Worst Idea Ever

[JES2727]

I'd like to meet the knucklehead who decided it would be a good idea to put THHN on plastic spools. One slip or fumble and the entire spool is rendered practically useless. I want to give a him bill for all the wire I've wasted.

 

[electricmanscott]

Maybe you should be more carefull. :grin:

 

[shermansfather]

Rack a Tiers makes these, kind of pricey like $30.00, you need to put them on before wire gets too skanky

 

[RH1]

I'd like to meet the knucklehead who decided it would be a good idea to put THHN on plastic spools.

Dude, it was my idea. I'm totally sorry, really.

 

[Volta]

I'm with you on that. A few years ago I called every distributor in town to see if any could get them on metal anymore, promising them I'd buy all my small conductors there, no luck.

I'm sure the knucklehead that started it doesn't use wire, but might sell a lot more these days!

 

[Karl H]

I'd like to meet the knucklehead who decided it would be a good idea to put THHN on plastic spools. One slip or fumble and the entire spool is rendered practically useless. I want to give a him bill for all the wire I've wasted.

I'm with you 100%! I've been looking for that "Knucklehead" since day one
in this trade.

 

[bpk]

I've made some ends that go on spools to fix them once they break. I just took a thick plate of sheet metal (actually an old stop sign) and cut it in a round circle the same as the plastic ends and fastened it to the broken plastic with 2 sheet metal screws near the center where the plastic is the thickest. Once the wire is gone you can reuse the plates again. Its not the ideal setup but it sure beats fighting a broken spool.

 

[peter d]

I'll gladly pay an extra dollar or whatever to have THHN on metal spools again. Not only that, metal spools are recyclable. Those plastic ones are not.

 

[iwire]

I'll gladly pay an extra dollar or whatever to have THHN on metal spools again. Not only that, metal spools are recyclable. Those plastic ones are not.

You might remember I had to repair a few spools at Jo-Anns. Couple of 4 11/16" blanks and some 3/8" threaded rod.

 

[peter d]

You might remember I had to repair a few spools at Jo-Anns. Couple of 4 11/16" blanks and some 3/8" threaded rod.

Yes, I do. I have a few broken spools that I'm going to repair the same way.

 

[masterinbama]

They do make 2500' reels, and they're usually wood.

 

[ceb58]

Yes the broke spools are a pain but..... I want the guy that designed the old GE panel covers. The type that you loosen the screw and then turn the ring to rotate the clamping ears on the back of the cover that weighs 200lbs.

 

[peter d]

Yes the broke spools are a pain but..... I want the guy that designed the old GE panel covers. The type that you loosen the screw and then turn the ring to rotate the clamping ears on the back of the cover that weighs 200lbs.

Yeah, the old "widow maker" covers. I cut my hand really bad on one of those once. It took 45 minutes to put the cover on - 15 to put the cover on and 30 to stop the bleeding. :roll:

 

[iMuse97]

Rack a Tiers makes these, kind of pricey like $30.00, you need to put them on before wire gets too skanky

You can make something like this with sheet metal discs, 1/2" emt, 1/2" fittings on the ends, and 3/4" emt in little segments as bushings to fit the rolls without slop, to space them apart, etc.

If you make this thing with several spools, every other roll on your homemade wire caddy should spool off in the opposite direction to keep everything pulling off nicely. As with any wire caddy, this whole thing works better if you have a helper who knows what he is doing.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

They do make 2500' reels, and they're usually wood.

I haven't seen a wooden 2500' spool in a long time around here. When they first started using plastic for the 2500' spools they were junk and I would refuse delivery if the supply house sent my wire out on plastic spools. About 4 or 5 years ago, they redesigned the plastic ones and they hold up as well as the wooden ones.

 

[wireguru]

I haven't seen a wooden 2500' spool in a long time around here. When they first started using plastic for the 2500' spools they were junk and I would refuse delivery if the supply house sent my wire out on plastic spools. About 4 or 5 years ago, they redesigned the plastic ones and they hold up as well as the wooden ones.

I was just delivered some SJO cable on those same spools. I freaked out when the guy tossed the spools on the ground thinking they would break, but they just bounced.

 

[LarryFine]

. . . 3/4" emt in little segments as bushings ... to space them apart, etc.

That's a great idea, even for unbroken reels.

. . . every other roll on your homemade wire caddy should spool off in the opposite direction to keep everything pulling off nicely.

That I've been doing for, well, forever.

As with any wire caddy, this whole thing works better if you have a helper who knows what he is doing.

That's true enough. It does, and she does.


She even pays enough attention to what I'm doing to know when I'm finished with each color, and wraps them up properly.

PJ's the best helper I've ever had. She's not afraid to crawl or get dirty, and she knows how to communicate well with me.

 

[jeremysterling]

...every other roll...should spool off in the opposite direction to keep everything pulling off nicely.

That I've been doing for, well, forever.

I've tried to explain this concept to co-workers and they don't get it. They'd rather birdnest the spools. However, once the spool sides are cracked, the opposite trick doesn't work that great.

 

[e57]

If you make this thing with several spools, every other roll on your homemade wire caddy should spool off in the opposite direction to keep everything pulling off nicely.

I'm all for the same direction... My rack doesn't have spools next to each other to drag other spools with it wel only one or a few are going - so it matters little which way they go.