Eleco Reel Removal Question

[websherpa]

On the Eleco Reels (say for Sinbad Adventure, Beast Sapp or Hanabi Hyakkei), how do you remove the plastic reel from the stepper motor?

There is one screw holding it to what looks like a rectangular "key" (to keep it in sync), but it was on there quite tightly after I removed a screw and I didn't want to yank it for fear of breaking it until I receive a spare. Has anyone done this?

How much pressure must I use? Any tricks? How do they know if the reel is aligned?

Many thanks group and Happy Holidays!

[chaz70]

Use a long enough flat head screw driver to reach in there. Put it under the reel near the center where the "key" is and twist the screw driver. Repeat on the other side of the reel and it should be off.

[websherpa]

Use a long enough flat head screw driver to reach in there. Put it under the reel near the center where the "key" is and twist the screw driver. Repeat on the other side of the reel and it should be off.

Thank you, thank you!

[cwstnsko]

I had the same experience with reels that didn't want to let go of the shaft. I just took out the 4 screws that held the motor to the plate and took the reel and motor off in one piece. It worked great for what I was doing and no worires about reel alignment. When I do remove the reels from the shaft on a machine, I always make it a point to center the reel strip seam over the light assembly. This way I know which way to put it back on. I also try to only have one reel removed at a time so I don't mix them up.