To keep your garden hose neat and organized, you should invest in a hose reel. A hose reel is a gardening tool that is used for storing a hose. You can make your very own hose reel with some simple tools.

A garden hose is generally used to water a garden as it makes it easier to cover an extensive area. But one of the biggest problem with using a gardening hose for watering a garden is that it is prone to getting tangled which hampers the flow of water. You also need to spend a great amount of time in untangling the hose and looping it up after putting it back. All this can get tiresome after a while and many people resort to just leaving the garden hose in a heap on the ground. But that is also not a good idea as it not only makes the garden look untidy but also significantly decreases the life of the hose. This is where a hose reel comes in handy. A hose reel is a cylindrical spindle that houses a hose and it is either fixed or portable. Although you can purchase a hose reel from any gardening or home improvement store, it can be a bit on the expensive side. So a better alternative is to make a hose reel yourself. Making a garden hose holder is not very tough and once you have the supplies at hand, it is a simple matter of assembling everything together.

How to Make a Garden Hose Reel

Things Required

• Plywood, ½ inch thick
• PVC pipe, 3 inch diameter, 8 inch length
• Hand held drill
• Dowel, 1 inch diameter, 5 inch length
• Scroll saw
• Fine grit sandpaper
• PVC glue
• Angle bracket with 12 inch arm
• Compass
• Utility knife
• Tennis ball
• Screws
• Varnish
• Paintbrush
• Dust mask

Method

• Place the piece of plywood on the work table and mark two circles on it, each with a diameter of 9 inches with the help of the compass.
• Mark two more circles inside the 9 inch circles, keeping the same center point. The diameter of the smaller circles should be 3 inches.
• Once you have marked all the four circles, with the help of the scroll saw cut out the circles.
• You will be left with two solid plywood circles which are 3 inches in diameter and two 9 inch diameter circles with its center hollowed out. When you are using the scroll saw to cut the plywood make sure that you are wearing the dust mask so that sawdust does not get in your eyes.
• Next, drill a 1 inch diameter hole, 1 inch away from the edge of one of the solid 3 inch circles by using the hand held drill.
• Make sure that when you are drilling the hole on the solid plywood circle, you hold the drill at a 90 degree angle.
• Clean the hole with a soft rag making sure that the hole is clean with no ragged ends.
• Now insert the 1 inch diameter dowel inside this hole, leaving 4 ½ inch of the dowel hanging from outside the plywood circle. This dowel will be the turning handle for the hose reel.
• Sand the plywood circles and then apply varnish to them with the paintbrush.
• Next apply PVC glue to the inner circumference of the plywood circle and then place one end of the PVC pipe over it. Allow the glue to dry completely.
• Apply glue on the other plywood circle and place it over the PVC pipe.
• Once this entire assembly is dry, it is time to install the angle bracket on the wall at a location where you want to hang the hose reel.
• Drill holes on the wall and screw down the angle bracket.
• Now fit the plywood wheel and PVC pipe assembly to the arm of the angle bracket, making sure that the dowel arm is on the outside.
• Finally you need to make a stopper for the hose reel so that the hose reel stays put on the angle bracket.
• To do this, cut a slit on the tennis ball and apply a liberal amount of PVC glue over the slit. Attach this to the horizontal end of the angle bracket. Your hose reel along with its installation is done.

Building your garden hose reel is an easy DIY project that cab be completed in an hour or so. Now that you know the method for making a hose reel, you can make one for storing your garden hose.