I'm thinking some of you guys can relate to this.
Was at a job site last week and a newly licensed E.C. showed up with a homemade NM/Romex payout reel. It consisted of two 2x4's nailed together like an upside-down "T". There was a piece of 12-2 NM nailed over the top and down to the ends of the bottom 2x4 to make a nest for the roll. He had a 1" 2 hole
strap at the top with a hole drilled in it and a u-shaped bent nail sticking out to act as a hanger. Said it worked like a charm. I made one out of conduit many years ago that worked great but ended up buying commercial units when company image became a bigger priority. Actually..I take that back. It hung from the rafters and I walked into it and dinged my forehead one too many times.

That was a popular style in the gung-ho resi days.

Some guys use 12-2 doubled & a few staples between studs for the reel NM. 1/2" pipe works good also for anything on reels.

I saw a guy with a "6 gallon" milk box with all his stuff in the box, a stick of EMT through the handle holes and 3 spools of THHN on it.
One trick was a couple of compression EMT connectors on the end so it wouldn't puke the pipe out but screwed on hand tight.
It looked real slick for something you can carry around.

When I was 17 I had a journeyman who made his own screw tray. I think he used a couple sheets of 3/4 plywood. It was heavier than I was before he loaded the square and round covers into the unused holes. I can still scratch my ankles without bending over.

I just have a commercial made NM dispenser that collapses down to a small package which is nice for me whim I have to pile every thing in a boat or float plane plus it don't take up a lot of space in my service rig. I did however bolted a 2x4 with wing nuts to my utility cart so I can hang my dispenser on it and wheel it around with me.

I also installed beam clamps on the inside of legs of my cart so I can hang a butt load of spools on it at one time for wire pulling frenzy. That's about redneck'ish tools I got.

No wait, I have a piece of #4 solid grounding wire specially bent where with one quick flick of the wrist, unlocks the door to one of our offices. The local law enforcement got the biggest kick out of it. It's faster then using a key

The only awls I've ever owned were decommissioned screw drivers. I have quite a few different THHN reel carts and small portable stands but most of the time it's a hunk of 1/2" EMT across the ladder because it's there. (The ladder usually falls over followed by a few expletives).

I use 2 12' pieces of fish tape all the time drill a hole on top and fish it down. the wire can be pulled either way. I have hooks with tape on either end. No reel to contend with. I have pulled broken reels from many a trash can just so I have pieces. If I lose one or it gets bent or twisted, it time for a new one. no big deal.

Phil

Steel banding like for palletizing stuff makes a great fish tape in insulated walls

Locked the keys in the F350 when we were working out of town.
Thanks to AAA for for demonstrating the proper way to open a locked vehicle during a previous incident I knew I could handle the situation. I walked over to the construction site down the street and asked if I could have a chunk of lumber banding. Borrowed some tin snips, made a Slim Jim and was back to my truck within a few minutes. My son was sitting inside. He got it open with a piece of wire. Morals of the story are: (1)Make sure you have a spare key and (2)valuables aren't really very safe when they are locked in the truck.

Same thing here wewire, I spent more time bending a hanger wire than using it to unlock it. I'm not gonna say how often I have done that. Lets just say my record is a doubious one...

Hehe yeah, did that once too, with something like a 1 hr train trip home (and another back again). Borrowed a chisel and a piece of wire, used the chisel to wedge the door open at the top and then pushed down the wire. Two tries and the door was open. And NO ONE bothered to ask what I was doing there! One pedestrian actually told me "Been there, done that!"

It's a great feeling to be able to make a tool and not have to go shopping. I made my own holding tool and wrench for my Superduty diesel fan clutch out of 1/8" flat steel using a torch and grinder. Last month I needed a long hole saw to drill thru a 3" plastic finnial for a floor lamp my wife was making me fix on my day off. I grabbed a piece of 3/8 rigid tubing, cut off a piece and took it over to the band saw and cut some teeth in it then chucked it into the press and drilled it thru, stopping to clear the plugs which was easy as it was open on both ends.

Made a nice ground rod pounder out of a hockey puck sized chunk of steel welded to a short piece of pipe. Place it over the rod and pound away, can't miss. A little tape to keep it from bouncing off.

I used to use this crazy little piece of wire to search for hidden pipes, duct work, etc, above ceilings when ever I had to install recess lights in a finished ceiling. I would take a piece of #10 copper about 8-12" long and form in into a Long "Z" Like this:

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The length of the first horizontal piece is determined by the size of the recess can. You make the copper wire 3" for a 6" can or 2" for a 4" can.

Then you lay out your pattern on the ceiling. poke a small hole where you want your first can to go, stick the wire inside the hole and spin it like a helicopter blade. Then as you spin, you raise and lower the wire up and down to "see/feel" if there are any obstructions in the way. If you hit a duct or pipe you will feel and hear a metal TINK. If you are to close to a rafter or floor joist the wire will stop spinning and you will be able to tell where the beam is.

I hope this picture comes through.

In my younger days, I stopped a crazed maniac from world domination with just a piece of bubble gum, a shoe string and some rubbing alcohol. I heard they made a TV series based on my misadventures....

I have mentioned this before but the rare earth magnet from a 3" hard drive is a handy fishing tool. I crimped a #10 solid on it to make a probe. It will fit through a 1/2" KO and when used in conjunction with a chain dropped down from above, you can fairly easily fish into a device box.

Nice one Greg. I used a HD magnet to guide a fish tape to an opening

I like to use straightened pieces of coat hanger wire with a sharply-angled cut on the end as "feeler" drill bits. They are great for finding your place in a wall from the attic or even below. If you are in a bad spot, you can adjust your position and the hole is barely visible. I also keep a small tube of toothpaste for patching these holes in the ceiling or when I scratch a wall.

I had an after-hours problem in a bank where I had to trace a empty conduit in a slab and intercept it in the middle of the floor.

I pulled one conductor into the conduit and ran another conductor across the floor. Then I put a cord end on one end of the wires, plugged in a half inch drill and locked it on with the suicide button.

The other end was plugged into a wall outlet.

I took a radio off a window sill, set it on the conductor above the floor and tuned it to the RFI of the single conductor.

Then, I used the radio to trace the in-slab conduit. I missed centre of the conduit by about two inches.

My home made took is a line locator. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to duplicate it. There was something about that drill, that radio and that conduit in that slab. Sometimes we have to settle for winning one little battle.

I settle for one winning little battle at work every day! Details would be a long rant, for another day, and another thread.

I do the same with seismic wire, always keep a few on the truck. I drill thru wood floors behind the base board, a tiny dab of caulk afterwords and nobody can tell I was there.

Hey, I remember that series! Wasn't it Don Adams in the lead role, battling Chaos? Did you ever get that "cone of silence" thing working right?

I've made a variety of tools, some as temporary improvs, and some as permanent tools. Here are some examples:

1) A #6 cable reel will both mount 4 receptacles in the core, and carry 100' of real extension cord. Instant spider-box;

2) A collection of 12" threaded nipples, plastic threaded couplings, and certain bits from the garden department gives you a tool for boring under drives and walks. Hook hose to one end, and let the water do the work for you. Add nipples for length, as needed;

3) 6-gal bucket, rigid paint liner, and toilet seat, and some kitty litter solves a critical issue on some job sites; and,

4) Glue a tape measure to the side of your truck, and you have one great assist to bending pipe.

I tried to bend conduit with my truck and it kinked. You must be doing something I don't understand. Perhaps you can give some more details.

BTW, I, also, once had a helper that was about as good as a tape measure glued to the side of a truck.

Ah, the joys of grammar ...

Here's how the tape can help:
Normally, when making multiple bends, you wind up in an unnatural position with the pipe going off in one direction, the tape in another, and your trying to hold it all together, read the tape, and mark the pipe with only one free hand.

Instead, you take advantage of the bodywork of the truck. A seam can give you a groove that will hold the pipe in place; this is where you put the pipe. With the sheet metal being straight, you can both measure your offsets as well as check them for being straight. You can also check bend angles readily. The tape lets you measure and mark the pipe for the next bend.

You're not using the truck as a tool to actually bend the pipe; you're using it as a fixture and a square to mark and inspect the bends you have made.

... unless you are sticking RNC in the tail pipe

I used the truck exhaust pipe on a few occasion to bend some PVC conduit. I have hot boxes up to 6" but when you're way out in the boonies it's Macgyver time.

I learned that an exhaust manifold doesn't get hot enough to cook hot dogs, and it makes them taste like grease.

One contractor I worked for used a portable barbecue with holes cut in the ends to bend PVC. That did get hot enough to cook hot dogs.

The only tricks with using the exhaust pipe trick is, wear gloves and keep a cold connector handy to slide over the hot end so it holds the shape when it cools or you will have the perfectly bent pipe that is useless because you can't hook it up.

I think I have used that trick more for plumbing pipe than RNC but it is the same trick. When I was plumbing in my solars for the spa, I needed a strange bend you can't assemble from parts so I fired up old "Brownie" (the 86 F100 that went for the clunker deal RIP)

I remember one of the guys I worked with way back using the rear dual wheels of the truck to bend offsets in 2" EMT!

Also, he had some pieces of steel banding strap that he used for a short snake in walls.

I get funny looks from people when they see me with a stick of 2" EMT wedged between the rear tire and the ground and start prying. It's a great way to take the bend out of an over-bent angles. If there's a JLG on the job the knobby tread is great to seat the bend on. Next time I run 2" I think I'll throw a stick of 3" GRC in the conduit rack. That way if I run into an over-bend problem I can just stick the EMT inside the pipe and take some bend out. Can't do too much though because of deformation..