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Best method of loading braid to spinning reels at home??

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1dozenraw

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I am thinking of buying a large spool of 50-60lb braid and loading my own spinning reels. What is the best method if I don't have a spool loading machine? Or, am I better off just getting my local tackle shop to load the reels using the electric machine and paying the extra?

"We eat cold eels and think distant thoughts" Jack Johnson.

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What I do - get yourself some of that foam pipe insulation. Cut two short pices, and fit them over the jaws of a vise. Lay a folded towel or washcloth between the insulation in the vise. Run the braid thru the fold in the towel, thru your rod guides, and onto the reel.

 

Tighten down the vise to put tension on the line. Wearing a glove, hold the line between your thimb and forefinger on your non-crank hand above the reel, and start cranking. Adjust the tension on the vise as needed (as the line travels thru the towel, you will have to tighten down a bit a couple times, as it wears the towel.) This will make the line tight enough so that you can fully load the reel.

 

When fully loaded, to be sure I get it as tight as possible and get it to lay correctly, I then take the rod and reel over to my neighbor's driveway. I tie on a jig or a hook, and hook it to his truck bumper. I then walk off as much line as I can (preferably all the way to the backing.)

 

I then pull tight, as if fighting a fish, and keeping tension on the rod, slowly walk forward until it is all re-spooled. The line will lay as best and tight as it ever will. Works like a charm for me. smile.gif

 

And not to take anything away from shop owners, but I never quite understood the advantage of having them spool your reel (other than convenience). Once you make a cast, and reel back in, all of their tedious work has vanished......wink.gif

"You know the Bill of Rights is serving its purpose when it protects things you wish it didn't."

 

"You can no longer be oppressed if you are not afraid anymore - Unknown"

 

SOL Member #174

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Here i used an arrow...to put it thru the 10pcs. of new spool,thenuse my 2 feet to grab each side of the arrow...if i wanna tigher spooling ,i just press it on the ground harder while spooling in.But my best of of spooling is like fighting a big game fish style..not just turning the handle till it all spool up.biggrin.gif

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Here i used an arrow...to put it thru the 10pcs. of new spool,thenuse my 2 feet to grab each side of the arrow...if i wanna tigher spooling ,i just press it on the ground harder while spooling in.But my best of of spooling is like fighting a big game fish style..not just turning the handle till it all spool up.biggrin.gif

 

Not to knock Steve's method, but yours brings up visions of Mahatma Gandhi weaving at the loom. Excellent. All the way from Maylasia.... thanks.biggrin.gif

"We eat cold eels and think distant thoughts" Jack Johnson.

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When the time comes to walk the line out, try this.Instead of hooking the end of the line to something, pass the line through a swivel(clipped to something)and tie it to your rod at the collector guide. Now when you walk the line out you only have to go half as far. If you do this when it is time to reverse the line, it makes it a snap. Retie the reversed ends and wind back with tension. Most times I clip a swivel to the collector guide so if there is any twists in the line they have a chance to come out.

longcaster

If being stupid got us into this mess, how come being stupid can't get us out?
I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all.

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I can't remember who posted this pic. I'll look around and see if I can find it's inventor.

525

Justice will only exist where those not affected by injustice are filled with the same amount of indignation as those offended.

~ Plato

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Ok, it's designer is BobT.

......just put the full store spool between 2 moistened sponges with a screwdriver clamped in a vise. Adjust the pressure by how much the screwdriver is pressed down before locking up the vise. Feed the line through your guides, tie to the spool, and then put on one wrap of cloth electricians tape (or hockey tape, or first aid tape), then spool it up. No need for mono backing with the tape....

BobT.

 

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Justice will only exist where those not affected by injustice are filled with the same amount of indignation as those offended.

~ Plato

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Berkeley makes an inexpensive but effective system with a line stripper device included for about $35.oo. You attach your reel at one end the spool of line on hanger devise that is adjustable for tension. Works for conventionals as well. I get nice tight even spooling. JP ps Cabelas has them in the catalog.

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thread braid thru guides tie on to reel spool or to backing with uni or knot of choice, hang feed spool off convenient set up of ease, hold braid between fingers one hand reel in w/other till you got what you want on there, keep it simple peoplebiggrin.gif

 

But that takes all the fun out of it. tongue.gif

Justice will only exist where those not affected by injustice are filled with the same amount of indignation as those offended.

~ Plato

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So what I'm getting is tight and even tension is important. But, the rotation and twist put on by spooling directly onto the spinning reel is not an issue at all???? Correct?

"We eat cold eels and think distant thoughts" Jack Johnson.

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If you dont want line twist use a cordless drill. Remove the spool, take out the drag, find a screw slightly smaller than the shaft hole, cover it with electrical tape and slide it in making sure it's a tight fit, place the end of the screw in the drill chuck, set up the spool of line like the other have suggested and start turnin and watch the fingers. Another method of maintaining line tension is to run it thru a big phone book.

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The thing I hated most about mono line is the constant problems caused by line twist. The thing I love most about braid is that line twist isn't really an issue as far as I can tell. The line will still twist, but it's never caused me any problems.

Justice will only exist where those not affected by injustice are filled with the same amount of indignation as those offended.

~ Plato

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