Ideas for wire spool with brake

[MetalMan23]

I do a lot of cable rail installs, I'm trying to come up with a way to make a reel/stand for the 1000ft spool of stainless cable that has some sort of brake on it so that when you stop pulling the cable, the spool stops, and doesn't unravel and make a mess.

Any ideas? I'll send a pic of the spool when I get to the shop

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[mla2ofus]

How about something like what is used on most all the wire feed/mig welders?

[duramax-rob]

how about a long metal stick or wood with spring attached pulling down on spool thats hinged. spring could be attached to bolt for tension adjustment. i know what i mean just cant put it down on paper!

[Shootr]

One of my customers needed a spool stop for a totally different material in his plant.

We came up with a long, narrow (10" wide by 7ft long) length of canvas, with lead shot sewn into the "toe". The toe lays on the spool, the other end connected to an overhead crossmember of the machine.

[TJS]

Cheap harbor freight 3000lb winch comes to mind with a remote. Modify/make a bigger drum to accommodate the extra wire. I know it is not automatic when you stop pulling but the remote might be an alternative.

[psacustomcreations]

Maybe look at one of these strap dispensers for a banding machine. I use one of these machines at work and they do a great job of not free spinning and only paying out as much as you need.
The mechanics are pretty simple and with you skill, should be relatively easy to make.


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[N2 Welding]

Why reinvent the wheel. Do just as you said. Have a spool on an axle like in a mig machine and be able to tighten the free play of the spool with a tensioner bolt or nut set up ( wing nut / nut with long lever attached etc. ) the more tension on the center axle the harder to pull the spool and quicker it will stop when you release pulling tension. my .02¢ Nut could be one with a nylock built in to prevent it from changing tension then just weld up another nut that fits around that one with a handle to allow for tension tightening/loosening.

another option is to place a piece of metal rod pushing against the spool with a piece of leather or other soft type of material as to not mar or mark the cable in any way. There are a million ways to skin a cat. What is going to be the easiest and most cost effective that works as intended with out damaging any raw materials.

[N2 Welding]

[psacustomcreations]

That is almost the same mechanism in that band strap dispenser I showed. The arm on the dispenser presses down on the drum in closed or off position. As you pull the strap, if lifts up the arm and releases some of the tension like on the pulley stop of a mower deck. The main nut on the center of the drum provides a good amount of tension also.

[N2 Welding]

That is what i drew up real quick in ms paint before reading your post. You beat me to it.

[Josey]

Would a cheap ratchet gear not work? You can get them in all shapes and sizes for just about anything.

[walker]

I just use the 250’ spools instead of the 1000’ spools. I usually keep at least 4 on hand. Then I simply stand the spools on edge in the box and do 4 runs of cable at a time.

[cwby]

What we used in overhead telco construction was a plate welded to a short coil spring with a set screw collar on the other end. Spool shaft went through it, plate riding on the side of the spool. If you needed more tension for braking loosen the set screw & with a pry bar put more tension on the spring re-tighten set screws.

That is how the steel strand reel trailers were set up. Ususally carried 2 reels of 2500' on each axle.