Thanks for the Tip SWS

Ahhh!  All those fond memories of when I was a kid holding a spool of mono with a pencil through it so that my dad could spool up his new reel.  I always swore that I wouldn't do that to my son, but of course 20 years later there I am fussing at my boys to hold the line tighter or pay attention.  Don't get me wrong, I tried ot to burden my son's with the task of being a human line spooler.  I first bought a commercial grade spooler and then the electric motor burned out.  I then went through all sorts of "at home" spoolers that I purchased from this or that catalog, those all had issues or just didn't hold up.  Finally, now, I think I have the answer.

I was reading through my Saltwater Sportsman Magazine a few weeks ago and I came across a tip for making your own line spooler.  I usually ignore many of the tips that readers send in as they normally don't apply to me.  This one however, kept jumping out.  Every time I opened the magazine, the page would inevitably flip to this great line spooler idea. I finally decided to give it a try and after a quick trip to Lowes I had what I needed. 

A couple of 8 inch peices of 2×6, a 1/2 inch bar, 6 washers, 2 springs, and 2 bolts and I was in business.  After laying everything out, it was time to drill a hole for my support bar to go through.  This is the part that made my wife nervous, she has seen what I can do with tools in my hand.  I however, felt confident in my ablilities to drill two holes and have them line up.

After drilling, all that had to be done was assembly.  I got out spool of braid, ran my support bar through, then washer, spring, washer, 2×6, washer, and bolt.  All that had to be done was to tighten the bolts to the tension that I wanted on the spool and I was in business.

This was a great tip and one that I will use for years to come.  One of the things I like about it is that it is not fully automatic, my boys will still have to hold the line spooler, but isn't that just a right of passage?