Need a laugh?

[peter d]

I have 2 full but broken spools of #12 stranded THHN sitting in the garage. I got them for free.

Now, some people would take these to the junkyard or throw them into a dumpster. No, not me.

Today I decided to respool them. Yup, I pulled all 500 feet off the broken spool, very carefully I might add to avoid tangling, put an empty spool on my wire cart and respooled it BY HAND.

I'm going to do the other one as soon as I get another empty spool.

Yeah, I can put that on my resume now!

 

[JJWalecka]

Re: Need a laugh?

Peter D you must have forearms of steel. I have repaired broken spoils with a piece of 3/8 rod and 2" washers and nuts on either side. If the spoils isn't in too bad of shape I find it works well.

Justin W.

 

[peter d]

Re: Need a laugh?

Originally posted by justinjwalecka:
Peter D you must have forearms of steel. I have repaired broken spoils with a piece of 3/8 rod and 2" washers and nuts on either side. If the spoils isn't in too bad of shape I find it works well.

Justin W.

Hmmmm....great idea, I wish I had thought of that.

Funny you mention that, I was actually doing it for the exercise and to build my arms up. I'm not a "tough guy" by any stretch, and it was only #12 after all, but it was a darn good workout at any rate.

 

[jimwalker]

Re: Need a laugh?

How long did it take ?

 

[bphgravity]

Re: Need a laugh?

I once tried to repair a 200' steel fish tape, big mistake. I didn't learn my lesson because sometime later I tried to rewind a 30' tape measure.

 

[JJWalecka]

Re: Need a laugh?

I learned that trick by dropping the spoil and dreading telling the foreman that the new 500 foot spoil is now junk. . I find after rolling up a couple hundred feet of rope on a spoil can feel like an eternity.

Justin W.

 

[peter d]

Re: Need a laugh?

About an hour.

 

[JJWalecka]

Re: Need a laugh?

Bphgravity been there before with the tape. .
A cool tip I was taught is when a steel tape has the uncontrollable curling effect when unreeled, you bend a piece of 1/2 " emt all over the ten feet. Kicks in all directions. you push the snake in and pull it through. It fixes the curliness. I was amazed when I first witnessed it. I thought of all the snakes I had junked because I thought they were junk. I usually takes three guys. One to pull, one to feed and one to hold pipe. It might take a few tries but it works

Justin W.

 

[jimwalker]

Re: Need a laugh?

I would simply try to fine short runs to use it up.Had a almost full box of cat 5e given to me cause it jamed up on the guy.Not about to rewind the thing on a spool but will use it up 50 or 100 feet at a time.

 

[macmikeman]

Re: Need a laugh?

Try looking at this tool. Reel-end

 

[macmikeman]

Re: Need a laugh?

Excuse me, my link did not work as intended. When you get there click product menu and then reel end. That should do it.

 

[mkoloj]

Re: Need a laugh?

Originally posted by jimwalker:
I would simply try to fine short runs to use it up.Had a almost full box of cat 5e given to me cause it jamed up on the guy.Not about to rewind the thing on a spool but will use it up 50 or 100 feet at a time.

If this is one of the spool-free boxes this usually happens when coils on the far end get caught up in the wire feeding out of the box. I have fixed this by opening the box and finding the far end and simply pulling on it you pull out the end coils that got caught at the leading end.
I have been on jobs pulling cable by myself and actually pulled jammed boxes up into the ceiling. Then it gets stuck and I go back looking for the snag and start scrathing my head for a second thinking I had set up one box too few, I go to the head of the pull and count the cables and I have the right amount. I take a peek in the ceiling and there is a box of cable in the tray.

 

[iwire]

Re: Need a laugh?

Originally posted by mkoloj:
I have been on jobs pulling cable by myself and actually pulled jammed boxes up into the ceiling. Then it gets stuck and I go back looking for the snag and start scrathing my head for a second thinking I had set up one box too few,

LMAO.

I am sure I put out six boxes?

 

[paul]

Re: Need a laugh?

Originally posted by bphgravity:
I once tried to repair a 200' steel fish tape, big mistake. I didn't learn my lesson because sometime later I tried to rewind a 30' tape measure.

I just unreeled my 200 footer the other day. I had a guy helping me and I'll be damned if he didn't pull it apart and explode it. I was a bit irked, as I've prided myself in having the same fish tape for the last 8 years. So I made three trips around a large self contained V-16 Cat genset and took the tape apart to fix it. It now works like brand new.

The last fish tape I had that got destroyed was ruined by a 1st year apprentice who was pulling at 90 degrees to the conduit. When the run was pulled and I walked over to him to see how much he had out, my tape was next to him, curled up in a 5" dia. I asked what the $@#! he just did to my fish tape and he responded, 'I didn't do anything. It just came out that way!' Rrrrrg :roll:

[ August 26, 2005, 09:47 PM: Message edited by: paul ]

 

[tom25]

Re: Need a laugh?

The Reel End works great, I put one
on every truck.
I would always recycle the wire...no way
we would spend the time to put it on another reel.

peter d....you have to much time on your hands.

 

[luckyshadow]

Re: Need a laugh?

Weave the fishtape through the rungs of a 8 foot ladder then pull it out - should straighten it right up. A pallet works just as well.

 

[allenwayne]

Re: Need a laugh?

When those 200 ft fish tapes take a dump grab 1 1/2 ft of 1in. armored flex tape a 2 1/2 ft coil and keep feeding.you`ll be surprised how much longer that piece of c_ ap wil do it`s job,I think I still have 1 from the mid 80`s

 

[Mega VAR]

Re: Need a laugh?

Take the tape out of the case and roll it up in a piece of 11/4 sealtite.

 

[apauling]

Re: Need a laugh?

use a shorter piece of flex (your choice of type) for smaller coils

 

[LarryFine]

Re: Need a laugh?

Last time I had to re-roll a spool of wire, I fed a nut and bolt with washers through the new reel, snugged them up, chucked the bolt in a drill, and let the motor do the work.