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Re: Coil winders



Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>

Tesla list wrote:
 >
 > Original poster: "Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz by way of Terry Fritz 
<teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <acmq-at-compuland-dot-com.br>
 >
 > Tesla list wrote:
 >  >
 >  > Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz
 > <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>
 >
 >  >         Don't forget that you can wind a coil entirely by hand and do 
a good
 >  > job if you're careful and patient.  Lots of cut pieces of masking tape,
 >  > wire spool on floor with wire fed over the end, and coil form in your
 >  > lab.  Try it - it isn't hard at all and you will be spending your time
 >  > making your coil, not making a winder.  Winders are handy and I have a
 >  > good one I've made, but that's by no means the only way to go.
 >
 > I would certainly recommend at least a firm support where you can
 > support the coil and rotate it by hand, with an horizontal axle. Just
 > this cuts the time in 10 x or more. Fix the wire with
 > tape at each few cm of winding. And don't take the wire from
 > a spool from the end!. It comes out twisted, and it's too easy to
 > get a terrible tangle as result (I tried...). Unroll it from the
 > spool in small amounts as you proceed.
 >
 > Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz

	I have found that putting the coil in my lap is firm enough support;
I've wound a couple of coils on a 3" diameter form that way, about 1000
turns of #30, and the time wasn't excessive.  As for feeding the wire
over the end of the spool, that depends on the size.  If it's big enough
to resist breaking (say #28 or larger), having the spool on an axle
works fine.  If it's much smaller breakage is a problem and the "over
the end" method works well.  That's what high-speed commercial winders
do, usually feeding the wire through the center of a plastic funnel to
keep it under control.  The advtage of feeding over the end is that
there is really no inertia except that due to the wire, and breakage is
much less of a problem, particularly for very small sizes.  I've never
had any trouble this way, even for fairly big (#24) wire, but for #22 or
larger I always use the spool on an axle.

	Having said all of that, I always use the hand-cranked winder now, with
wire fed against the windings by letting it slide under my thumb.  It's
easy to put on a thousand turns in an hour or so, and you can stop
instantly and think if something goes wrong.  Lots of pre-cut tape on
hand, both for the wire on the form and the wire on the spool.

	My experience with unwinding the wire is different from yours.  I just
let the wire feed from the spool as it wishes, keeping it fairly tight.
Friction with the end of the spool seems OK for small wire, or friction
of spool on the axle for larger sizes.

	For what it's worth, I have also turned the winder by extending the
shaft and chucking it in a tied-down electric drill, with speed
controlled with a variac.  Worked fine too, but takes a little longer to
stop it if you get a kind or something.  Guess a foot switch would
control that.

	The point I meant to make was to spend your time on the coil and not on
the winder, at least first time around.  Of course, making the winder is
fun too..............

Ed