How To Make Retractable Cables! Headphones, Microphones, USB, Anything! 

I'd prefer if it showed how to make one from scratch, given the particular cable dimensions, but this is also a bit helpful.

My retractable charger's cover accidentally popped and it didn't retract when I try to fix it and I thought I damaged it but gladly it didn't. I came across your video, and it worked! I'm glad I didn't lost any parts. My charger is now fixed. Thank you so much for the great help!

this deserves more views

Was trying to fix my computer mouse that has this same retractable reel mechanism and this was the only helpful video I found because it shows the inside & how it works - thanks a bunch! Got some sore fingers now haha

I was trying to do the same thing for my headset but I wasn't able to figure out what should be the arrangement of the spring. Thank you dude. Great video.

You saved me a few bucks but it was worth knowing how this thing works. Couldn't believe there was a ball bearing that small inside. Almost lost it when I opened the unit up. I don't understand the mechanics fully, but just know that the ball bearing rolls along the track and jams up at certain points. Quite ingenious really.

This, you. Thank you i have been looking for this for a very long time

The only video I could find to help me fix my retractable aux cord. Thank you so much!!

did not skip the ad for the first time, did not completely made what i liked but i managed to make my earphones wire more than half folded! cheers!!

very helpful, thank you! been looking for a tutorial on this

Thank you very much for this! I will definitely be applying it to an idea I have. Hopefully it will work well.

Excellent instruction, Thank you!

thx man u really helped me its surprising how this isnt anywhere else

The tiny ball bearing fell out of the spool serving a retractable USB cable which in turns serves my MobileMouse. Because of this video, I was able to put the ball bearing back in its correct position. Many thanks.

Saying it is frustrating was an understatement lol but thank you so much for this video, I was able to fix my charger rather quickly with those explanations

Thanks! I was able to fix a mouse thanks to you, this mecanism is so satisfying when it works well, couldn't let it go to the trash without trying to fix it first.

Thank you very much-I have a headlamp with this type of retractable cable and it fell apart-this is the only source I found to show how I might fix it. My only criticism is that you have large hands and they are in the way of getting a good view of exactly how the spring should be situated. I would have appreciated some views of the spring from different angles without your hands in the way. But overall, very helpful. Thank you.

genius! been looking for product that can retract my long ass cables for so long, couldnt find one, now i can just get one of those cheap retractable cable and replace mine into it

I finally found a helpful video about this

Thanks for your diy because it help us in our group project :))

The iron. Brilliant! I have a 3d printer so can take the mechanism out and make a snazzy looking assembly for it. Shop light here i come!

i have one and it broke and i was super bummed, so your video is really helpful!! thank you!! :D

A tip for getting the spring wound and re-installed: I was able to do this on my 5th try (about 20 minutes total) with this method: -- Build a simple spring winding jig -- I used a scrap of wood and two brad nails (also pliers, a flathead screwdriver and something to cut the heads off the nails). Put the nails into the wood so that the inner "s-curve" hooks onto both. Once the position is correct, cut off the heads of the nails at a height maybe twice the width of the spring. Place the spring flat against the wood, hooking onto the nails with the inner "s-curve" and holding the tail end with fingers, turn the piece of wood, which will wind the spring. This allows for a pretty tight wind. To remove, pinch the spring with some small pliers about 2/3 the way down the width of the spring (you want to leave some space on the bottom so you can put the spring back in the housing without the pliers getting in the way) and slide a flathead screwdriver under the spring to start to pry the spring up off the wood on both sides. Once you have some separation between the spring and the jig, but it is still on the nails, put the flathead screwdriver all the way underneath so that when you lift, the coil stays in the same plane. With the heads of the nails removed you can now lift with the screwdriver and it should slide right off the jig, still gripped by the pliers. You should now be able to partially insert the spring back in the housing, where the housing should keep the spring wound. You can now let go with the pliers, push the spring fully into the housing, and take a deep breath, the hard part is over. You still need to hook the outside anchor, but this was pretty easy and got this on my 2nd try. Full disclosure. My cable ended up being too thick and would stick in the openings so I wasn't able to fully get this solution working, but I did get it re-assembled successfully at least.

i dont ever leave comments but this was very informative, thank you

created a platform for a minifridge in my minivan that sits between the front seats and slides to the back seats.... this is the info I needed to make a 12v retractable cable for it when it slides back :D Thanks!

Awesome video!!! Does anyone know the size of that mini ball bearing?

Excellent!

Great video. Thank you! If I wanted to make my own retractable cable system, what type of metal should I use for a cable that is 1/8 inch circumference? Do certain size ball bearings go with the metal and cables? Thanks

Muchísimas gracias!!!!!! Fabuloso!!!!!!! en serio que me sirvió el vídeo😃

Thank you, you are great !!!

any ideas for making a 1 way version of these, in order to attach it to a desk? I (and many others) cant find anything other than large and expensive industrial versions.

hi there man. good demo.i am currency designing something that require this mechanisme. i have a question, how do i add tension to the spring? i think the current spring is too soft, i need a higher tension that makes it harder to pull

Is there something to be done to ensure there is always tension? Would be useful to tidy up some cable mess I have. This way, there's only ever "just enough" at any point, and I never have to trigger it to re-reel.

Thanks for the video. Here's 3 TIPS that I hope will help: 1) When trying to find the middle point, simply take the cable end and bend it in half to where your USB male end is touching the other end (a cpu mouse in my case). Then you'll know your half way point 2) For the challenging task of winding the spring. First, I found it to be a bit annoying since the two flapping cable ends are in your way as well as having to hold it in place ,etc. So what I did was create some slack with the cable ends and then wrap them around my finger so I didn't have to worry about it. This actaully helped me wind it faster/better! And just for clarification, this was during the step that was just before putting the ball bearing in place + tightening the screw. 3) When operating your cable retracting tool, remember not to hold the ends and do the pulling (This can/will cause damage to your wire, and in my previous cases had broke through the cheap soldering job). Instead, place your fingers a few inches into the wire (NOT THE ENDS!) and this will avoid effecting any end point connections.

Muchas gracias, pude reparar mi parlante ya que el cable estaba suelto y no sabia como repararlo.

Hi thanks for the video. Can you please make a video on retractable reels from scratch for larger cables such as 10 metre cables. Thank you so much.

thanks for your video .. .. it saved my life .. je! .. I damaged my dad's mouse and your video helped me fix it 👍😎

Where do you put the ball bearing? In the middle or in any of the grooves?

How To Make Retractable Cables: Buy one and use it for what you what to use it for.. Great guide :P

Any solutions like this for electrical cords, like for a vacuum?

Is there a way to do this with a cable with a larger width? I tried the hack with the dollar store reel but then tried to use a cable that was the standard diameter not the smaller one you find in the dollar tree reels and it does not work no matter how much I fiddled with it.

thank u very much

Springs is difficult to put in what tools do you use

wow thanks. my charger like this stopped working so i took a screwdriver and took it apart, but didn't know how it was supposed to go back together. great video!

I’d like something like this for my vacuum cord. Any ideas?

is it possible to do a version where only one side(of the cable) rolls in/out

This is exactly what i need for organizing my desktop cables. How can there not be a product and we have to do it ourselves by hacking a different thing

Does the mechanism have to be in the middle or I can place it near the end of the cable?

Hello, what is the plastic things called. In the video you call them hubs, but I'm trying to order them and nothing comes up???

Is it possible to place the 'hub' towards either end of the cable? Let's say I don't want it directly in the middle because I only want one end to extend and retract. Thanks!

Hello, thank you for the video. While watching it, I was wondering what that ball was for! Would that ball do anything on that? and what happens when you lose the ball...?

Im in a big pickle with my convertible car it has basically this mechanism for the trunk cables and i couldn’t figure out how to run my own cable since it needs to reel and unreel ,thanks

Thank you so much. If I didn't watch this video, I wouldn't had known there was a ball bearing. Luckily I found it while searching my carpet. Edit: It exploded and now I can't find the ball bearing anymore.

Quick question: if I move the “hub” all the way to the USB side of the cable, would it work if I want only the “lightning” side of the cable to unwind? I want to do a retractable mounted cable in my car. I hate the phone cable laying around in the car and I want to hide the reel mechanism behind a panel. So I just have to pull on the lightning cable to hook my phone and when I’m done wined it back out of sight. Hope I’m making sense. Thanks.

Wish there were over for big laptop cables

Do you have any suggestions for biger cables like HDMI of 15ft?

6:41... If your cable is a lot longer than the original one, the problem is not the spring but insufficient space for the new cable inside the reel.

I know this is a bit older of a video but do you know if trimming the spring will speed up the recoil time?

i want one that is ready to use

i was looking for the third hand part

How does this affect the cable? Does it damage the wires being wound so tightly?

When he said the most frustrating part was the spring Well I got multiple cuts because of that haha

I'm going to say this simply... +1 Sub for the best video on youtube!

3:46 can you please tell how to fix that spring on the centre

does the cable have to be in the middle? what I want only 1 side to be retractable

Thanks a lot but I don't know why wires don't shift back in their position? Am I missing something?

I used this mechanism to make a retractable whip sword for my cosplay!

Is it possible to make only 1 side retractable?

I was trying to repair one and of course the spring popped out and went everywhere. Also the tiny ball bearing took flight and was never seen again. Spent WAY too much time trying to roll the spring back up into the plastic cap before I noticed the ball bearing was gone. Trash can. :(

Where can I buy just this mechanism

my earphone are not locking when i stretch it... what to do now??

Ive been trying to do this a lot of times but the cable only raps around 3times and i cant see my problem Uh.... can some body help meeee???

Just make sure the cable you're trying to replace is a similar size - Oops! lol - The cable I was trying to replace is much smaller than my mouse cable.

Hey what if the string comes out

how many ball bearing does it have? i lost one and found it on my floor.

Which dollar store sells these????

Your not human if you put the spring in first try

one could make a 3d printable version by reverse engineering the files of this project ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-03iUbhrU8xw.html as for the locking mechanism consisting of the ball bearing I do not know much about it's function so i was thinking of a bistable compliant latch, however at it's simplest it can be a screw which slightly tightens the enclosure.

I lose the tiny ball bearing 😢

Is there a patent on this design?

Darn didn’t know about the ball bearing and I lost it :(

Darnn i lost the ball bearing

Mine doesnt click.. dont know what went wrong

its funny you say do not lose the small ball (i lost it)

Let's be honest, you only came here because you looked it up. :)

no se retrae

Se malogra rapido, no sirve

i lost the little ball :(((

How is this DIY?

Thumb up for a guy who call things "guy" Just like me.

Ur not making retractable cables... Ur just buying the retractable part yourself then adding a cable to it... Kinda misleading.

Hey man, you may want to watch your audio levels, that outro was so loud I instantly skipped and ended your video.

I lost my ball bearing 😭😭

ES INSULSO TU TUTORIAL, LO ARME YO SOLO

would this work if I wanted to make it retractable from only one side? or does it always have to be pulled from both sides? im trying to make a cyberpunk 2077 monowire prop that can be retractable in my sleeve