Finger spool repair

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Bonaireboy

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Messages
35
Reaction score
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Location
Dallas
# of dives
100 - 199
Believe it if not, a piece of equipment with no loving parts needs some maintenance. Well, actually it needs remanufactured. I got two low cost 30M aluminum spools from eBay. All the holes the bored through the side are razor sharp. Some of them still have burrs. I need to debut all of them since I was able to cut the line with minimal effort. Now doing that will obviously expose the aluminum to corrosion, so I’m trying to decide if it’s worth powder coating or just hit it with Krylon and give it a couple weeks to fully cure. Since I only spent $44 on them both it’s not really with the cost to ship them back to China.
 

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If it's aluminum I would say deburr and use as is. It shouldn't corrode significantly. There will be some oxidation but nothing to impede the function of the spool.
 
I would not worry much about the corrosion. Debur and go on. They will probably get scratched and corroded regardless.

I don't know why you consider these "low cost," though. $44 for the spools, plus $10 for 2 bolt snaps, plus either $20 for 250 feet of line or $36 for a bulk spool = $76 minimum assuming you have a deburring tool already.

DGX has Dive Rite plastic 120ft spools for $25, so you could get 3 for the price of one.
They also have DGX brand red aluminum for $30, so you could get 2.5 for the price of one.

Spools are funny things. I think I've found 3, and lost 2, so I'm ahead by 1. I think I have one that has never even gotten wet, and everyone has atleast 1 that just exists for you to steal line or double enders from.

But, now that I see DGX has blue metal ones, I kind of want to get one.
 
For $30 you can buy a high quality Halcyon 30m/100' spool with boltsnap. Why buy cheap junk?

That beveled "axle" area looks awesome! Keeps the fingers outside but allows for a loose grip. I'ma have to try one of these.
 
It was $44 for two, cans with flat line, and an ok double ended. So the price wasn’t horrible.
 
If you're diving in salt, I'd avoid powdercoat. It's great while it lasts, but once you scratch or chip it, the aluminum will corrode under the finish and it will gradually flake off in chunks and look terrible. With a spool, you'll chip the coating on the outside edge the first time it brushes against something remotely hard.

I'm on the deburr it and forget it bandwagon.
 

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