One or two reels count too

Small pickups are normal

Plenty of reels in the Delaware Valley sit alone or in pairs: two spools left behind by an electrician after a basement rewire in Phoenixville, a 36-inch reel that came with a house in Cherry Hill, a handful of plywood spools in the back of a small shop in South Philadelphia. Nobody needs a forklift for those, and nobody needs a full truck. A request for one or two reels is read the same way as a request for two hundred: what are they, can they be reused, and where are they.

What one or two reels are worth

Honestly, often not much in money. The value of a single small or mid-size reel is mostly in someone else being able to use it. What we can usually offer is to take sound reels away for free and put them back to work, which saves you the job of breaking them up or paying a hauler. Larger single reels in good condition, such as a clean 42- or 48-inch nailed reel, are wanted by makers who build tables and may be worth more. The reply says which.

How we make small pickups work

Small pickups are grouped by area. A request for two reels in Media waits for a few days until a truck is working nearby, for example on a larger pickup in Eddystone or Chester, and collects them on the way. That is why a small pickup is usually scheduled within a window rather than for a set hour. If the reels are somewhere easy to reach, such as a driveway or the side of a garage, you do not need to be home.

Check before you ask

A quick look saves a wasted trip:

• Look for writing on the flange. A cable maker's name, the word RETURNABLE or a painted number means the reel may belong to the maker. Photograph it and say so in the request.
• Check the wood. Push a screwdriver into the edge of the flange and the drum. If it sinks in easily, the wood is rotten and the reel is for recycling.
• Check the arbor hole. It should be round and clean, without cracks running out from it.
• Count the staves. Look at the drum between the flanges: missing or loose staves make the reel recycling only.
• Measure the flange. Edge to edge across the widest point. A tape measure and a rough figure are enough.

Plywood spools and plastic spools

Small reels come in two common materials. Plywood spools, with solid round flanges cut from sheet plywood and a cardboard-like fibreboard tube in the middle, are usually one-way and sell well when clean. Plastic spools, often grey or black with ribbed flanges, are harder to reuse because they crack and are sized for specific wire; most go to recycling. The plywood vs nailed reels guide explains why the two wear differently.

If nobody can reuse them

Some single reels are simply worn out. Those can still go to recycling rather than a dumpster. The boards can be chipped for mulch or biomass and the nails and any bolts go for scrap steel. See broken reels for what that involves. If you would rather keep the reel, the table guide explains which reels make a stable table and which are better as firewood, and why treated wood should not be burned.

Sending a small request

The form asks the same things whatever the size of the request: sell, recycle or buy (nothing is chosen for you), the reel type if you know it, a rough flange size, the count and a ZIP code. On the second step it asks for the address, a name and an email or phone number. For one or two reels, the message box is the place to say where they are on the property, whether there is a dog in the yard, and the best days. A photo sent by email afterwards helps if you are unsure what the reel is.

A word on free spools

Searching for free wooden spools turns up plenty of advice to ask electricians, utility crews and hardware stores. That works now and then, and it is how many reels get reused. It also means some reels taken from job sites belong to someone else. If you are the one giving a reel away, check for a maker's stencil first. The guide to free wooden spools covers both sides.

Neighbours, block captains and shared piles

On a row-house block or in a townhouse community, one household's reel is often joined by others: a neighbour's spool from a bathroom remodel, another's reel left by a cable crew. Pooling them in one driveway or at the end of an alley makes a pickup more worthwhile and saves several separate trips. Block captains, civic associations and homeowners' associations sometimes organise exactly that before a spring clean-up day.

Moving house

Sellers, realtors and home stagers often discover reels while emptying basements before settlement. Tell us the closing date; we aim to clear them first.

Questions

Will you come for a single small spool?

If it is close to other pickups, yes. A single 12- or 18-inch spool far from anything else may be easier to give to a neighbour or a local maker, and we will say so.

Do I need to move the reel to the kerb?

No, but tell us where it is and whether there are steps or a slope on the way out. Mid-size reels roll; small ones are carried.

Can I sell a reel I found on the street?

Only if it is clearly abandoned and not returnable. Reels left beside utility work or a construction site usually belong to the contractor and are collected later.