Cable Reel Holder

I made this handy tray to hold my collection of hook-up wire reels and it lives in a rack with a collection of electronics tools.

It works great, but of course the wire springs back and unreels off the spools. Some of the other cable holders on this site have a line of small holes and the wire is supposed to be bent by the user to prevent it recoiling. The problem is that you then have to 1) remember to bend the wire after you clip each piece and 2) you have to unbend the piece of wire which you've just removed.

Cut a piece of dowel and piece of pipe insulation to the length of whatever it is to which your cable reels are attached.

Slide the pipe insulation over the dowel and screw it down so that the foam on the underside is slightly compressed.

The result is that the wire can be pulled out from the reel, but won't rebound when you stop pulling, and it doesn't have a kink in it which needs straightened.