murphdivers286
Guest
I finally made my first diving equipment. I have been reading about other people making things, but I don't have a lot of tools. Mostly wrenchs and screw divers.. I was able to make myself a dive reel... I made it out of some PVC, Lexan, SS screws and bolts, and 1/4" X 1" aluminum bar stock.... I bought all of my items (except for the lexan) from Lowe's. It cost about $35.00 US. I have almost enough to make another.... So I could really make two of these for about $50.00 US... I liked the out come. I have a friend who owns a glass company and gave me some small scrap pieces of 1/4" lexan... 12" X 4' it what he calls scrap... Not scrap to me.
I used a 4" hole saw and cut two discs out of the lexan. The hole saw makes a nice 1/4" hole in the center. I sanded the discs. I used a 1/2" PVC coupling with two 1/2" plugs. The plugs have a octagon shaped end, but is flat on the end not rounded like the caps. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the center of the plugs and glued the plugs in the coupling. I used a 1/4" bolt and put the coupling, with plugs, on the bolt with the discs on each end of the coupling. I measure and drilled 4 small holes in the lexan and PVC caps to screw 4 8-32 X 3/4" coutersunk screws to hold the lexan on the PVC coupling. I drilled a hole on the outer edge of the spool to put a black knob to turn the spool, and a small hole to thread the line later... NOW the spool is done....
The aluminum frame was the hardest. Remember I don't have any fancy tools... I was able to use a drill press and vise at my school. The guide slot at the end was a B#$CH. I had to use a 1/4" drill bit and drill the holes as close as I could. Then I locked the drill press down and "slowly and gently" pushed the aluminum sideways to cut the centers out to make the slot. Once I had it roughed out, I used a file and hand filed it smooth. I used 120 grit sandpaper to finish if off. To bend it I used the vise and a large rubber mallet. I used a large C-clamp to start the bend so the bend would be as close to 90 degrees as I could get it. Once the bend started, I removed the C-clamp and used the rubber mallet. It worked just fine.
Anyways, I'm happy with it, but please tell me what you think. I don't have a stopper on it. I was thinking about putting a wing nut in between the outer locking nut and the fender washer. The locking nut would keep the wing nut from coming off. Tell me what you think....
Here are some pictures.
View attachment 27590
View attachment 27592
View attachment 27593
I used a 4" hole saw and cut two discs out of the lexan. The hole saw makes a nice 1/4" hole in the center. I sanded the discs. I used a 1/2" PVC coupling with two 1/2" plugs. The plugs have a octagon shaped end, but is flat on the end not rounded like the caps. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the center of the plugs and glued the plugs in the coupling. I used a 1/4" bolt and put the coupling, with plugs, on the bolt with the discs on each end of the coupling. I measure and drilled 4 small holes in the lexan and PVC caps to screw 4 8-32 X 3/4" coutersunk screws to hold the lexan on the PVC coupling. I drilled a hole on the outer edge of the spool to put a black knob to turn the spool, and a small hole to thread the line later... NOW the spool is done....
The aluminum frame was the hardest. Remember I don't have any fancy tools... I was able to use a drill press and vise at my school. The guide slot at the end was a B#$CH. I had to use a 1/4" drill bit and drill the holes as close as I could. Then I locked the drill press down and "slowly and gently" pushed the aluminum sideways to cut the centers out to make the slot. Once I had it roughed out, I used a file and hand filed it smooth. I used 120 grit sandpaper to finish if off. To bend it I used the vise and a large rubber mallet. I used a large C-clamp to start the bend so the bend would be as close to 90 degrees as I could get it. Once the bend started, I removed the C-clamp and used the rubber mallet. It worked just fine.
Anyways, I'm happy with it, but please tell me what you think. I don't have a stopper on it. I was thinking about putting a wing nut in between the outer locking nut and the fender washer. The locking nut would keep the wing nut from coming off. Tell me what you think....
Here are some pictures.
View attachment 27590
View attachment 27592
View attachment 27593
