Re: first coil

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: Ed Phillips <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net> 

Tesla list wrote:
 >
 > Original poster: "Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz" <acmq-at-compuland-dot-com.br>
 >
 > Tesla list wrote:
 >  >
 >  > Original poster: robert & june heidlebaugh <rheidlebaugh-at-desertgate-dot-com>
 >
 >  > I then place my roll
 >  > of wire on the floor about 4 feet below the roler with the role end up.
 >
 > Some people have luck with this, but not me. After a huge tangle caused
 > by the twisting of the wire when it comes out of the end of a spool, now
 > I always unroll the wire carefully from the spool as I wind coils.
 >
 > Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz

	This method has always worked for me, as long as I was careful and
didn't allow extra wire loops to tangle as they came off the spool!
Commercial high-speed coil winders use the "over the end" technique with
inverted plastic funnels over the end of the spool to guide the wire.
The inertia of a spool of fine wire is enough to let you snap the wire
if you get impatient and  the spool tends to keep turning a bit even if
you stop pulling on the wire.

	For wire sizes large enough to withstand such significant tension the
"turning spool" method is clearly the way to go and some
transformer-winding machines actually use a feedback mechanism to keep
the wire tension constant, along with a brake to stop the spool when
winding stops.  I've found that, at least when winding by hand, just
mounting the spool on a horizontal rod seems to be good enough, with a
gentle nudge by my knee to apply braking to the spool as needed.

	The key word in Antonio's note is CAREFUL!  Carelessness and
accompanying impatience will run any project.

Ed