Pickups across Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana

Every request answered by email, with a quote line by line

info@chicagowoodenspools.com

Chicago Wooden SpoolsReel pickup, buyback, recycling and supply Request a pickup

Reel build

Plywood reels

Plywood reels have solid plywood flanges instead of boards, on small and mid-size reels for light cable, data cable and fibre. They are light, flat and common in low-voltage work.

Sell or buy this size Capacity calculator
Plywood reels Flange face Side elevation 30 in flange 14 in drum 16 in traverse 18 in overall 12 in
Plywood reels drawn at 30 inches: flange face on the left, side elevation on the right.

How it is built

Each flange is a single plywood disc, sometimes with a printed maker's label. The drum is a plywood or cardboard tube, or staves, fixed to the flanges with nails, staples or bolts. Small plywood reels are often sold by the pallet.

How it fails

Plywood delaminates when wet: the layers swell and separate, starting at the edge. A plywood reel that sat in the rain for a season is usually done. Kept indoors, they last well.

Where it goes

Sound plywood reels are bought in numbers, palletised, and sold to integrators, rewinders and makers. Delaminated ones are recycled; glue in the plywood means they go to a different stream from board wood.

Sizes, glue and weather

Plywood flanges are cut from sheet stock, which limits their diameter: most plywood reels are 36 inches or smaller, and the common ones run from about 12 to 30 inches. Thickness ranges from roughly half an inch on small data-cable spools to an inch or more on larger ones.

The weak point is the glue line. Exterior-grade plywood resists moisture for a while, but edges soak up water first, and once the outer veneer lifts, freeze-thaw cycles finish the job quickly. Indoors, plywood reels stay flat and true for years, which is why integrators who keep them in a warehouse can reuse them repeatedly.

Because they are light, uniform and stack neatly, plywood reels are easy to sell in bulk to workshops, small rewinders, event decorators and hobbyists. A pallet of dry 18-inch plywood reels is one of the easier lots to move.

Spotting one in a yard

A flat, uniform flange face with visible ply layers at the edge and no separate boards. Small ones often have a printed paper label from the cable maker and a hand hole cut near the rim. Larger plywood reels may have a bolted or nailed drum with a cardboard or plywood core.

Keeping them dry

  • Store under cover or wrapped on a pallet.
  • Never leave them flat on grass or gravel.
  • Stack small ones flat on pallets, large ones on edge.
  • Discard any with swollen or peeling edges; they won't recover.

Who uses them in Chicagoland

Low-voltage integrators around Bolingbrook, data and AV contractors across the O'Hare corridor, and office fit-out crews in the city and the I-88 parks.

Plywood versus boards

For the same diameter, a plywood flange is thinner, flatter and lighter than a board flange, and it doesn't have seams for cable to snag. Board flanges tolerate weather and abuse better, and can be repaired by swapping a board. That trade-off explains why small indoor reels are plywood and big outdoor ones are boards.

Routing diagram: an empty reel rolls onto one track that splits into four exits: buyback, maker take-back, recycling and resupply. 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
  1. 1. Buyback Sound one-way reels, paid for.
  2. 2. Maker take-back Returnable reels, routed home.
  3. 3. Recycling Past reuse, broken down.
  4. 4. Resupply Checked reels to new owners.
Where plywood reels usually go: exit 1, buyback.

Questions

Are plywood reels worth anything?

In numbers, yes, if dry and sound. Single small plywood reels are worth little.

Can plywood reels be recycled?

Yes, though the glue in plywood means they go to a different processing stream from solid board reels.

Are plywood reels good for hobby projects?

Small dry ones are ideal for workshop storage of rope, ribbon, twine, lights and extension leads. They are light, flat and easy to mount on a wall bracket.

Why do plywood reels have holes near the rim?

Hand holes and tie-off holes help carry the reel and secure the cable end. They don't affect reuse.

Do you take wet plywood reels?

For recycling, yes. For reuse, swollen or delaminated plywood is done.

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 plywood 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.

Start a work order

01Buy, sell or recycle?
Request a pickup Buy reels