Spooling new wire line.
Trnaround
2014-02-15 15:58:09
Getting old wire off the spool and new wire on can be a challenge. When just disposing of the wire I usually just let it coil into a large circle on the deck then tie it with cord and take it to the wire disposal can but I want to save this wire so I want to re-spool it on an empty spool. I have been thinking of making a handle/crank out of pvc and elbows and drilling a hole through a bucket that the spool can hang as it is cranked. Has anyone got any methods for re-spooling wire? The other thing is when new wire is added to the gurdies is it necessary to use backing for any reason? Also getting tension on the wire as it is being loaded is a challenge, wondering if anyone has a good technique. I use two pieces of 2x4 and let the wire run between them and squeeze them enough to create tension (gloves wear out fast) I used to have my wife hold the spool but the wrong type of tension was being generated so I went to 2x4s. The final step was to go out to deep water and let it all out and bring it back in under load from the lead, if I don't do that it seems to create jams as the line is let out under tension from the wire on the surface digging in to the wire below. Any input here?
Salty
2014-02-15 17:15:26
My son Karl made me a device for putting an empty spool on the end of my gurdy shaft and I just power it on across the deck from one gurdy to the other with the empty spool.
I add backing so that the wire starts around a larger center. I don't want the wire making such tight turns at the center of the spool and getting memory from that.
Trnaround
2014-02-15 18:07:59
Sounds like good reasoning on the backing, I may put on more this time to get a larger diameter, probably comes in faster too. The device on the shaft sounds interesting Salty, was thinking of that same thing especially for re spooling wire. Thanks
mswkickdrum
2014-02-15 19:52:26
hose reel from home depot about $30. I have a friend that only uses his wire one season, I just wound up on to the hose reel as it came off the gurdies, you can get three spools on one big hose reel, they sell them in the Garden department super easy no problem. It can get tiring because you need to keep a little bit of tension on it so you don't get tangles and backlashes. I haven't done this second part yet but after you get it all on one hose reel you can get another empty hose reel and transfer from the full hose reel on to the empty hose reel. This way when you spool it back on your gurdies with the oldest piece of wire goes onto the inside of the spool and the wire on the outside of the spool that you'll be putting your gear on will basically be new and fresh. As a beginner this will probably be fine for me as I will probably catch bottom and crab pots and lose quite a bit of wire my first season, thus free wire is the right price for me this time. However, I have been led to believe that one season is about all you can get on wire unless you're like not that serious or something? Hose reels, I hope that helps.
MSW
John Murray
2014-02-15 20:50:48
While on the subject of spooling.Is there fail safe direction to spool wire off?I've done it many times the same way but once in a while the wire seems to have a mind of its own.This would happen more on the floats.
On the main topic I've always got old glove kicking around,so I use a milk crate and a shot of rod.I've had good luck and its simple.
Once and Future
2014-02-15 22:42:02
Related point comes from one of the most helpful posts I ever read on here. That being if you are getting inexplicable snarls when your wire gets the least bit of slack in it - check your blocks.
I used to think blocks that skipped a little now and then were no big deal, and they would be OK once they got wet. But as the fellow explained, the stubborn roller is just like the scissors blade we used in grade school to curl a piece of ribbon. After the treatment of the stubborn block, the wire has an unwanted bias in it. And the instant there is a bit of slack on your float line from making a turn, ZIP! a a tight snarl appears in your wire.
It's the same action as when you use your wrist on a garden hose to twirl it and make it jump over something in the lawn. Until somebody posted that explanation, I was trying to blame the inexplicable snarls on my deckhand.
As I replaced sticky trolling blocks, I found Sentry Hardware in Wrangell sold some Made in USA blocks that were an inch smaller in diameter than the old standbys we used to get. The old standbys are now foreign made. So I took a chance on the smaller American blocks and didn't have any trouble with them. They also use a little heavier hardware.
Trnaround
2014-02-15 23:29:10
I know what you mean with that wire jumping around, maybe that hose real would work. I usually take it off counter clockwise but I don't know it still tangles up. I didn't understand the milk crate their John do you put a rod through the grate and get friction on the spool with your gloves? Oh and the post on the blocks is right on Once and Future.
Salty
2014-02-16 03:15:43
Brand name ?
curmudgeon
2014-02-16 05:03:19
Since this thread is morphing into a side-track on troll-blocks, I have two questions. Have you ever noticed how worn-out blocks will put a twist in the wire?
Anyone do any research on whether wire noise makes any difference to catch?
Last season I got on a tangent and went about trying to damp out as much of the noise as I could. (Not least because the whine drives me nuts)
So I decided to use spectra loops to hang the blocks instead of metal chain or swivels as a first step. That made a huge difference.
Then I had a dozen of old worn out Kolstrand blocks rebuilt by http://www.zephyrwerks.com/ in Port Townsend. Ed Louchard of Zephyr was well aware of how wire will try to climb up out of the bottom of a worn wider groove and in so doing will put twist in the wire. (As will any sort of binding or restriction of freedom of the block to move to follow the wire, (shackles or chains binding on turns? ....visualize THAT)
The new block sheaves are made of Delrin which is like a kind of cast urethane, unbelievably tough and also very slippery, and the bearings are about three times bigger than on the standard blocks we buy from Murrays or SeaMar so they should last several times longer before rattling around and going sideways on the center shaft.
The unexpected benefit was that Delrin is also quiet, real quiet.
Just to give my theory a real test, I used very old wire on one side and new on the other, and no hockles or any weirdness noted on the old wire (except that the stops started to fall apart toward mid Aug)
Less noise, less twist.
Salty
2014-02-16 08:11:07
[attachment=0]image.jpg[/attachment]Wow, how do I get some of those? I went to hanging my blocks from plastic bolts a few years ago to better isolate them and because I had a bunch of plastic bolts too short for my gurdy mounts.
Salty
2014-02-16 08:12:20
I also gave up on kohlstrand blocks years ago.
Once and Future
2014-02-16 14:29:40
The names of the blocks, both old and new, were escaping me last night. That's why I didn't name them. But those appear to be the American blocks Salty has in his picture above.
Trnaround
2014-02-16 16:03:46
Great information on rebuilding blocks, if the cost isn't too prohibitive that sounds like the way to go. If you are getting vibration on your wire and resonating into your boat or shelter, which mine will do, it's usually because you haven't let the line out enough so that it is fully suspended by the tag line. Do that and the noise should go away. Great posts.
Once and Future
2014-02-16 18:07:13
By the pricing link on the Zephyrwerks website, it looks like he would be charging about $100 to rebuild a typical trolling block, plus shipping and handling. At least that's what he charges for a new 6" diameter sheave.
curmudgeon
2014-02-16 21:30:31
curmudgeon
2014-02-17 05:28:24
Okay, here are two blocks with one full season on them. White sheave is a common brand. Black sheave is the rebuilt Kolstrand.
The bearing on the black sheave is 30% bigger diameter than the white one, and more importantly, the black one rides on a stainless sleeve while the stock common brand rides directly on the fiber-reinforced plastic center boss. (The center boss was already .010 out of round due to wear from one season)
The webbing strap is one of the short Blue Water brand loops like the link in the earlier posts.
[attachment=1]0216141932.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0]0216141933.jpg[/attachment]
Trnaround
2014-02-17 14:39:01
The picture says it all Curmudgeon, I have taken dead blocks apart and looked at them and messed with them but never could get them back in order but I didn't measure the boss. Now I get it. Thanks for taking the time to lay that out so perfectly.
kjwelder
2014-02-23 17:32:15
I also wanted to easily remove wire from my gurdies and save the wire for future use.
I made a couple of prototype tools that worked really well. If anyone knows how to upload pics from Android please let me know.
Salty
2014-02-23 18:19:30
[attachment=0]image.jpg[/attachment]On my I phone I just go to full editor, select the photo, upload, and place inline.
Salty
2014-02-23 18:20:57
Thanks curmudgeon.
carojae
2014-02-23 18:32:51
Kjwelder,
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 (Android) and this is what I did:
When you "post reply" here you will have the option to "upload attachment" on the bottom of the page. *If you use "quick reply", I'm not sure you can access this option so make sure you use the "post reply" button and not the "quick reply".
From "post reply" you "choose file" which is the picture you want to upload from your android gallery. If you don't have it in your gallery then you'd first have to get it to your device.
Thanks for everyone's input on wire blocks. Are those new, un-named trolling blocks made by "Loomis"? They appear to be a lot more substantial than the 'Kolstrand' and 'Shamrock' blocks I was familiar with and what are suspended from my current hayrack.
Salty
2014-02-23 19:11:29
If you are in the quick reply box go down to the full editor button, click it, and then on the lower left an options tab comes up with "upload attachment" to the right. Click on that and you can start uploading pictures from your device. For some reason my pictures from my iphone load without resizing. For those from my computer I have to downsize them to 480 pixels or so for them to come right up.
kjwelder
2014-02-23 20:26:05
@Carojae
I tried full editor, upload attachments... nothing works. Even tried from my laptop, I still get an "invalid type error"
I think my phone, Lg g2 is the problem because i cant open mms messages from ios devices.
Once and Future
2014-02-23 20:46:40
Loomis sounds familiar, I bet that is the block I was referring to and what is hanging in Salty's photo. I think they were about $40, or $10 more than the imported blocks. Something along those lines, anyway.
Trnaround, when I took old blocks apart that were "sticky", I found the top of the center boss had worn away, allowing the sheave to drop a bit so it made contact with the frame at the bottom. But, that was after many years of use. Can't deny that a bronze bushing riding on a stainless boss would be longer-lived.
I had the "Loomis" blocks apart to put some lube on them when they were new. I don't remember what the boss on them was made out of, but I remember being pleased it was beefier than the old blocks I was replacing.
Salty
2014-02-23 20:56:38
[attachment=0]image.jpg[/attachment]
Here is a drawing of the line spoiler Karl built for me. Wobbled a bit but sure better than hand coiling.
carojae
2014-02-23 23:15:52
I tried full editor, upload attachments... nothing works. Even tried from my laptop, I still get an "invalid type error"
I think my phone, Lg g2 is the problem because i cant open mms messages from ios devices.
Hmm. Yeah it must be on your end some how. Don't know what to suggest other than checking your settings to see if there is a block on or something. Maybe someone else has another idea.
Jim
Trnaround
2014-02-24 11:39:54
Salty, it looks like the aluminum sleeve fits over the end of the shaft and is held on by a cotter pin. What holds the spool on to the square? Nice drawing by the way.
kjwelder
2014-02-24 21:41:18
The aluminum piece of pipe slides over the shaft. It is held on by a bolt. The bolt is tapped in the aluminum and just pinches the shaft. This is not intended to haul any weight or be used as an additional spool for fishing. It just winds/unwinds wire. The spool is bolted onto the aluminum. I'm glad my drawing finally got posted. Ths
kj
Trnaround
2014-02-25 02:03:30
Oh that's your drawing Karl, excellent. Thanks
Thanks for another great idea, Karl. I was initially thrown-off by Salty's post of the drawing where he referred to it as a 'spoiler' instead of a 'spooler'. I really don't need any help with spoiling trolling wire - I'm really good at it already. One of these will be a big help for me in a few weeks.