I noticed on the last couple of outings the headsail sheet winches felt a bit notchy under load and sounded dry. So after an enforced inprisonment due to some health issues I happily snuck down the boat and pulled them all off the deck, (not a big job when you only have 4 of them) to give them a good going over top to bottom.
The notchiness it turned out was coming from the mating of the surfaces between the brass primary gear cog and the stainless collar. The brass was sharp on the flat surface where the edge of the stainless collar met, where it had been slowing making a ridge, increasing the friction when under load.
It took about 10 mins per winch with a flat file and some sandpaper, and then put it all back together dry. After checking there are no left over bits and everything was working, I pulled it apart again for pawl oil and winch grease before final reassembly.
They now they feel better than new. It still surprises me how quick winches can be broken down, I reckon the first one, a big primary ST, was completely disassembled and being cleaned in a bucket in a couple of minutes.
I need to be more diligent, that ridge wouldn't have happened if it was properly lubed.
Happy winches, happy skipper.