I don't think the splines in the spool go all the way through. The axles stop after 2" of engagement. It's not the axle shafts hitting into each other. I'm yanking the spool out Tuesday night. Will get a better view of the inside of the spool at that time. If the spool splines are the cause, I'll find out if my local machine shop can cut the axle shafts down an inch. Tried it on my saw. These things are really hard.