Reel build
Bolted wood reels
A bolted wooden reel has through-bolts tying the flanges together across the drum, often with steel plates at the arbor. It is built for many trips, and that usually means its maker wants it back.
How it is built
The flanges and drum are heavier than a nailed reel's, and long bolts run from flange to flange through the drum, tightened with nuts and washers. Steel arbor plates, sometimes with drive-pin holes, are bolted over the centre. The bolts keep the reel square under heavy cable and let it be tightened again after it dries out.
Why bolted usually means returnable
A bolted reel costs more to make, so makers build them to come back. Most carry the maker's name on the flange or the steel plates and a numbered reel tag. Some are rented or carry a deposit. Either way, they aren't ours or yours to sell. We list them and point you to the maker's program.
When a bolted reel is one-way
Sometimes a maker releases its reels, goes out of business, or the reel was sold outright with the cable. If you have written release, or the reel carries no claim at all, it can be bought like any one-way reel. Broken bolted reels are recycled with the bolts and plates separated.
Why makers build reels to come back
Large power and utility cable is heavy, expensive and shipped in long lengths, so the reel under it has to be strong. Building a strong reel costs money; using it once and abandoning it would waste that money. Bolted construction lets a maker inspect a returned reel, tighten its bolts, swap a damaged board and send it out again.
Return logistics drive everything else: the stencils, the numbered tags, the deposit or rental terms, and the truckload minimums. A maker collecting reels wants full trucks and reels in condition to reuse, which is why programs specify damage limits and ask for cable to be fully removed.
For a contractor, the practical upshot is simple. Keep bolted reels apart from the one-way pile, dry and upright, with tags readable, and call the maker or branch to arrange collection. Selling one by mistake can create a charge on your account and an awkward conversation with your supplier.
Spotting one in a yard
Count the bolt heads on the flange face: a ring of them around the drum, with nuts on the other side, gives it away. Most have a steel plate at the arbor stamped or stencilled with the maker's name and a reel number, and the flange boards are thicker than a nailed reel of the same size.
Some reels have both nails and a few bolts. Treat any reel with a maker's steel plate as returnable until the maker says otherwise.
Handling
- Keep them in their own row, tags facing out.
- Don't remove bolts or plates.
- Record reel numbers before the maker's truck comes.
- Ask the maker about deposits or rental fees that may apply.
Released bolted reels
Occasionally a maker releases a batch of old bolted reels, retiring them from its fleet. Those make excellent heavy-duty reels or very solid furniture. If you have a written release, we can buy them; the release goes on the ticket so the history is clear.
- 1. Buyback Sound one-way reels, paid for.
- 2. Maker take-back Returnable reels, routed home.
- 3. Recycling Past reuse, broken down.
- 4. Resupply Checked reels to new owners.
Questions
What is the difference between nailed and bolted reels?
Nailed reels are held with nails and built for one trip; bolted reels have through-bolts and steel plates for many trips and are usually returnable to their maker.
Can I sell a bolted reel?
Only if no maker claims it. Most bolted reels carry a maker's name or tag and belong to that maker.
Do you recycle broken bolted reels?
Yes, once the owner has released them. Bolts and steel plates are separated from the wood.
Why do bolted reels have steel plates?
The plates spread the load at the arbor and give drive pins something hard to push against, so the reel survives many trips on powered payoffs.
What happens if I keep a maker's bolted reel?
The maker may charge the account that bought the cable, especially where a deposit applies. Returning it promptly avoids that.
Reel words on this page
- Flange
- The round side discs that hold the cable in. Flange diameter, edge to edge, is the size a reel is known by.
- Drum (barrel)
- The cylinder between the flanges that the cable winds around.
- Traverse
- The inside width between the flanges: how wide a layer of cable can be.
- Arbor hole
- The centre hole a spindle, shaft or payoff bar passes through.
- Drive hole
- A smaller hole off-centre in the flange that a drive pin uses to turn the reel.
- Lagging / staves
- The boards nailed around the drum, and the protective boards sometimes nailed across the flanges over finished cable.
- Nailed vs bolted
- Nailed reels are held together with nails and built for one trip; bolted reels have through-bolts and steel plates for many.
- Returnable reel
- A reel its maker expects back, usually stencilled or tagged to say so.
- One-way reel
- A reel nobody is collecting. Once empty, it belongs to whoever holds it.
- Reel tag
- The label or plate carrying the maker, the reel number and sometimes the return terms.
- Payoff
- The stand or trailer a reel turns on while cable is pulled off it.
Got bolted wood reels to clear?
Pick buy, sell or recycle, the product, the count and your ZIP, and the full request opens with those filled in.
Or write to info@chicagowoodenspools.com with the count, flange sizes and a photo of the stack.