Just curious as to what some of you guys use for a spooling station.  I have looked into the Spoolin Buddy but concerned it doesn't have any tension.  the RMC one has bad reviews and the Berkley is junk.  I have had one before.  Is homemade the way to go?  

I've got a couple of the older style Berkley line spooling stations.  One is set up for filler size spools, the other for larger spools.  They are both close to a decade old.   Over the years, I've lost parts for them, but you can go to the hardware store and improvise parts using allen hex head locking collars, cone shaped washers and so forth.  Go to Ace hardware and look around in the specialty fasteners aisle.   Mine work ok and I can set them to any tension necessary.  If you lose the bent wire that plugs into the base and serves as an axle for the spools, you are kind of screwed.  At that point - go home made.   OR spend around $300 and get one of those electric line winding machines, line they have in many tackle shops.

I use one of the cheap Berkley line stations, the hardware is kind of cheap but they actually do a good job of helping to get line on a reel properly.

I like my homemade one I built.i took a $5 rod from Wal Mert cut the blank off at the reel seat fastened the seat to the table in the shop then drilled a hole in line with the reel seat stuck a bolt through the hole in the table tightened it down with a regular nut then put the spool of line on added a spring to keep tension on the spool so it doesn't twist out of control & put a lock nut on to keep the spool of line from coming off the bolt. P.S. it takes a fairly long bolt.

Just Google homemade line spooling station and you will find a few DIY variations built for cheap from things at home depot.

I use this

 

http://www.daiichiseiko.com/1806