Reels · types
Plywood cable reels
Plywood cable reels have flanges cut from plywood sheet and are mostly small, used for building wire, multiplex and fibre. They are light and cheap to make, but no maker program we have read takes them back, and their flanges delaminate when they stay wet. That makes them the reels most often left over in this region.
From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026
Where they come from
Southwire's packaging document lists its E and G series as plywood reels for building wire, and parts of its N series as plywood for lighter insulated and multiplex cable. Its plywood N-1, N-2, N-3, N-5 and N-7P reels run from 15¾ to 23¾ inches and weigh 6 to 30 pounds empty. Its G-series spools, 11¾ to 15¾ inches with fibreboard tube drums, weigh 5 pounds or less.
In this region, plywood reels come from:
- Building electricians: rowhouse rewiring in the District, apartment fit-outs in Arlington and Silver Spring, office refits along the Toll Road.
- Fibre crews: Virginia's broadband program funds work at more than 133,000 unserved locations and Maryland's final round about 9,000, and fibre often ships on small plywood reels.
- Low-voltage contractors: data, security and control cable.
Why programs exclude them
AFL's program says it plainly: nailed wood only, no plywood. Service Wire's names nailed wood reels. Sonoco EcoReel names nailed wood and polyfiber. None of them explains why. The likely reason is practical: a plywood flange that has delaminated cannot be repaired the way a broken board on a nailed flange can be replaced, and small reels are worth less to refurbish.
What the desk does with them
- Sound plywood reels are reused: hose winders, side tables, shop reels, light re-spooling.
- Delaminated or broken ones are recycled with other wood waste. The glue in plywood narrows the uses for the chips.
Keeping them usable until pickup
Plywood reels suffer outdoors more than any other build. Store them under cover, standing on their flanges, off the ground. Do not stack them flat in the open: water pools on the top flange and soaks the plies. A plywood flange that has been soaked and dried twice usually has lifted face plies and is past reuse.
Indoors, a good reel
For indoor use, plywood has advantages: smoother faces, lighter weight, less splintering. A small plywood reel sands into a neat side table or plant stand, and many buyers prefer it to rough nailed wood.
Reels you are likely to have
| Reel | Build | Flange | Traverse | Drum | Lb | Usually carries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-5 | Nailed wood | 23 | 17 | 12 | 34 | Copper building wire, grounding |
| A-10 | Nailed wood | 30 | 22 | 16 | 66 | Service drop, bare aluminium |
| N-24 | Nailed wood | 36 | 28 | 14 | 83 | Insulated and multiplex cable |
| A-29 | Nailed wood | 42 | 28 | 21 | 154 | Overhead conductor, feeders |
| A-38 | Nailed wood | 48 | 28 | 24 | 212 | Aluminium and ACSR, large feeders |
| A-62 | Nailed wood | 60 | 28 | 28 | 397 | Utility conductor |
| A-76 | Nailed wood | 66 | 28 | 30 | 473 | Heavy conductor |
| S-120 | Steel, returnable | 84 | 36 | 42 | 895 | Transmission and medium voltage |
Other makers' reels differ by an inch or two. All flange sizes · How to measure
When your load falls short
- Too few reels: keep counting for a month if storage is good; otherwise send the desk what you have.
- Wrong brand: sort by stencil. One maker's share may be a load; the rest is the desk's.
- Plywood or broken: no program here takes them. Sound ones are reused, the rest recycled.
- Steel: always the maker's. Start the return with serial numbers before the credit window closes.
Sources
Each opened and read on 9 November 2026.
- Southwire, Reel Packaging Information (CableTech Support): reel series, wooden reel dimensions and weights, steel reel dimensions and charges, tag contents; cites NEMA WC26
- AFL, Wood Reel Recycling Program: nailed wood only, no plywood; flanges at least 1½ in thick and 30 in across; 75% of staves; full truckloads; mainly East Coast and Midwest
- Virginia DHCD, federal approval of Virginia's BEAD Final Proposal (19 November 2025): over $545 million to 23 providers for more than 133,000 unserved locations
- Southern Maryland Chronicle, Maryland unlocks $79.1M to close final broadband gaps (6 February 2026): NTIA approval announced 4 February 2026: about 9,000 locations in 18 counties