Cable Reels

Date 11-13-2010 20:51 Edited 11-16-2010 01:06

I bought a set of reels to cut down own my time of building a set and when I got them home I rebuilt the hole mess because he used Mexico sch 30 and sch 40 which made for a loose fit. Anyway all I ended up reusing was the nuts he welded on and the cap nuts, that was 300.00 down the drain. I built a oxy. and acetylene reel also that turned out good.
Now I need handles, any ideas?

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By weldwade (***)

Date 11-14-2010 02:24

It sucks to throw money away but the reels look good. I gotta find some time to finish mine someday...

By jffluxcore (**)

Date 11-15-2010 00:30 Edited 11-15-2010 00:33

don't ou need a 12 volt motor and hool in to a chain drive device to turn it. I priced a motrized reel, I thin it was $1,000 to 1,200 for it Pricey. feel beter to buil your own. I forget yu have to build a cover so that you keep the weldding leads.Jim

By uphill

Date 11-17-2010 00:11

Tractor wheel spinner knobs can be had cheap and some are stud mount with ball bearings
Nice work
Uphill

By Mat

Date 11-18-2010 03:17 Edited 11-18-2010 03:29

I actually just picked up two air hose reels for 134 bucks total from princess Auto that will make skookum cable reels! They hold 100' of 3/8" air hose so likewise will hold at least 100' of welding cable! One of the company skids at work was built from the reels and modified so that the cables wouldn't need to be disconnected from the machine to roll them out.

I have a question about your setup, why is your stinger and ground connected directly to the cables on your spools without a connector? In the event that you can't get close to where you are working with your truck, how will you add more lengths of cable? There is no bigger piss off then to pull all of your cable out, only to realize that "Well bugger, I'm a foot short of reaching that joint!"

A simple Handle could be made out of a short length of pipe with an ID that matches the internal rod. You could even knurl it to add to the appearance. Elsewise you could make a wood handle out of hardwood which would contrast the reels quite nicely.