Got a Free Large Sized Lazy Susan Bearing -Should be able to make a tubing spooler

[Bruce L]

My brother-in-law dropped by the other night and dropped off some lazy susan bearings(about 12" diameter) that I figure with plywood I can turn into a mainline spooler to make unrolling 1000' rolls much easier, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[maple flats]

Bruce, what ever you build be sure to add a brake of some sort to stop the reel when you stop pulling the tubing. If it free wheels easily you will get lots of unwanted free spinning when you want it to stop. Look up my thread about a mainline spooler from last month. It may give you some ideas. Mine uses 2 washers of nylon, 1/4" x 5" OD and I had to use a spring on the thru bolt to tighten for more friction to minimize over turning when I stop pulling.

[BreezyHill]

The best break for paying out high tensile wire I ever used was the drop arm system. Run your axle 24-36" past the tubing height and attach a three sided block at the top. off each side bolt on a drop arm that will go past the bottom of the plywood base. This will stop the jenny from spinning more than one revolution. When pulling the tubing the arms slide up over the tubing and drop in. The new style of spinning jenny use a spring and a friction break. I have seen several customers oil or grease the break to get it to start easier, just to have to tighten the break to get it to stop again. if only doing small rolls then the break system is just fine; as you don't have the dead weight to start moving against the break.

If you use an atv or tractor build the spinner on a small cart. Two stand pipes that will accept an angle iron support on the top to lay the axle in. weld a stop on each side of the axle to limit side movement of the axle will transporting and spinning. A small strap or chain over the axle is recommend for rough or sloping terrain. I use a 1" steel bar for an axle into 1.5" angle. It is really simple to make a support out of plywood with a hard wood block with a hole in the center to be your bearing. To hold the tubing in place use 2x4 of the height of the tubing roll and toe nail/screw the to the plywood. The one I am working on now will hold three rolls of tubing in each o the two support locations. The cart is then used to haul fire wood from the bush and other woods. The uprights keep the logs in place and strap the load down so they don't slide around. Stack the cart full and it will hold a cord of 8' lengths and you can cut to size on the cart. With a good sharp chain it takes three boys to stack the wood in the sugar house as fast as I cut it and touch up the chain for the next load. I will get the middle son to post some pics here when the cart is finished.

Good Luck!
Ben