Building a Spool

After the other night's test print it has become clear that a spool is really required to stop the filament getting tangled and keep an even draw on the extruder. This weekend I used up some of the odd's and end's I had kicking around the workshop to build one.


I used some 1/4" plywood, 3/4" dowel rod, some old bearings, some steel rod and scrap 4x2.

The New Spool

In hindsight the bearings may have been a bad idea, its so friction free that it will freely spin for several minutes after I give it a good heave. I've had to force the stand up close to the bearings to introduce some friction into the system.

Compulsory Action Shot

Unraveling the coil of filament I had and winding it on to the new spool is not a task I'd wish on anyone. There was at least two and half hours of manually untangling the various 'knots' that had formed - it was like the worlds worst telephone cord! Then there was at least 90-minutes of winding it on to the spool. Throw in two failed attempts, multiple curse words and you had a whole Sunday evening of fun. Still the results should give better prints at the end of the day!