The reel catalogue

How the catalogue is arranged

The ten entries above are the reels that actually turn up empty in Philadelphia, its Pennsylvania suburbs and South Jersey. They are grouped the way a reel yard sorts them: by what the flanges are made of first, then by who owns the reel, then by size. Nailed wood, plywood and bolted wood reels are the bulk of the market. Plastic spools arrive with small building wire and data cable. Steel reels arrive with heavy power cable and almost always go back to the maker. Three entries cut across those groups: fiber optic reels, compartment reels and the two size-led entries for small and large wooden spools, because buyers ask for them by those names.

The flange, traverse and arbor hole columns give the range we see for that build, not a promise that every reel of the type falls inside it. Reel makers build to order, and a 30-inch nailed reel from one cable mill can have a narrower traverse and a smaller drum than a 30-inch reel from another. Where a reel maker publishes its own dimensions, the size pages quote them with the source.

Reading a row

• No. is the entry number, used on the request form and in our replies so we both mean the same reel.
• Flange is the diameter of the round side, measured across its widest point.
• Traverse is the inside width between the two flanges, where the cable sits.
• Arbor hole is the hole through the centre that the reel stand's shaft passes through. Wood reels from most North American cable makers have a 3⅛-inch hole; small plywood spools often have a 2-inch hole; steel reels and heavy bolted reels use a steel arbor plate.
• Verdict is what happens to a sound reel of that type: it sells, it recycles, it can be bought, or it is returnable to its maker.

What moves a reel between rows

Two things change what a reel is worth to anyone. The first is condition. A reel with both flanges flat, every stave of the drum in place and an arbor hole that is still round can go back to work. A reel with a split flange, a sprung stave or soft wood from sitting on wet ground is recycling only, whatever its size. The second is ownership. A reel stencilled with a cable maker's name, painted with a serial number or carrying a deposit tag is not the holder's to sell. It belongs on the maker's return programme, and the entry for returnable reels explains how those programmes work.

Size matters less than people expect. Very small spools are easy to move and easy to sell one at a time. Mid-size nailed reels, the 36- to 48-inch class, are the ones contractors reuse most, so they move steadily. Very large reels are worth collecting in a truckload, but one 96-inch reel on its own in a back lot costs more to load than it fetches.

Parts of a reel

Every entry page has an exploded drawing that names the parts. The words are the same across the trade:

• Flange: the two round ends. On wood reels each flange is two layers of boards nailed crosswise.
• Drum (or barrel): the core the cable winds onto, built from wood staves on larger reels or a fibreboard tube on small spools.
• Tie rods: steel rods that run from flange to flange and pull a heavy reel together.
• Arbor plate: a steel plate bolted over the arbor hole on heavy reels so the shaft does not wear through the wood.
• Lagging: boards nailed across the flange rims to cover the cable during shipping. They are removed on site and often left in a pile beside the empty reel.

Not sure which entry is yours

Use the guide to identifying your reel, or send two photographs, one of a flange face and one side-on, with the request form. We match it to an entry and reply with the verdict. A rough description works too: "wood, about chest high, nails, no writing on it" is a 48-inch class one-way nailed reel more often than not.

Entries most asked about

Nailed wood reels are the most common entry by far. Small wooden spools and plywood reels are the most requested by buyers. Returnable and steel reels generate the most questions, because the answer is so often that the reel is not the holder's to sell. Fiber optic reels have grown as broadband construction has spread across Pennsylvania and South Jersey.

Choosing an entry by what you see

Start with material: timber boards, plywood sheets, plastic moulding or steel. Then look at construction: nails, through-bolts or welds. Then size, measured across a flange. Then markings: stencils, numbers, tags. Those four observations place almost any reel in its row, and the row tells you what to expect next.

Rare entries

Occasionally we meet cardboard tubes, aluminium drums, collapsible knock-down reels, and antique hardwood barrels. Ask about oddities; photos help.

Lagging, wraps and covers

Wooden battens nailed around the rim, called lagging, protect cable in transit; stretch film or cardboard wraps do the same more cheaply.