Hobo Reel

thingiverse

This is called a "Hobo Reel" and it's my very first ground-up design as well as my very first design upload. It's a bushcraft DIY fishing pole made from wood, typically carved with a knife. I wanted something 3D-printable so I designed this little guy. It uses pipe threading for its storage cavity in the handle and has a deep plug to keep it water-tight. I've tested this by stuffing a wad of paper towel inside the storage compartment, screwing it down flush, and then submerging it under water (had to hold it under because it floats) for about a minute during which time I agitated the print vigorously to give ample opportunity and incentive for water to infiltrate the cavity and soak the paper towel. In the end, the paper towel came out bone dry and so did all of the threads, so that was a resounding success considering that I had to hack a Fusion 360 file to add custom thread dimensions for the ISO Pipe Threads setting which didn't have sufficient options for thread sizing. Someone tell me why they don't simply have an entry field for thread dimensions instead of a very rigid set of presets? Anyway, go look up a video on Hobo Reels if you want to know how you're supposed to use these; I'm not going to explain it. It's pretty straightforward, though. I didn't use supports and it turned out great, but you may need to experiment with that on your own printer. The female threads did have a bit of stringing, but it wasn't enough to keep it from threading fairly smoothly (after threading and unthreading the cap 2-3 times to clear the grooves) or from sealing properly so I didn't worry about it. If you print it, please post a make; I'm interested in your attempts with this design. As per my wife's request, I've added some grip slots into the cap for easier removal when your hands are feeling slippery. I've also added a fillet to the bottom of the handle where it meets the cap so it feels less abrupt to your hand. Additionally, I decided to make the female threads extend only as far as the male plug threads so things stored inside the cavity won't get caught on threading throughout the cavity. It was a simple check box; I should have done it from the start.