Fused Clapton Building Tips for a Beginner

[nathanstokes]

Hi guys.

One of the reasons for joining some vaping forums for me was to get tips on beginning to learn how to make my own fused clapton wire. So my question to you all is, if there was one or two things that you wish someone had recommended to you before you tried claptoning your own wire for the first time, what would they be?

Further, if anyone can recommend wire in the UK, I'd love to hear it. I've tried pre-spooled fused clapton wire from Crazy Wire, and while it's ok, it just doesn't seem to have the longevity of some of the "fancier" pre-built coils using Twisted Messes, etc. wire.

All the best, Nathan

p.s. like before, I've posted this in a few different forums to try and get a nice, broad set of repsonses, so apologies if you see this on Vaping Underground and elsewhere.

 

[zephyr]

Hi guys.

One of the reasons for joining some vaping forums for me was to get tips on beginning to learn how to make my own fused clapton wire. So my question to you all is, if there was one or two things that you wish someone had recommended to you before you tried claptoning your own wire for the first time, what would they be?

Further, if anyone can recommend wire in the UK, I'd love to hear it. I've tried pre-spooled fused clapton wire from Crazy Wire, and while it's ok, it just doesn't seem to have the longevity of some of the "fancier" pre-built coils using Twisted Messes, etc. wire.

All the best, Nathan

p.s. like before, I've posted this in a few different forums to try and get a nice, broad set of repsonses, so apologies if you see this on Vaping Underground and elsewhere.

If I could go back, I would have started with a good swivel setup and held the spool properly/lightly rather than try to fuse by holding the wire right up against the cores

@Carambrda uses a company in the EU he would recommend

 

[mach1ne]

i was looking at the wrong thing/place for a long time when i was at my drill. i would look at the claptoned wire to see if the wraps were tight and clean, and adjust my spool angle if they werent. if i could go back, i would tell myself that the angle is easier and more important to watch, and to just trust that holding the correct angle with the spool would give me good wraps...which allows you to go much faster/complete more builds/get more practice.

another one is tension. i was virtually crushing everything when i started out ('gotta get tight wraps' or whatever the thought process was). i would start off with too much tension, then slowly ease off until i got things working. after i started trying to use 40+ gauge wrap wire i learned its actually the other way around...you wanna start so light that its almost not working and apply just enough tension to get a result. now im so gentle with my wire that it falls asleep in my hands and peacefully wraps onto my coils like a sleeping angel

have a look through 'the official clapton' thread for some pics and tips as well

 

[nathanstokes]

If I could go back, I would have started with a good swivel setup and held the spool properly/lightly rather than try to fuse by holding the wire right up against the cores

@Carambrda uses a company in the EU he would recommend

That's interesting. To start with, I was going to try without a swivel. From watching Squidoode and M Terk tutorials I had taken it that swivels made life easier, but were only really necessary for making really long wires. I was thinking if I was just doing enough for one coil at a time, I could probably do without. Might still try without a swivel, but if I really struggle, it's good to know that using a swivel might be of help.

Will wait on @Carambrda's recommendations, if they have the time, as they were (amongst others) really helpful on my last post.

 

[nathanstokes]

i was looking at the wrong thing/place for a long time when i was at my drill. i would look at the claptoned wire to see if the wraps were tight and clean, and adjust my spool angle if they werent. if i could go back, i would tell myself that the angle is easier and more important to watch, and to just trust that holding the correct angle with the spool would give me good wraps...which allows you to go much faster/complete more builds/get more practice.

another one is tension. i was virtually crushing everything when i started out ('gotta get tight wraps' or whatever the thought process was). i would start off with too much tension, then slowly ease off until i got things working. after i started trying to use 40+ gauge wrap wire i learned its actually the other way around...you wanna start so light that its almost not working and apply just enough tension to get a result. now im so gentle with my wire that it falls asleep in my hands and peacefully wraps onto my coils like a sleeping angel

have a look through 'the official clapton' thread for some pics and tips as well

These are just the kind of thoughts I was hoping for! Hadn't thought about eye placement, and putting too much tension and grip into it is definitely something I could see myself doing. Thanks so much for those, and for the link to the official clapton thread. I looked through the first few pages of threads, but I missed that one!

 

[mach1ne]

Hadn't thought about eye placement, and putting too much tension and grip into it is definitely something I could see myself doing.

there are a lot of things that can distract from the important stuff and make building harder/more stressful. in my experience, angle and tension are the only things that matter. even if you cant see the wire without magnification, the correct angle will always give clean wraps, and the correct tension will never twist anything up. its just takes some time to get a feel for it.

Thanks so much for those, and for the link to the official clapton thread. I looked through the first few pages of threads, but I missed that one!

no problem the forum can move pretty quickly and things get buried. theres a sticky post at the top of the building forum with links to all the 'official' building threads. if you are new, i suggest having a look at the steam-engine thread and whatever mooch puts out (all linked in the directory thread), to get a good head start (if you havnt already)...and dont forget to 'post your builds'

 

[Hoggy]

That's interesting. To start with, I was going to try without a swivel. From watching Squidoode and M Terk tutorials I had taken it that swivels made life easier, but were only really necessary for making really long wires. I was thinking if I was just doing enough for one coil at a time, I could probably do without. Might still try without a swivel, but if I really struggle, it's good to know that using a swivel might be of help.

I too, seem to be joining the Clapton bandwagon. I just ordered the Daedalus(sp?) via the slow boat from China - which is the main reason I decided to jump in. My eyesight isn't great and I have many issues with my wrist & fingers. But I figure, even if the flavor isn't totally better (considering I'm already using Rayon), at least I'll have fun with making some the 'easy' way. I already always do twisteds for that reason.

While waiting for the Clapton jig, I'm starting practice without using a swivel - for a couple feet right now. I'm also practicing using the wire I hate the most: 500 feet each of super-springy SS304, in .2 & .3 & .4mm sizes. To make matters worse yet, these 500ft rolls are NOT in a spool - it's literally a 'circle-roll'.

I decided to start with fused, as I read about that 'holding onto' the wire better.
After haphazardly getting the springy .2mm around two .4mm cores, I actualy had some decent stretches of Clapton on my first try.. Until I ran out of the amount of outer wire that I had cut off. So I cut off some more and got some going right at the point it left off. I figure the outer wire here doesn't conduct anyways, so it doesn't matter much if it's perfect all the way through... Until the wire going on got kinked before the wrapping point and snapped off. .... BUT - I think I got a decent enough section to try out in a Derringer clone for now. Going to do that now.

I first tried the finger pinch technique I've seen many times.. But my fingers got way too fatigued and way too PAINFUL. So for the second section, I decided to try using an ancient rusty broken needle-nose 'shit-pliers' that I use for these kind of things. I found that holding the pliers curve right against the core wires was able to feed the .2mm wrapping wire perfectly, and also helped stabilize the free-swinging cores! ... Until I ran out of wire again. I thought for the 2nd-go I had cut even more off, but apparently not.
However, I was shocked that this super springy wire actually held on perfectly & tightly!


Soooooo.. Does anybody know how to calculate how much loose wire to use for the wrapping?
I found a formula and spreadsheet here, but it doesn't seem to calculate how long for two or more cores.

 

[mach1ne]

Does anybody know how to calculate how much loose wire to use for the wrapping?

in steam-engine you can hit the 'show results for all components' button to see it.

 

[Carambrda]

Will wait on @Carambrda's recommendations, if they have the time, as they were (amongst others) really helpful on my last post.

Sorry for my late reply. I always buy my wire from a local vape shop the shop owner of which is also the owner of the Wireworks.eu brand, here:
https://www.vapuri.be/rba/937-wireworks-nichrome-80.html
From Belgium to the UK; free shipping on orders from 75 Euros, 7.95 Euros shipping fee on orders below 75 Euros. ( https://www.vapuri.be/content/8-e-sigaret-verzendkosten )
I highly recommend this brand because their Nichrome 80 wire is smelted by Sandvik in Sweden, and, it is Sandvik's premium quality wire. So it is about the same very high quality as that of the famous Twisted Messes brand, which part explains why these brands are more expensive than most. The spooling techniques that these top brands use are going to save you a lot of frustration in addition to that so that's the other reason why I think they're not overpriced, as cheaper brands typically tend to give you a bit of a mixed bag of good spools and bad spools at best, and that's IF we can assume the metal that the wire is made of is equally as pure as the more expensive stuff. (Recently there has been a report of at least one popular/cheap brand mislabelling the metal type on their spools, and that can in fact potentially be dangerous for your health.) Here's one example of a cheaper brand of Ni80 wire that's sold in the UK, but that I have no personal experience with so I can't say how it compares:
https://www.stealthvape.co.uk/wire/nichrome-80-spools-reels

The most helpful video tutorial for starting to make your own fused claptons IMO is this one:

 

[nathanstokes]

Sorry for my late reply. I always buy my wire from a local vape shop the shop owner of which is also the owner of the Wireworks.eu brand, here:
https://www.vapuri.be/rba/937-wireworks-nichrome-80.html
From Belgium to the UK; free shipping on orders from 75 Euros, 7.95 Euros shipping fee on orders below 75 Euros. ( https://www.vapuri.be/content/8-e-sigaret-verzendkosten )
I highly recommend this brand because their Nichrome 80 wire is smelted by Sandvik in Sweden, and, it is Sandvik's premium quality wire. So it is about the same very high quality as that of the famous Twisted Messes brand, which part explains why these brands are more expensive than most. The spooling techniques that these top brands use are going to save you a lot of frustration in addition to that so that's the other reason why I think they're not overpriced, as cheaper brands typically tend to give you a bit of a mixed bag of good spools and bad spools at best, and that's IF we can assume the metal that the wire is made of is equally as pure as the more expensive stuff. (Recently there has been a report of at least one popular/cheap brand mislabelling the metal type on their spools, and that can in fact potentially be dangerous for your health.) Here's one example of a cheaper brand of Ni80 wire that's sold in the UK, but that I have no personal experience with so I can't say how it compares:
https://www.stealthvape.co.uk/wire/nichrome-80-spools-reels

The most helpful video tutorial for starting to make your own fused claptons IMO is this one:

No apologies needed, @Carambrda. Thank you for another detailed reply. It's the quality/accuracy of the wire that I'm mostly concerned with. For example, I tried some pre-built aliens recently that I bought from Custom Vapes in London, and they were built using Juice Junkie wire (https://www.juicejunkie.shop/) and the one I've been using heavily in a single coil dripper is standing up really well after about a month of regular cleaning and re-wicking. Flavour's still excellent, and while the metal doesn't look new (obviously) when cleaned, there doesn't appear to be any signs of degradation yet. I emailed them to ask where they sourced their metals, to make sure that it was a reputable place before ordering a bunch of different gauge wires (their prices aren't high at all), but they never got back to me. I might send them a follow up, but if not, I'll try out Wireworks.

 

[nathanstokes]

Sorry for my late reply. I always buy my wire from a local vape shop the shop owner of which is also the owner of the Wireworks.eu brand, here:
https://www.vapuri.be/rba/937-wireworks-nichrome-80.html
From Belgium to the UK; free shipping on orders from 75 Euros, 7.95 Euros shipping fee on orders below 75 Euros. ( https://www.vapuri.be/content/8-e-sigaret-verzendkosten )
I highly recommend this brand because their Nichrome 80 wire is smelted by Sandvik in Sweden, and, it is Sandvik's premium quality wire. So it is about the same very high quality as that of the famous Twisted Messes brand, which part explains why these brands are more expensive than most. The spooling techniques that these top brands use are going to save you a lot of frustration in addition to that so that's the other reason why I think they're not overpriced, as cheaper brands typically tend to give you a bit of a mixed bag of good spools and bad spools at best, and that's IF we can assume the metal that the wire is made of is equally as pure as the more expensive stuff. (Recently there has been a report of at least one popular/cheap brand mislabelling the metal type on their spools, and that can in fact potentially be dangerous for your health.) Here's one example of a cheaper brand of Ni80 wire that's sold in the UK, but that I have no personal experience with so I can't say how it compares:
https://www.stealthvape.co.uk/wire/nichrome-80-spools-reels

The most helpful video tutorial for starting to make your own fused claptons IMO is this one:

Oh, and the Grimm Green video was one of the first ones I watched on making claptons. After seeing it, I thought, "oh, I have all those things other than the various wire strands and the swivels (which are cheap). Yeah, I can do that. It's not as hard as I thought it might be!"

 

[WPMac]

I'm going to go ahead and confirm the few things that have already been stated
1) Get some swivels. I claptoned with 32g for along time without swivels. Hell My first claptons were without a drill lol. But it's worth a couple of bucks. It's WELL worth a couple of bucks ...
2) Hold your clapton wire at LEAST a few inches from the core. The further the better. I'm at least a foot, sometimes 2, from my core. This is only viable with swivels.
3) Hold your spool, not the wire itself.
4) It is ALL about angle and tesion!

 

[Hoggy]

Damn, you guys are Really Bad for the pocketbook!

I'm going from 'claptons and claptoning are a waste of time and money' to ordering a Daedalus to now ordering new batteries for my regular drill, 100's of swivels, a table-top suction vise, and about to pull the trigger on over $140 of wire types and gauges from 250-1000ft spools of 32-40 gauge in kanthal, SS316L, and Ni-80.
(Well, in my defense, I had over 8 years of no income - so things HAD to be cheap and last for an unknowingly long time if I ran out of money (which I did).. Hence the 500ft 'rolls' of crappy springy SS304.)

Now I gotta put you guys in corner for a time-out.

 

[Hoggy]

I'm still perplexed a bit about the tension aspect... And I can definitely see the 'where to look', wrapping-point vs. angle, thing coming into play - I'll have to try and keep that in mind.

I have several pre-made 15ft spools of 'exotic' all-SS316L wire types, including just a basic 26/30g clapton -- none of which I've started using yet, if that's important. Every single one of them seems to be impossible to take off the core wires, and they don't appear to have anything done to the ends like clamping or whatnot. I would've thought that at least the basic clapton would be able to come off relatively easily.

Now, just going by the few stretches of usable fused clapton I've been able to make while waiting for more proper equipment (and wire) to arrive, it seems the wrap wire will relatively easily come of the core wires if I don't crimp/bend the ends a bit - especially when getting them in an atty. I'm also wondering if that's made worse due to the use of super-springy wire that I'm practicing with.

So how do they get made so the wrapping doesn't come off easily? Does it require a machine that gives relatively extreme tension (considering the wire gauges involved) in order to pull off that feat?

 

[zephyr]

I'm still perplexed a bit about the tension aspect... And I can definitely see the 'where to look', wrapping-point vs. angle, thing coming into play - I'll have to try and keep that in mind.

I have several 15ft spools of 'exotic' all-SS316L wire types, including just a basic 26/30g clapton -- none of which I've started using yet, if that's important. Every single one of them seems to be impossible to take off the core wires, and they don't appear to have anything done to the ends like clamping or whatnot. I would've thought that at least the basic clapton would be able to come off relatively easily.

Now, just going by the few stretches of usable fused clapton I've been able to make while waiting for more proper equipment (and wire) to arrive, it seems the wrap wire will relatively easily come of the core wires if I don't crimp/bend the ends a bit - especially when getting them in an atty. I'm also wondering if that's made worse due to the use of super-springy wire that I'm practicing with.

So how do they get made so the wrapping doesn't come off easily? Does it require a machine that gives relatively extreme tension (considering the wire gauges involved) in order to pull off that feat?

One thing that affects how much a clapton wrap clings to the core is gauge - the closer in gauges the outer and core wire are, the more the outer will cling. So 26/30 claptons can be quite stuck together, but put 40 on 26 and it will wiggle around very easily

I think that is why factory made claptons tend to have such low gauge wraps, like 32, and factory made fused claptons offer higher gauge wrap options

 

[Hoggy]

One thing that affects how much a clapton wrap clings to the core is gauge - the closer in gauges the outer and core wire are, the more the outer will cling. So 26/30 claptons can be quite stuck together, but put 40 on 26 and it will wiggle around very easily

I think that is why factory made claptons tend to have such low gauge wraps, like 32, and factory made fused claptons offer higher gauge wrap options

Hmm.. You could be onto something there. I looked closer at my pre-made stash and noticed that I actually have two basic clapton wire spools - 24/30g and 26/30g. It seems that, in fact, the 24/30g is able to spring off a bit, unlike the 26/30g which is stuck on there like it's welded.

Which now begs the question of why I've heard it said that claptoning never really 'took off' for them until they started going with higher-gauge wrapping wire (38+, I think I've read in a few places). Maybe it has to do with what Mach1ne alluded to above??

 

[Carambrda]

Damn, you guys are Really Bad for the pocketbook!

I'm going from 'claptons and claptoning are a waste of time and money' to ordering a Daedalus to now ordering new batteries for my regular drill, 100's of swivels, a table-top suction vise, and about to pull the trigger on over $140 of wire types and gauges from 250-1000ft spools of 32-40 gauge in kanthal, SS316L, and Ni-80.
(Well, in my defense, I had over 8 years of no income - so things HAD to be cheap and last for an unknowingly long time if I ran out of money (which I did).. Hence the 500ft 'rolls' of crappy springy SS304.)

Now I gotta put you guys in corner for a time-out.

The reason why I said claptons are a waste of time and money is because FUSED claptons are pretty much just as easy to make, and they vape a LOT better than claptons. I never told anyone to buy a Daedalus, and, regular drills don't use any batteries, only cordless ones do, but a corded drill put upside down in a vice (with two pieces of cork or rubber in between to prevent heavily squashing and therefore potentially cracking the drill) can work just as nice especially if your corded drill is the kind that doesn't burn itself up in less than five minutes of using it and starts fluently and can turn both slowly (~10rpm or slower) and fast (~1,000rpm or faster, which every half decent corded drill will do) and can stop abruptly... heck, even a pair of simply clamps instead of a heavy vice could get the job done equally well to attach the drill if you know how to use your brain... the same with swivels, as you don't need more than a piece of wood to attach your swivels to it and one or two clamps to hold the piece of wood in place and maybe some more cork or rubber so your clamps don't end up leaving any marks on the kitchen table (and when I say know how to use your brain I mean know how to use it properly because a thin magazine between the clamp is too thin so it still fucks up the kitchen table). My ball bearing swivels were 3 Euros and 45 Eurocents for a packet of 3 pieces capable to withstand 110 kilograms of pull force from a carp that's swimming in the water. Nobody except your stupid poor self has told you to buy two boatloads of the type of wire that nobody ever uses for anything.

 

[WPMac]

Hmm.. You could be onto something there. I looked closer at my pre-made stash and noticed that I actually have two basic clapton wire spools - 24/30g and 26/30g. It seems that, in fact, the 24/30g is able to spring off a bit, unlike the 26/30g which is stuck on there like it's welded.

Which now begs the question of why I've heard it said that claptoning never really 'took off' for them until they started going with higher-gauge wrapping wire (38+, I think I've read in a few places). Maybe it has to do with what Mach1ne alluded to??

Most of it has to do with heat, ramp. 32g, and lower, claps make for a real hot coil that ramps slowly. The outer wrap doesn't conduct much of the electricity. So the core wires have to "work" harder to heat up. Using bigger cores can help with that. But, your average builder isn't using 24-22 gauge cores. On average 26/36 is the low end of the gauges people use for claptons/aliens

 

[Hoggy]

The reason why I said claptons are a waste of time and money is because FUSED claptons are pretty much just as easy to make, and they vape a LOT better than claptons. I never told anyone to buy a Daedalus, and, regular drills don't use any batteries, only cordless ones do, but a corded drill put upside down in a vice (with two pieces of cork or rubber in between to prevent heavily squashing and therefore potentially cracking the drill) can work just as nice especially if your corded drill is the kind that doesn't burn itself up in less than five minutes of using it and starts fluently and can turn both slowly (~10rpm or slower) and fast (~1,000rpm or faster, which every half decent corded drill will do) and can stop abruptly... heck, even a pair of simply clamps instead of a heavy vice could get the job done equally well to attach the drill if you know how to use your brain... the same with swivels, as you don't need more than a piece of wood to attach your swivels to it and one or two clamps to hold the piece of wood in place and maybe some more cork or rubber so your clamps don't end up leaving any marks on the kitchen table (and when I say know how to use your brain I mean know how to use it properly because a thin magazine between the clamp is too thin so it still fucks up the kitchen table). My ball bearing swivels were 3 Euros and 45 Eurocents for a packet of 3 pieces capable to withstand 110 kilograms of pull force from a carp that's swimming in the water. Nobody except your stupid poor self has told you to buy two boatloads of the type of wire that nobody ever uses for anything.

I was completely kidding, of course. ...But I used to actually mean that anything beyond simple twisting. Although that was also more out necessity at the time. Now that I can afford it, I'm simply going all in - even if for nothing more than enjoyment. I also have some heavy hording tendencies, so now that I can afford it, I'm just getting all kinds of wire to play and experiment with. ...Also the reason why I ended up stuck with ~130ft of Fasttech 2mm silica wick that I try to use up from time to time. And the FDA ban-happiness certainly doesn't help with wanting to get rid of hording tendencies.

But yeah, I don't see much point to making simple claptons - especially when it now seems that fused holds on to the wire better and would provide much more surface area. I'm not sure If I'll get into aliens or more advanced stuff yet. Anything beyond fused seems more like coil-art/build-enjoyment territory to me. Aliens would probably be the furthest I might go to, if I do. But who knows, with the boat load of wire coming in here.

 

[zephyr]

Hmm.. You could be onto something there. I looked closer at my pre-made stash and noticed that I actually have two basic clapton wire spools - 24/30g and 26/30g. It seems that, in fact, the 24/30g is able to spring off a bit, unlike the 26/30g which is stuck on there like it's welded.

Which now begs the question of why I've heard it said that claptoning never really 'took off' for them until they started going with higher-gauge wrapping wire (38+, I think I've read in a few places). Maybe it has to do with what Mach1ne alluded to above??

Higher gauge clapton wrap has a lot of advantages - wrap wire helps let off heat rather than hold it in like 30g will; air can surround the coil more easily because the bumps are shorter - 30g bumps will interrupt air movement, again adding to heat being held in rather than lifted away along with vapor

Higher gauge claptons allow coils to fit into smaller spaces - with a 30g clapton wrap, you're adding an additional 0.5mm to the outer diameter of a coil; with 40g, you only add, I think, 0.16mm

We don't tend to make single core claptons with high gauge because 2 or more cores is preferable for several reasons:

Coils heat faster with 5 wraps of 2 cores compared to 10 wraps of 1 core - coils heat up on the inside first, and with only 5 wraps that heat/current can travel to the sides of the coil more quickly

 

[zephyr]

Oh yeah, and a corded drill...life saver. $40 corded drill, $10 vice...couple towels if needed under the vice to raise it up to being level with your swivels, and you're off to the races. Literally, the 2,400 rpm races

I was completely kidding, of course. ...But I used to actually mean that anything beyond simple twisting. Although that was also more out necessity at the time. Now that I can afford it, I'm simply going all in - even if for nothing more than enjoyment. I also have some heavy hording tendencies, so now that I can afford it, I'm just getting all kinds of wire to play and experiment with. ...Also the reason why I ended up stuck with ~130ft of Fasttech 2mm silica wick that I try to use up from time to time. And the FDA ban-happiness certainly doesn't help with wanting to get rid of hording tendencies.

But yeah, I don't see much point to making simple claptons - especially when it now seems that fused holds on to the wire better and would provide much more surface area. I'm not sure If I'll get into aliens or more advanced stuff yet. Anything beyond fused seems more like coil-art/build-enjoyment territory to me. Aliens would probably be the furthest I might go to, if I do. But who knows, with the boat load of wire coming in here.

All in is the way to go - ask around for good deals on good wire, though! The more you jump in, the faster you progress into becoming one of the chosen few who are loved by the Build Gods... they love us but do occasionally play mean tricks and laugh at us. It's all good though. :d

 

[WPMac]

All in is the way to go - ask around for good deals on good wire, though! The more you jump in, the faster you progress into becoming one of the chosen few who are loved by the Build Gods... they love us but do occasionally play mean tricks and laugh at us. It's all good though. :d

There is so much truth in this ... except ...
Occasionally? The Build God's are cruel >,< But when they do smile upon you, and your build is clean and pretty and ... oh it's one of the best feelings in the world!!

 

[Carambrda]

I was completely kidding, of course.

Of course.

 

[Carambrda]

they love us but do occasionally play mean tricks and laugh at us.

Occasionally? Nah... I do it all the time.

 

[nathanstokes]

One thing that affects how much a clapton wrap clings to the core is gauge - the closer in gauges the outer and core wire are, the more the outer will cling. So 26/30 claptons can be quite stuck together, but put 40 on 26 and it will wiggle around very easily

I think that is why factory made claptons tend to have such low gauge wraps, like 32, and factory made fused claptons offer higher gauge wrap options

Oh, that makes sense. I had wondered why so much coilology, geekvape, etc. claptons came in core to wrap ratios that didn't seem logical to me.

 

[mach1ne]

3) Hold your spool, not the wire itself.

i only balance the spool on my pinky finger enough that it doesnt fall out of my hand and i put all my tension directly on the wire.

chosen few who are loved by the Build Gods... they love us but do occasionally play mean tricks and laugh at us

they are fickle, confusing, and their cruelty knows no bounds. their love is also boundless, but it is only earned through pain and suffering

 

[Carambrda]

I never hold my spool... I use the ziploc method in cohort with direct tensioning as shown at 3:11 in this:

EDIT: As for how to prevent the wrap wire from springing off of the core wires, navigate to 6:07 in this same video.

 

[Carambrda]

Ziploc method = put the spool in a ziploc bag and close it 2/3 of the way with the wire sticking out, making sure the spool can turn smoothly inside the bag, and, next, put the ziploc bag in a box on the floor in such a way that the bag will keep standing up vertical and that it will remain stable (e.g., tape the bag to the inside of the box if that's what it takes to keep it vertical, and, add a bit of weight to the box to keep it stable on the floor if that's what it takes to keep it that way).

EDIT: If the ziploc bag you have is a tad oversized for the spool you have, just fold the side of the bag over, and put a piece of tape on to keep the fold in place, but also make sure there's still reasonable space around the spool so that the spool can still turn smoothly inside the bag.

 

[WPMac]

i only balance the spool on my pinky finger enough that it doesnt fall out of my hand and i put all my tension directly on the wire.

Ziploc method = put the spool in a ziploc bag and close it 2/3 of the way with the wire sticking out, making sure the spool can turn smoothly inside the bag, and, next, put the ziploc bag in a box on the floor in such a way that the bag will keep standing up vertical and that it will remain stable (e.g., tape the bag to the inside of the box if that's what it takes to keep it vertical, and, add a bit of weight to the box to keep it stable on the floor if that's what it takes to keep it that way).

EDIT: If the ziploc bag you have is a tad oversized for the spool you have, just fold the side of the bag over, and put a piece of tape on to keep the fold in place, but also make sure there's still reasonable space around the spool so that the spool can still turn smoothly inside the bag.

I use this for para, or for complex fuse patterns. B lol

 

[Hoggy]

Woohoo! My Daedalus finally arrived today!

Once I tightened down the tension on the spool a bit more, I made a PERFECT 1.5ft length just by watching it spin itself (and sometimes moving the puck back a bit cause it's not on the smoothest surface).

Made a 4-core .2mm SS304 with 34g Ni-200 wrap. Yeah, I know it might not make much sense, but it's something I've been wondering about if the outer wrap does the heating (at least I think it should, I should have checked Steam-Engine though). I've tried searching about such a thing, but have been unsuccessful so far regarding outer heating wire. Anyways, I'm practicing with wire I hate and some I'm not as wild about - perfect fodder for experimentation.

If anyone is on the fence about getting the Daedalus, just get it - you won't regret it.. Especially if you have issues with eyesight, dexterity, or pain - or all three!

 

[WPMac]

Woohoo! My Daedalus finally arrived today!

Once I tightened down the tension on the spool a bit more, I made a PERFECT 1.5ft length just by watching it spin itself (and sometimes moving the puck back a bit cause it's not on the smoothest surface).

Made a 4-core .2mm SS304 with 34g Ni-200. Yeah, I know it might not make much sense, but it's something I've been wondering about if the outer wrap does the heating (at least I think it should, I should have checked Steam-Engine though). I've tried searching about such a thing, but have been unsuccessful so far regarding outer heating wire. Anyways, I'm practicing with wire I hate and some I'm not as wild about - perfect fodder for experimentation.

If anyone is on the fence about getting the Daedalus, just get it - you won't regret it.. Especially if you have issues with eyesight, dexterity, or pain - or all three!

The cores do the heating. Electricity takes the path of least resistance. The cores are MUCH shorter than the clatpon. SO even if you have higher gauge cores they will still have an overall MUCH lower resistance than the clap. So the majority of the current will run through the cores heating them quickly. The clap will take a smidge of the current and will heat so much slower than the core that they might as well not be heating themselves at all.

 

[Hoggy]

The cores do the heating. Electricity takes the path of least resistance. The cores are MUCH shorter than the clatpon. SO even if you have higher gauge cores they will still have an overall MUCH lower resistance than the clap. So the majority of the current will run through the cores heating them quickly. The clap will take a smidge of the current and will heat so much slower than the core that they might as well not be heating themselves at all.

That's what I suspected could happen as well. And I think I did a bit of preliminary SE checking several days ago, and the TCR didn't change much from that of SS304. Although at the time, I was surprised to see the TCR change at all - I previously thought all electricity would go through the lowest [overall] resistance wire(s).

 

[Carambrda]

I use this for para, or for complex fuse patterns. B lol

That's what the ziploc method is normally being used for. But for simple fused claptons (and for claptons to be decored for aliening) it still offers some of the same advantages, like being able to sit down comfortably whilst leaning forward to constantly keep seeing through magnifying goggles (or two pairs of 3× magnification plastic reading glasses stacked one in front of the other in such a way that you'll be able to very clearly see what I mean...) what you're doing with your very thin wire and resting your arm on your lap for being even more comfortable, as that helps you focus and keeps you able to stay relaxed instead of lose your focus and, as a result from losing your focus, fuck it all up once again beautifully yes of course.