Wooden spools for sale
We sell empty wooden spools, the same nailed and plywood reels the cable trade calls reels, in lots sized to the job you need them for. Tell us what will go on the spool, how much of it, and how many spools you need, and we will work out the size with you and quote it delivered.
Spool or reel: the same thing under two names
In the wire and cable trade, the wooden thing cable comes on is a reel. Outside the trade, most people call it a spool, and so do plenty of rope, hose and small-wire shops. There is no difference in the object. A 36 inch wooden spool and a 36 inch wooden reel are the same two flanges, the same drum and the same arbor hole.
The name only matters when you search or ask for a quote. Reel makers and cable plants list reels by size. People buying spools tend to describe them by height, by what they held, or by what they want to do with them. We take either kind of description and turn it into the three numbers the trade uses, so the seller and the buyer are talking about the same reel.
What buyers put on our spools
The job decides the spool. Here are the uses we hear about most from spool buyers, with the size question each one raises. Footage is worked out from the spool size and the product diameter; the capacity calculator does the sum for you.
| Use | What goes on it | Size question to settle | What to check on the spool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taking up pulled-back cable | Old cable recovered from conduit or overhead runs | Footage per spool at the cable's outside diameter | Sound arbor hole for the take-up shaft |
| Cut lengths for crews | Wire or cable cut from a master reel | Spool small enough for a truck or a reel cart | Tie-off hole intact so the tail can be secured |
| Rope and wire rope | Synthetic rope, manila, steel wire rope | Drum diameter against the rope's bend limit | Flanges and staves able to take the load |
| Hose and tubing | Ag, irrigation or industrial hose | Traverse wide enough for even layers | Smooth drum with no proud nail heads |
| Shop winding of own product | Wire, cord, conduit or tape | One size, repeated, so the line stays set up | Matching arbor and drive holes across the lot |
| Temporary power on site | Feeder or cord sets moved between jobs | Weight a crew can safely move | Drive holes or a center bar for a stand |
How spools are named, and why one number is not enough
Spool buyers often give us a single number: a 4 foot spool, a 30 inch spool, a big one. Almost always that number is the flange diameter, or the height of the spool standing on its rim, which is the same thing. It tells us roughly what class of spool you mean, but not whether it fits your job.
The other two numbers do that work. The traverse is the width between the flanges that the product winds across. The drum is the barrel in the middle. A tall spool with a fat drum and a narrow traverse can hold less than a shorter spool with a thin drum and a wide traverse. So the desk always asks for flange x traverse x drum, and if you don't have them, a tape measure and two minutes get them.
If you are replacing a spool you already have, the stencil painted on the flange usually gives the size. Send us a photo of it. If it has been painted over, measure across the flange, between the flanges on the inside, and across the drum.
Spool names you will hear from sellers
Spools also pick up names from the job they did. Sellers use these words on the phone and in emails, so it helps to know what each one tells you about the spool.
- Master reel: the big spool a long run of cable shipped on from the plant, before it was cut into shorter lengths.
- Cut reel or cut spool: a smaller spool a distributor or crew wound a cut length onto; often plywood, often in good shape.
- Take-up spool: one that sat on a take-up stand winding cable in, so its arbor hole has seen a shaft many times; check it for wear.
- Payoff spool: one that fed cable out from a payoff stand; the same arbor and drive hole checks apply.
- Lagged reel: a spool that left the plant with wooden slats nailed around the outside of the cable, a sign it was built for heavy duty.
- Non-returnable spool: sold with the cable and never meant to go back to the maker, so the holder is free to sell it.
- Off-brand spool: any maker's spool that a different maker's take-back program will refuse; perfectly usable, just without a return route.
How we describe a spool's condition
Used spools vary, and a lot is only worth what its condition notes say. We use plain words, because a buyer should be able to read a note and picture the spool. These are the words you will see on a write-up and what each one means.
| Word on the write-up | What it means | Fit for |
|---|---|---|
| Ready to wind | Arbor hole round and sound, all staves in place, flanges whole | Cable, rope, anything heavy |
| Minor repair | A loose stave, a lifted ply board or a torn tie-off hole, all fixable with nails | Cable once repaired, most shop uses |
| Weathered | Gray faces, old stencils, surface checks in the wood, structure sound | Most winding uses; looks rough |
| Light duty only | Worn arbor or torn drive holes; turns, but not on a driven stand | Hand-wound rope, hose, storage |
| Not for winding | Split arbor, cracked flange or missing staves | We don't sell these as spools |
Lots of one size, or a mix
A shop that winds its own product nearly always wants one size, so its payoff and take-up stay set up and every spool stacks the same way. A contractor taking up recovered cable can often use a mix, as long as each spool holds a known footage.
Mixed lots are cheaper to find, because they match what yards actually hold. One-size lots can take longer to gather and may come from more than one seller. On the request form, the one size or mix question tells us which you need, and the note field is the place to say which sizes you can swap.
What spools cost to move
Spools are bulky for their weight. A trailer fills up by space long before it reaches its weight limit, which is why the count per trailer, not the weight, sets freight. Sonoco puts a full trailer at about 200 spools of 36x24x17 and only about 8 reels of 96x60x42.
So a dozen 36 inch spools on their own trailer carry a lot of freight each, while a dozen added to a lot already heading your way cost far less. If your date is flexible, say so; it lets us wait for a trailer with room on it.
Asking for spools
- 01
Say what goes on it
Product, outside diameter and the length per spool. That is enough for us to check the size.
- 02
Give the size you know
Three numbers if you have them, one number and a photo if you don't.
- 03
Count and condition
How many spools, and which condition words above you can accept.
- 04
Where and how
Delivery ZIP, date, and whether there is a forklift or dock. The request form on this page asks for each.
Questions people ask
Is a spool smaller than a reel?
No, the names mean the same thing. Some people use spool for small ones and reel for big ones, but the trade sizes both the same way: flange x traverse x drum.
What size spool holds 1,000 feet of rope?
It depends on the rope's diameter. Give us the diameter and the length, or run them through the capacity calculator, and pick a spool with some flange left over.
Can I get spools with the same arbor hole every time?
Ask for it on the request form. Matching arbor holes across a lot is possible when the spools come from one maker's run, and we write the arbor size on the quote when it is a requirement.
Can a spool be too big for my job?
Yes. An oversized spool wastes trailer space, is harder to move on site and may not fit your stand, so we size to the footage plus a little spare flange, not to the biggest reel available.
Do you sell spools that are only good for display?
Our lots are sold for winding. Spools we describe as not for winding are left out of lots; for a single spool for a project, see our one spool page.