How to Repurpose Wooden Cable Spools

My family in Illinois have been using spools as tables around their fire pit for a couple of years.  They are handy to have around to hold drinks and S’more supplies.

I of course wanted them too after seeing the different ways they could be used on  Pinterest.   So after several attempts a couple of them made their way to Florida.

Deciding what to do with them was the next challenge.  I settled on using them as nightstands, since my fire pit is currently not in operation.

Sand and Stain

This is not a tutorial on what to do.  This is just what I did to get the desired look for my spools.  I am not a handy person by any means and I do not always follow directions.

The first thing I did was sand them down with my Craftsman Mouse sander with the first sandpaper I could find.  I do not know what grade of grit it was or what to use.  This is why I do these little projects when my husband is at work, with less interference.

I personally liked the numbers and letters stenciled on the spool, so tried to keep them as I sanded.  After I finished sanding them down, I  dusted off the spools with a rag to get rid of all the sawdust and have a nice clean surface.

I then opened my can of Briwax that I found on Amazon.  I love this stuff.  It takes a dull finish and brings it to life.  It gets into the little nooks and crannies and brings out the character of the wood.  I used Light Brown, but it comes in different shades for a darker look or more natural.  It does come with directions on how to use it properly, I did not quite follow them.  You can find it here.

If you do use this, don’t be stingy with it.  The wood absorbs it fast.  But the look is so worth it.

Here is a picture of the difference this stain makes.

I love the way my spools turned out.  They will look fantastic in my bedroom.  And this was quick and simple project to do.

Other Ideas

Here are a couple of other ways to refinish spools, other than staining them, that my older sister did.  My mom has two of these around her fire pit like these below.

My sister did this one as well.

This makes for a great weekend project for when you can’t get out camping.  Hopefully next week!

Happy Camping!

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