The Renovation of a Cable Spool

If you simply search "Cable Spools" on Pinterest you will be completely blown away by the amazing ideas that people have come up with to refurbish old cable spools. I was inspired, this had to be in my classroom! It would be great to show kids during our electricity unit but it could also emphasize my desire to encourage students to be good stewards of the resources they have been given.

And so my search for cable spools began. I called, emailed and searched high and low for the cable spools that were rumored to be burned or chopped up but couldn't find any available. Finally, our local electricity provider, Dakota Electric, came through and offered any of their old cable spools in their backyard.

When I arrived, I was in heaven! The possibilities were endless, well almost. I had to fit the spool into the back of my hatchback Chevy Aveo so anything larger than 27 inches was off limits.

With great difficulty, I finally chose the perfect spool that would work well in my reading corner for kids to kneel at and check out new books or read to themselves. I am no expert in home projects and renovations but below is a brief step-by-step of what I did to get my cable spool classroom ready.

STEP 1 - Supplies

I wanted my finished project to look a little rustic and earthy so that it would fit with my reading corner's theme. I used an oil based stain, an electric sander, two packs of 5 inch sanding disks at 40 and 80 coarseness, mineral spirits, a hammer and an old rag.

An electric sander is not a must however, the wood on these spools is usually pretty tough and scratchy so something like this can be a huge time saver! I would also suggest getting rough sandpaper for the same reason.

STEP 2 - Dry It Out

The spool I grabbed was pretty water logged due to the enormous amount of rain we had experienced in the last few day. Sanding and staining is not something you want to do on wet wood so I left it to dry for about a week before I got started.

STEP 3 - Prepare the Wood

Many spools have nails sticking out, staples, plastic labels or rope attached to them. Using your hammer you want to remove and pound in anything that might make your spool unsafe.

Step 4 - Sand

I was especially careful while sanding the top of the spool. I went over it multiple times to smooth our any roughness in the wood. Rubbing the wood periodically as you sand can give you a good clue for where you are at. Make sure to sand any area the kids might have contact with (inside knot holes and especially on the corners and sides of the spool).

Step 5 - Stain

I learned after applying stain with a paint brush, that the best way to stain is actually with an old cloth by rubbing with the grain and making sure to keep any access stain from pooling up. I noted that for future projects. I ended up painting it on and going back over it with a rag of mineral spirits to remove any access stain build up.

Step 6 - Sand again (optional)

Because I wanted the rustic/earthy look I decided to go back after the stain had completely dried and sand again. This time I used my hand and purposefully sand more in certain areas to attain my desired look.

Step 7 - Bring it to your classroom!

Make sure the stain is completely dry and the scent is gone before you bring it into your classroom. The last thing you want is your room smelling like stain and giving the kiddos a headache while they work!

I'm so excited for school to start in just a few days! How exciting to have such a fun piece for the kids to use and work with. One of my co-workers suggested putting pillows underneath for kids to grab our kneel on, which I love! The classroom is not where your spool inspiration has to end, if you're not a teacher there are so many cool ways you can use spools as a cheap alternative to a "rustic" table, chair or end table.