Great post! Excellent explanation.

I used to be intimidated to take apart my casting reels - I figured I'd mess something up, lose something, etc. However, they're really not that complicated, & if I do botch something, the parts for Shimano reels are readily available & cheap.

If you're missing a schematic, Shimano has them available on their website: http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/us/en/fishing/products/reels.html
Those are a big help to me in taking apart & re-assembling my reels.