While I’m happy with how it holds flies, there’s still some work to do. Visually, I think the outside needs a different texture, so I have a different shell in the works. Functionally, I don’t like the big holes in the lid, so I think having a spool for a lid is bad. Also, I’m not a fan of having loose parts when I’m on the water, so I’m working on a leash/hinge for the lid.
Level line spools
The other project is a thinner version of the line spools. The original spools are a bit too tall if your only using level line.
Figure [6] Comparing thickness of one standard spool (left) to two thin spools (right)
It’s challenging to miniaturize an already compact design, and the results have been underwhelming. I’m thinking of ditching the mini spool approach. My next attempt at a level line spool will be a standard spool that’s modified to accept two lines. There’d be a divider in the middle of the arbor, and it would have the “top” geometry on the bottom too.
I’m still experimenting with these and would be happy to get some feedback/suggestions.
I’ve come around on the thin spool. I had to sit down with a friend a few times to really talk-out some ideas. I hadn’t quite understood what the thin spool was, and how to get there. It took a few more rounds of prototypes, but the design is finally working.
I love the thinner idea, the previous version was maybe a bit thick and on the heavy side. I’ll have to order some up and try them out. I assume they are compatible with the previous line winders?
Glad you like it. Yeah, the regular spool was definitely too big if you’re running level line.
Yes, the thin spools are still compatible with the regular spools. They’re in the same ecosystem as the other gadgets. If you do get some, let me know what you think.
I’m a big fan of the Oni spools; I must have at least 12 by now. If you look closely at them, they’re actually 3D printed too. I think they use SLS though, so it’s a little hard to tell.
When I set out to make the thin spools, I wanted something similar to the Oni spools in both size and function. However, that’s the extent of the similarities. I used different mechanisms to achieve, and hopefully improve on, the performance.
