My new lead reels

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So I decided to build a set of lead reels for my Ranger 8 welder. I got alot of ideas off this site and many others, so thanks to everyone who has posted pictures of their reels! Both the welder and the reels will be mounted on a small trailer along with a small work area. I used a set of 1750# trailer hubs and spindles, 2 inch pipe, 6 inch pipe, and some other stuff I had around. May take a while to get all the pics posted. Finally get to use my pipe notching setup!!Fitting the mounting flanges. Stand by for more!IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:Spindles and flanges welded on, now for the bottom hub.Then the top hub. Notice my first attemp at bull nose pipe caps.Starting on the spools that will hold the cable. Used 1/8" diamond plate. It is about 12" dia.IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:Tacking the spools together.All welded up. I used my Airco Dip-Pak 200 with .030 wire and 100% co2 shielding gas. IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:This is how my cables will attach to the inside of the spool.Tight to the hub so the bolt cannot turn when tightening the nut. Here is the trailer that I got for free. Needs new tires, cross members for the welder, and a nice coat of paint. The lights were temporary just to get the trailer home without police bugging me. I hope to post more progress withing the next couple days. Next up is cross members, mounting the reels, and making the short cables from welder to reels.IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:Nice idea.  I would have bolted the spools to the hubs. You can change and repair easier that way.  You lost me on the bolting the leads to the spool. Only the ground? The stinger lead will ground out or did I miss something?  Now if you can get it to rewind its self.  Nice job.
Reply:Looks good, Post up when there done. I know thats a lot more work than it looks like to.
Reply:That's how mine are done as well, except I left the ends of the pipe open so I could adjust the tension on the bearings as they aged.[They are now about 25 yrs. old] If there is any way you can mount them in a box it would be better as it would keep the leads out of the sun and weather. That would make them last many years longer. Attached ImagesLast edited by Bob; 07-07-2010 at 09:01 PM.
Reply:Quick-  I did consider bolting the spools to the hubs, but it was alot quicker to weld( didn't have to layout, drill, cut a bunch of holes). The leads are going to bolt to the spool and there will be a short cable from the machine to the post of each reel. The idea is that the current will flow from the vertical post through the bearings, hub, spool, and then through to the electrode. I actually isolated the top unit from the bottom with nylon spacers so current cannot flow from one spool to the other.   jreynoldswelding-  Thanks! You are right, they have been alot of work so far and not quite done. But thay have cost me about $30 so far. Bob- I really like the way you have your rig set up. I enclosed the pipe because these reels will spend their lives in New York weather. If I have no boxes on the trailer, I do not have to register it in NY.  New bearings and seals, lots of grease, and I am pretty sure I got the bearing tension just right so they will loosen slightly and be where I want them.                                                                                   Thanks for the interest everyone.IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:looking good.post pic's when done I keep mine in box on truck. I need to fix a set of reel's  BOB how many feet can you get on your spool in the box?
Reply:Awesome job. One question, do people use dielectric grease to lube the bearings on these? If not I think that would be a big plus.
Reply:They will hold 150' of #1, I think.
Reply:Made some progress finally. I got the reels mounted and all the cables hooked up. Reels work great! Still have to make handles so I can reel in the cables easier, and paint everything black and red to match the welder. IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:Look's  good Bob thank's for your reply.
Reply:How about using suicide knobs(steering wheel knobs) for the handles.K.I.S.S evading the minds of engineers since the beginning of time.Lincoln Precision Tig 225Lincoln IdealArc 250Lincoln Ranger 305GLincoln SP 185
Reply:I have been thinking of using those spinner knobs. Just have not gotten to that step yet, beeen real busy.IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:Well I finally got a chance to work on my lead reels. I decided to move the welder and reels forward to better use the space I had available. Welded on some handles and latches, and got a coat of paint on. First up is close up of latches that keep the reels from turning at the wrong moment, like going down the road.  Next are the cable connections from welder to reels. And finally the completed project. They hold 100' of 2/0 cable each. They do work great. Each reel is isolated from the trailer and the other reel with plastic spacers between all the mounts. And I can spool out only as much cable as I need to reach what I am working on. Now if I can find the time to finish some fenders and mount all the lights and bottle mounts, I can post that in the welding rigs thread.IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:Great job there!!Better watch out that they don't "Go Missing" some night.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:WNYwelder,Very nice!.....almost to the point of being brilliant!I've been thinking for months on how to isolate the current for live reels, so thanks for posting.A few questions though, have you put them to the test, have you seen other similar setups, and aw crap, can't remember the other question.Anyways, good job.  Some things I'd do different, but I like what you've done.Lincoln SA 200Esab Caddy 160Thermal Arc 201TSMiller Dialarc HFI don't like making plans for the day because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around the courtroom....
Reply:Nice job.. I wish I had room on the shop trucks for a setup like that.Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
Reply:Thanks for the complements! This has definitely been an interesting project for me. To answer your questions dubl_t, yes I have put them to the test and I am happy to report that they work perfectly. I ran the machine for a couple hours so far from 60- 140 amps and all is well. I have only seen similar set-ups online, never anything in person. Most of the people in my area would neither spend the $$ to buy reels, nor the time to build them correctly. I would also do some things different next time, this was an experiment after all. They were cheap for me because I scrounged and used as much scrap as I could, but I did spend alot of time both researching and building, and then of course the time on this site posting pics. If anyone wanted to build a similar set-up, I suggest using nylon spacers to isolate each reel from each other and from the trailer or truck.IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:.....through the bearings,...
Reply:Originally Posted by mrmikeyYour bearings will eventually pit/seize up as well as your amperage will get erratic after awhile. ......Mike
Reply:Nice job on the reels. Gives me pause to think, I may do the same with my leads.I see your poor Ranger go T-boned. Pitty.Sign on East Texas payphone: Calls to God 40 cents......it's a local call...
Reply:As far as the bearings seizing up: It seems that everyone I have seen online that uses this concept has had good luck, so I went with it. I greased the bearing very well on assembly, and if I have a problem in a couple years, I guess I will just take them apart and deal with it. It was a calculated risk. Still better than paying hundreds of dollars for a set of reels made by someone else. If I have a problem in the near future, I will post here to let you all know the shortcomings of my design.IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:Still better than paying hundreds of dollars for a set of reels made by someone else. IfOriginally Posted by wnywelderThey do work great. Each reel is isolated from the trailer and the other reel with plastic spacers between all the mounts. And I can spool out only as much cable as I need to reach what I am working on.
Reply:Don't worry wnywelder, mine are basically just like yours and I built them almost thirty years ago and have had no problems of any kind. I've helped several other weldors build theirs as well and they have had no problems. I've had several people tell me that mine are going to mess up any time now because they can't grasp the current going through bearings. They have never used them so they don't know.
Reply:How long is the 6" pipe? Nice reels.
Reply:Spools sure do save a lot of headache!...except when for reasons unkown, one decides to stick their arm between them on the company truck!   It was a rather shocking experience!  I need to do some work on my truck as I wouldn't mind adding a set of spools, amung other things, but to keep thieves away, I was thinking of mounting the spools within an underbody box.Your spools look great!  The only suggestion I have involves your stinger.  Throw a quick connect at the end of your stinger lead and connect your stinger to a 10' length of cable.  The reason being, if you ever need more cable you can just connect it to the spooled section and if you're ever working in say, a sawmill or a pulpmill where there will more than likely be power sources scattered throughout, you can use your stinger off of those!  It's also easier on the stinger when you're rolling up as it doesn't get dragged across the ground!The "Powerweld" LC40 or equivilant is the most common size.Last edited by mb_welder; 09-01-2010 at 10:43 PM.
Reply:Lynchwood: 6" pipe is 12 inches long.mb_welder: That is a good idea. I will most likely do that when I get new leads. The leads I have now have seen better days (Lots of electical tape patches), but 200 feet of 2/0 cable is kind of pricey.IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:I am building a similar set of reels for my rig, and I have a question to ask. There are several different sizes diameters of end terminals for #2 cable and does it matter if I use 5/16" or 1/2" bolts to make up the leads to the reels?   This may sound like a dumb question to some, but I would rather ask than run into problems later.  Thanks for yall's input.Miller BobcatHarris cutting outfitMiller spectrum 625 plasmaVariety of shopmade tools
Reply:If you ever touch both reels at the same time, while the machine is running, you could get shocked.....
Reply:It don't  work like that Leroy. If it did every time I turned the handle on my hot lead spool and touched my truck, which is grounded the same as the ground spool, I would get shocked and  I don't.
Reply:Probably no big deal but I could see me having something on the truck (metal) fall against both reels and short out, just my luck. Ever have that happen over the years? Also I think with wet feet or rainy day you could catch a shock from the reel set up."Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum"Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DCMillermatic 251   Syncrowave 300   30A spoolgunLincoln MP210Hypertherm 45(2) LN 25(2) Lincoln Weldanpower 225 CV(4) SA200   1 short hood    SA250    SAM 400
Reply:Would you hold an uninsulated stinger in one hand and a ground clamp in the other with the machine running?  How is it different?
Reply:Originally Posted by Fast LeroyWould you hold an uninsulated stinger in one hand and a ground clamp in the other with the machine running?  How is it different?
Reply:Finally got around to posting Picts of my reels.    Worked well so farMiller BobcatHarris cutting outfitMiller spectrum 625 plasmaVariety of shopmade tools
Reply:Originally Posted by Fast LeroyWould you hold an uninsulated stinger in one hand and a ground clamp in the other with the machine running?  How is it different?
Reply:Originally Posted by Fast LeroyIf you ever touch both reels at the same time, while the machine is running, you could get shocked.....
Reply:Originally Posted by walkerNo different than being on the metal you are welding and holding the rod, or stinger, or touching you battery terminal ends. Remember this is D/C current, not A/C.
Reply:jw3   It works well, even hooked to that blue thing???   lolBruce DeLaetHeavy Equipment Mechanic and Welder1948 SA-200 short hood1949 LincWelder 1801963 SA-200 red faceMiller S-32-P
Reply:I built these about 8 years ago...Never had any problems. They are isolated with a peko-tek kit. No bearings, just sleeved pipe. I had a buddy build a set with bearings and when we unspooled they kept on dumping until all the leads were on the ground. If you choose bearings make sure to have a tensioner.... Attached Images
Reply:Yea Delaet20 they do.  Hell, they probaly work better than I can weld.   LolMiller BobcatHarris cutting outfitMiller spectrum 625 plasmaVariety of shopmade tools