worth of production run). A new set of Hasbra 4 spool gurdies is about $12,000. Also, Hastings will also rebuild your gurdies to the latest factory version for the same price of $400/spool, but when I checked with Rico, he said he wasn't sure he could deliver them back to me in time, as the foundry has other product lines that get priority. If you want a set of rebuilt gurdies, but don't have a tired pair, Mr. Rush can build you any size gurdy, from his expansive collection of gurdies in his warehouse. A 4 spool can be rebuilt from a tired 4 spooler, or he can say, cut and weld two 2 spool gurdies together (my 4 spool Hasbra was actually two cut and welded together 2 spool Hasbras as Mr. Rush quickly determined from the initial inspection). Mr. Rush says without providing a "core", a "Rush" rebuilt 3 spool Hasbra set will be about $7,000, and a 4 spool set will be about $9,000. He also showed me various Simplex, Easthope, Kolstrand, and Hasbra gurdies in various stages of repair at his shop, so he is familiar with the major manufacturers. He also showed me the plusses and minuses of the different brands, sizes of castings, spools, etc. I can't wait to get my gurdies back, as he said the bushings were majorly worn on the number 3 and 4 spools, and I should see much better performance and ease of operation. I'll try to provide updates and photos at a later date.

[kjwelder]

Can u give a gurdy update?
Thanks
Karl.

[pioneercmt]

Gurdy rebuild per se was great. But my 4 spool Hasbra gurdies weren't originally 4 spool, they were two 2 spool gurdies that were welded (brazed?) together in the past by a previous owner. Also, they used an original design 2 spool Hasbra mated to an updated design 2 spool Hasbra (the design you'd get from Hasbra Foundries today). I've had some issues related to the marriage I think. But Dennis Rush has been great to work with, he helped me work out most of the kinks, via phone calls on the water, texting and iphone pictures. He usually always answer the phone right away, or responds to a voicemail within 5 minutes. But one spool keeps eventually popping out of the braked position on both the port and stbd sets, even when I adjust the brake so tight that a strong guy has trouble operating the gurdy. To get me through the season, I just used a crabbing giant black rubberband to keep the offending clutch lever from popping into freespool. Now that salmon is done down here in Ca, I plan to bring the gurdies back to Dennis to have him correct the problem.

[kjwelder]

Thanks for the update. I've got an interesting set of 4 spool McClenndons. They are a precursor to Easthopes. Very similar to Easthopes but with about twice the brass. Real Cadillacs. Anyway, I need to get them cut down to 3 spools. Is mr. Rush out of Warrenton?

[pioneercmt]

Yes, Warrenton.

[Salty]

KJ, Good idea!

[Salty]

KJ, Good idea!

[fvsedna]

KJ...
If you have not sent them south yet...I could cut them down for you here In Sitka.....
Andrew~

[kjwelder]

I pmed you Andrew,
Thanks

[chagar66]

Dennis Rush is a great/ honest guy!... He came out and did a "once over" on my gurdies....

[jacobh]

http://www.DRMachineInc.com
Here is a link to Dennis Rush's website,
Site is under construction but has his contact info.

DENNIS RUSH
Cell: 503-741-0194
Phone: 503-861-1858

[Lazy I]

Has any one recently had Gurdy work done with DR Machine. Neighbor sold me a mismatched set of two spools, would like to have them rebuilt, and new hydraulics.

[carojae]

About brake shoes if they are the ones with a pad on them (by Kolstrand).

If you haven't tried this already you might take the shoes off and flip them so the good one is on the working side. I did that on the advice of Kolstrand one time and it worked great. This was on their nylon power gurdies.

[Lulu]

Charlie Nelson in Ft Bragg rebuilds most of the CA fleet's gurdies. (707) 964-6778. Charlie is the one who added the SS spring between the brakes.

If you need spare parts for Hasbra gurdies, contact Hashing's Foundry in Vancouver, BC. They are the manufacturer. Ask for Rico. He's the guy who made the gurdies, will re-build them, and supplies spare parts.