That's a very interesting thought Chris and I think that you might well be on to something there.
I always wondered why the three longish studs were provided on the face of the unit and guessed that there were possibly some spring loaded twistable lugs or similar fitted over them... but then why would you bother. If you were going to wind cable directly onto this assembly then why wouldn't you just weld on an end plate to stop the wiring from falling off the end
Any "disposable" roll of wire would have to be fairly shallow as it would need to fit under the cable guide which hangs just a few inches clear of the current drum.
The spring loaded contacts, the lack of an end on one face of the drum and the three securing studs would certainly align with your suggestion. The challenge now is to find a picture or publication that confirms it. I've seen almost no pictures or reference to this type of drum anywhere... probably another overly complicated arrangement that didn't catch on.
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