What type of wire? Rolls of thhn or MC and romex?
"I was looking into getting a decent, but affordable, wire dispenser."
In the romex / MC catagory, I say this... Anything will work. The least expensive though is the old school method. Take a scrap 2X4 about 30"= long, a piece of 5/8"+ plywood cut into an octagon about 18" in diamiter, 12" of plumbers strap, and a 16d nail bent into a hook, some scrap wire, and several staples and 2" and 1" screws. Screw octagon of plywood to the end of the 2x4 with 2" screws. Insert bent nail into a hole in the middle of the plumbers strap, and bend it over the other end of the 2x4. Then attatch with 1" screws, so the the nail will spin freely. Staple a loop of scrap wire to the cieling joist with several staples. Put a roll of romex or MC over the 2x, and hang the contraption from the scrap wire on the cieling. Pull end of wire to dispense. When job is finished, launch into dumster on site, build a new one on next job. No transport...
For THHN... I have a small orange metal cube type rack I bought several years ago, I don't know who made them but it works well, holds ten rolls of #12.
I put that and the rest of my tools and materials on one of these... It lives in my van, and it goes to every job. Once you have one, you'll never go back to carrying wire racks around.
[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 01-09-2006).]