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Homebrew Wire Reels
Coil up that wire for easy storage!

A cool and inexpensive wire strorage reel idea
by
John, KL7JR

This project is so simple that the pictures will describe how it is done!

Wire Spool Complete


A couple of Home Depot plastic pail (5 gallon) covers and 4 one-half inch PVC couplings and some glue makesfor large diameter antenna wire coils! 

Pail cover half
One pail cover shown above with PVC couplers attached.

I used regular pvc pipe glue but it doesn't make a super tight bond so I'll run a stove bolt and washers thru the spacers to cinch it up.

White pail covers are $3 and the orange ones were $1 a piece depending on your source. 
You should be able to load a lot of wire on them. 

In the photo above, I loose wrapped 25 feet #16 wire on each coil.  
When tight wrapped, about 40 feet could be had.  Although not very visible in the photo, note the #8-32 x 2 1/2 inch bolts and washers through the PVC couplings and lids for strength. Look in upper left corner of reel.
 
The coils can be used for the Tak-Tenna type antennas or even vertical dipoles.  The same design on smaller paint pail lids can be used for coax baluns (by arslan at tf).  Simply adjust the width of the framework for the number of turns of coax and size of coax.

Now start winding!

73- JR, KL7JR





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