Attach to a board to hang garden tools. I hang garden gloves on that sort of thing too. I polyurethane everything for outdoors. You will get a lot more inspired ideas if you would show us a picture. : ) Eye candy feeds our little sugar-lovin' creative imaginations.

String them with beads, etc and make danglers.
That is what I would do!
On a craft site (don't ask me WHERE-LOL) I saw them made into a necklace--rat tail cord, 3 beads, a spool, and another couple of beads.

I like old wooden spools, as is...I think they would look really wonderful wired on a grapevine wreath (like the terra cotte tiny pots wreath posted somewhere on here)...tie the spools in with some theme in mind...and use other items.

Could you use them for plant markers some way? I think kelly_oh on here used knitting needles for plant markers...maybe they could be worked into that thought & write on them with permanent marker (or paint). Just brainstorming....have fun with them! Jeanne S.

I have a gallon jug filled with wooden spools and a piece of torn fabric tied around the lid on a shelf just outside my sewing room. It's a cute decoration.

They make great spool dolls with them....lots of directions online. They are good for drawer pulls or door knobs. I have seen used for wheels under a cloth car or truck or animals. I have personally used them for feet under boxes and pin cushions. If they are large ones, they make good bases for a small mushroom pin cushion. Cut in half to glue to picture frames.

I've got a few dozen wooden spools, several great ideas here .... as usual! I especially want to try the hanger rungs with them, maybe even for hanging bathrobes, etc. ..... now where have I packed up my old spools? that's the million dollar question :-) ~tenderlee

I'm lazy so I'd probably just display them in an apothecary jar! There are lots of crafts shown on the 'net. Here are a few I've snagged.

Use them for table legs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cottageqt/2982038229/ I really like this one.

Wooden spool ornaments: http://www.kreinik.com/kshop/product.php?productid=16515&cat=658page=1

Toys for children: http://www.historicalfolktoys.com/catcont/2013.html#more
http://www.tias.com/11374/PictPage/1923137779.html (not sure how baby-safe this one is)

Toys for birds: http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?M=BIRD_PRODUCTS_BBO22157&ID=1360726

Spool knitting: http://bobscrafts.com/bobstuff/spool.htm I did the simple version of this as a child but it does have more complicated applications as in the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: more spool knitting or weaving

1. Spools. I just display mine in a sewing room in a jar. But you've gotten lots of great ideas and it sounds like you have a lot of spools.
They could jazz up a wooden trellis, cats love to bat them around, use for a decorative/art element on a garden shed or fence, Small ones could be the base of a flower to decorate house plants. And I have an image in my mind of them attached to the outside of a round object - a sewing room clock maybe? That's it for my ideas!

2. Spam: I guess with so many people unemployed we shouldn't be surprised by people like facege (above post) and other spammers. What amazes me tho is that the companies that pay them think that annoying people is the best way to market.
Kathy

My Mom ran a small rod thru the centers to secure them and then used them as spacers between shelves. Depending on how much space you want between your shelves is how many you would stack up. I think she usually used 8 - 10 to make deeper shelves. She just used a nice piece of plywood that she varnished for the shelf, or these days it would be easy to purchase shelving at HD and they would be finished already. They made really cute shelf units. They can be made as tall or as short as you want it to be. Moms was about 5 foot tall when completed.